Which is also the title of a Neil Young album.  Who came up with first?

If I was gonna try to do a home repair, I'd probably use one of those
fiberglass repair kits. I hear they work about the best out of the
home remedies besides using new metal. Of course no matter what
you use, if all the rust isn't cut out, it's a waste of time.
It will be bubbling back up within a year.
My accord has the beginnings of this problem. I probably oughta do
something about it before it gets bad. I think the main reason for this

happening is the rear drains get clogged up. Real common.
Every time I hear of rust on an accord, it's always the same place.
They say if you use the fiberglass kits, and do everything right, they
hold up pretty well. I'm not sure how easy it would be to repair that
particular spot though as far as access though.
MK

Tegger says...

No.  The car has been in Tulsa since I bought it new in
1994.  It has 53K miles on it, and is always garaged except
for a couple hours a day (at the gym, and on errands).
Except for this one spot, the car is immaculate, inside and
out, and as far as I can tell, underneath.

We get snow two or three times a year here, and they do use
road salt and sand at those times.  But I'm not sure that's
the source of the problem - it seems like I would have seen
it other places on the car in 12 years if that were the
case.  And, you know, rust just isn't a frequent problem
on cars here.

But there was a parking lot ding at this spot which I
thought was responsible for the water getting in.  But that
wouldn't be true if it's rusting from the inside.  I also
can't figure out where the water would be coming from if
it's rusting from the inside.

So the car is hardly a basket case, and I don't think
Oklahoma is officially part of the rust belt.  I think it
makes sense to fix it if that's possible because it has lots
of useful life left in it.

The problem I would have working on it myself is that I
don't think I can get behind it.  Immediately behind it is
whatever makes up the wheel well.  I don't think there's
more than 1/4" separating them at that point.  And I think
removing the entire panel would be a major job - it goes
from the rear light assembly, up over both windows and just
past the side-view mirror.  I would have no trouble cutting
out whatever needs to be removed.  It's just figuring out
how to fill that in when I can't reach around behind it.

Well, I'll take it to a body shop and see what they say.
Maybe also the Honda dealer, just to see if they have any
different view of it.

Thanks for everyone's advice.

Oklahoma (especially as you go north) has a substantial amount of snow
and "treatment" on highways.  Probably not as bad as your neck of the
woods though.  Also, if the car was sold in OK, it stands a good chance
that it was never rust proofed..

JT

(Who has sworn off the rusty stuff for the rest of his time on earth)

I'm in Austin but I would not recommend it for anyone unless they are a
bleeding heart liberal.  I'm looking to relocate to the San Antonio
suburbs within a year.

JT