Honda Civic EG Rear Quarter + Rocker Panel Rust Repair - Slideshow

[@Hohmies86]

Dude just made a bad ass video with pics from over a decade ago!! Was this a hold my beer moment...?

[@jasonleefosterb16]

I remember reading through the forum posts for this at the time all those years ago, it was amazing work

[@OhYeahAboutThat]

“the only way to prevent rust is to live in California”. LOL

[@6thGearGarage]

OhYeahAboutThat exactly!!

[@MrHunting99]

Not worth it.

[@HyperGoatTheFirst]

MAYBE IF THEY STOPPED USING ROAD SALT BECAUSE KAREN DOESN'T KNOW HOW TO SNOW DRIFT AN AUTOMATIC CHEVY VENTURE

[@bondpit8750]

@@HyperGoatTheFirst I was thinking more along the lines of a Shaquiniqua in a clapped out ‘10 Impala or Charger.

[@kway745]

Nicely done. I’m into final assembly on my 96 ej6 and just now cruising around seeing how others approached their Honda cancer for comparison. Glad to see you not glossing over the need to address the inner wheelwells. Seems some people just stick quarters on and I dunno, try not to think about the rot holes behind them? Also similar to my case, I did it because I love the car. Most people would say it isn’t “worth” fixing, but all I’m really out is a few hundred bucks in materials and my sweat equity. Oh, AND also similar, I took it as an opportunity to roll the fenders without worrying about cracking paint haha. Brilliant minds...

[@dinnerandthecatchange8805]

About to tackle this job with my father. Everybody online is saying just give up and scrap the car but like you I have a strong attachment to it and want to save it. Thank you for this video and your other forum posts

[@6thGearGarage]

It’s a big job but take your time, measure twice. 👍

[@dinnerandthecatchange8805]

@@6thGearGarage yes of course. I have everything laid out and I am ready to take my time and do it right

[@DrBill-zv5dx]

I made my own panels for my Chevelle, Cordoba😢, Grande Prix GT , Swinger, GTO, Charger, LTD crown Victoria and my Mazda CX-9. I spent the entire summer after work and on weekends restoring my 383- 3 speed engine and complete body job including new floors and carpet on my 1972 Chevelle . It was scheduled to be painted ( metallic blue) on the upcoming Wednesday. The Sunday night prior I was driving to the store for some things. A woman ran a red light doing 62mph in a 30 zone . She wrote both cars off . The insurance paid me an extra $50. I lost over 7k in the early 80’s. This was truly heartbreaking for a university medical student without a pot to Piss in or a wi due to throw it out . Then came COViD - can’t win against these maniacs … great job and thanks for sharing . 👍👏

[@6thGearGarage]

Ouch! I've never been that unfortunate to have anyone hit a vehicle that I cared about but as they saying goes "This is why we can't have nice things"

[@suspendedhatch]

First thing when buying a 90's Honda: Peel that rubber liner off the inner edge of your wheel wells. It traps water and causes rust.

[@bendude6748]

Probably too late by now though if you’re buying a 90s Honda lol

[@Serpentis666]

Dealers were supposed to remove them upon delivery, as I’ve been told they were put on the protect the tires when the cars were on the car haulers and the dealers were supposed to remove them when they prepped the cars for the customers… I was told this by an old Honda dealership in Tennessee when I bought my s2k… I have ripped so many of those things off of Honda’s since then it’s not even funny!

[@streetfighters805]

I think that was an amazing job.

[@6thGearGarage]

Stay Tuned Street Garage thanks!

[@nativexsoul]

I’m soo glad you documented this. I need to do this to my civic eg too due to rust being bad. I’ve never welded before and I’m still balancing between body shop and learning to do this 😅

[@6thGearGarage]

It's a skill worth learning IMO. I'm still using this welder almost 20 years later to repair rusty bodywork.

[@nativexsoul]

That’s really good to hear! I’m currently looking up tutorials on beginner welding lol

[@6thGearGarage]

@@nativexsoul It does take some practice, but the more often you weld, the better you'll get.

[@maxwellpelcher3600]

Man, GREAT video! Amazing results for your first try at body work.

[@6thGearGarage]

Thanks! It wasn't perfect but the experience helped me restore some nice vehicles later on.

[@ThePerfectionist1]

Now thats love! For the civic! If I knew how to do that and had my own garage, I would enjoy working on my white ek 4 door.

[@jdmkidd1263]

Very helpful even with slide show 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@benjaminruggiero420]

Actually bought a similar civic last month for around 450dollars. Had a thought to try to do an amateur repair on the rust spots but after watching this videos I'm kinda scared to even try. Looks like a big job for a first timer. It's not as rusted as the car on this video but who knows what I'll find if I take it apart. It has also been painted mint green(used to be red) for some reason by the previous owner. Might just fix the easy spots and leave the rear panels alone. But who knows, it was supposed to be a project car anyway besides my main drive. Great job on your civic, tho. Looked spectacular if you compare to what it was.

[@6thGearGarage]

It's definitely a pretty big job. Even after all the cutting & welding, there's still filler and paint... a lot of different stages that get easier with some experience.

[@zoslond]

@@6thGearGarage I'm hoping to get started on my panels....they're probably a bit worse than yours in the vid. Just started out reading the tutorial and you already answered a load of my questions.

[@Ellyitt_civic]

Awesome. Makes me wanna get a rusty hatch

[@Tycrx89]

Dude amazing work man, really inspiring cause I know mine is deff going to need the same amount of treatment!

[@bendude6748]

That’s a lot of work, I’m just repairing rusted sills on my car and that’s taking me long enough, definitely a good idea to get another car to drive if you’re going this deep into rust repairs.

[@6thGearGarage]

Yep, I bought another beater civic to drive while I fixed my EG, and then kept it for winters so my EG could stay out of the salt.

[@bendude6748]

@@6thGearGarage Yeah good idea to have a winter car that you don’t care about too much 👍🏻

[@portagepete1]

Even if your super fast with Bondo like me it is still better to put in the whole panel if you look at all the time you spent with that seam you could have taken out the window and drilled the spot welds much faster. My tip is to keep the drill bit cold with a Windex bottle while drilling never let the bit get hot or it is dull.

[@ribucan]

Did you add to the inner wheel wells, seen that you just grinder the rust off then put the quarter panel on

[@6thGearGarage]

Yeah, I didn't show much of that but there's a couple of pics at 5:42

[@TheMalevolentWrath]

I too have an EG and my rust is 5 years behind that one. Guess I got 5 years more to save up. Lol

[@bjj21]

Pretty good job for your first time??? Freaken amazing job man!

[@6thGearGarage]

Yeah it was. I practiced welding on scrap metal first, but this was my first time doing any real body work. Thanks!

[@josueriverajr1806]

What gauge of metal did you use?

[@6thGearGarage]

It was probably 18 ga

[@findtherightbeat]

The thumbnail of your video looked familiar, I remember following your thread on H-T! Good to know you're on KZbin! 🍻 Edit: I thought I saw your thread on Honda-Tech, just saw the description saying it's from civic-eg.com.

[@gamerdiydad]

Thanks mate for this. I have subbed!

[@andyc8826]

Nice vid. I have more confidence to try my mk2 golf rear arch panel 👍

[@hawkmickler4907]

Pretty cool video the only rust a had to deal with on my ej1 coupe was around the front window seal which I found buy pier coincidence when I made a last minute decision to drill out the spot welds on the roof and replace the roof with a non sun roof one glad I did tho

[@6thGearGarage]

hawk mickler was it by where those 2 plastic rain gutters on the roof meet the windshield? I’ve seen rust begin there from debris and moisture collecting under those rain gutters.

[@hawkmickler4907]

@@6thGearGarage Yep exactly where you said was the worst part. Down on the sides of the front window was just surface rust, I think I caught at really good time to be honest

[@hawkmickler4907]

@@6thGearGarage Yep exactly where you said was the worst part. Down on the sides of the front window was just surface rust, I think I caught at really good time to be honest

[@walnutcove8583]

Hey thanks a lot, I’m gonna use this guide to help me fix my car. What did you use to seal the panels after welding and what kind of rust inhibitor did you use?

[@6thGearGarage]

I used self-etching primer on any bare metal and 3m seam sealer on any seams. I can't recall the name of the rust inhibitor, it was so long ago... but now I use POR15 or similar with good results.

[@walnutcove8583]

@@6thGearGarage thanks a lot man! I’m a little nervous but I’ll get it done.

[@801russc]

What did you use as sealer? I'm not finding anything good in Utah.

[@6thGearGarage]

Ive used this before, good stuff & reasonably priced: Seam Sealer: amzn.to/2ZBegaU

[@801russc]

Dude I never thought about Amazon lol. Thanks for staying cool and responding. That deserves a sub from not only me but a genuine sub from at least half of my employees. Seriously thank you. Oh BTW bought that stuff thanks man.

[@lucarusso2089]

Big props to you man for the amazing job !! Looks sick ! I have a 2000 ek hatch with the same rust on quarter panels, ive only assisted on some body work once and was wondering how time consuming and difficult it really was ? if you could give some insight greatly appreciated !

[@6thGearGarage]

This was my first body work job, so it took me a while, but wasn't too difficult. Just time consuming. I could probably do it a lot faster now. I wish I had a # of hours to give you but I didn't keep track.

[@lucarusso2089]

@@6thGearGarage no worries, going to be using your video as reference haha so if I have any other questions I’ll be asking lol. Thanks for the reply man ! All the best !

[@GabrielGomez-p3n]

Was the inner fender in the wheelhouse ever welded to the quarter or just adhered?

[@6thGearGarage]

It was originally spot welded, which is part of the reason they rusted so much in that area.

[@ribucan]

How did you tack the gap between the new panel and the existing panel of car? I feel like it’s hard to tack the gaps

[@6thGearGarage]

I didn't weld those to prevent future rusting. Instead I used a 3-m seam sealer.

[@CheemsRacing]

I have bubble where the rear panel meets the bumper, you wrote in a blog that it was due to condensation/lack of aerations, how can I prevent that? I already fixed the rust but it came again because of this!!! :(((( Thanks!!!

[@6thGearGarage]

I would apply fluid film inside the panels. Here's a video showing how, on a toyota: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pKu6qWZjbrV-ipo

[@CheemsRacing]

@@6thGearGarage Thank you so much!!!!

[@troyduncan1969]

what gauge sheet metal did you use for the panels you made?

[@6thGearGarage]

I’m not sure, it was something I already had laying around. It was much thicker than I needed though.

[@772777777777777]

You should have used copper weld through primer... on the welds...... under coating is huge no no... it tar based and hold moisture... sand blast it.grind it etc.... use expoy 2k primer to seal the metal then apply boddy filler and use regular high build primer etc... for feather edging it

[@6thGearGarage]

Thanks for that info!

[@joshaden6533]

Instead of rubber under coating on the insides of the quarters I would suggest a cavity wax to prevent rust.

[@6thGearGarage]

Thanks for the tip!

[@endlesstwisties]

It's true. Some cars have more rust even if there is the same model. My father had some Civic Aerodeck from 00 full of rust everywhere. My brother have the same from 01 and totally clean . Maybe they learned their lessons or they cure better the metal in different periods or factories. Or they use different kind of metal from different supplier

[@ribucan]

Did you extend the inner fender to weld back to the panel?

[@6thGearGarage]

I welded metal back in for any the fender that was cut out, but I used seam sealer between the inner fender and outer panel instead of tack welding to avoid any chance of rust in the future.

[@chrisinfante6446]

Great video! Would you be interested in doing this again on my 95 Si?

[@6thGearGarage]

Thanks! I'm so far behind on my own projects that I can't take on any new ones for a while.

[@mikeharris6887]

Nice work! I am looking into doing this exact job on my sedan. I am just not sure how to coat the inside of the welds on the lower dogleg of the quarter (narrow section that runs down into the rocker). There isn't any acces on the inside since the inner panel runs almost right agains't the outer that is being welded in. If I don't coat the inside of the welds at the bottom, will the patch rot from the inside?

[@6thGearGarage]

You could drill some small holes from the interior of the car, maybe 1/2", and spray something such as Fluid Film inside the holes, than put some plastic body plugs over the holes. Once the interior trim is re-installed, the plastic plugs will be hidden.

[@dirtbikesandstuff6469]

Hey i know im a little late for this but how much did it cost you all without welder to do all body Work?

[@6thGearGarage]

This was back in 2006, so things were a lot cheaper back then. I think the panels were $40 each. Figure for body filler, primer, seam sealer, other misc supplies, maybe another 100. Then tools like angle grinder, drill, cutoff wheel probably 200-300. I already had those though, so it's hard to guess the total cost.

[@dirtbikesandstuff6469]

@@6thGearGarage okay thank you panels in Europe now are 35$🤣🤘 i Will definetly start doing mine but mine has a rusty floor

[@6thGearGarage]

@@dirtbikesandstuff6469 Good deal! I'm currently replacing the rusty floors in a Toyota... it's a long job! I hope to have a video of the process in a couple of weeks.

[@Evbuscus1]

This both terrifies me and gives me hope. My '96 hatch has quite a bit of rust on the fender, but it looks like it might be much worse than I thought if it rusted like yours.

[@6thGearGarage]

Wi11owwo1f If you can find replacement rockers for the EK, that will make it a lot easier.

[@davebrittain9216]

Very good video!

[@lucaspizza9614]

Do u know if hatch rear quarter panel fit on a coupe

[@6thGearGarage]

It will need to be modified at the rear because the coupe is longer, but the wheel opening is the same.

[@axelmoiseslaham452]

Nice work

[@6thGearGarage]

Thanks!

[@acespades2486]

Does the hb panels work with the 92-95 coupe

[@6thGearGarage]

They can work but they will need to be modified after the wheel opening.

[@JT-un7dc]

Will these quarters work on the 2dr coupe? My old EF hatch died from Ohio rust.

[@6thGearGarage]

93-5 coupe are longer between the wheel and tail light. So you would have to modify these to work bu cutting off the light opening.

[@JT-un7dc]

@@6thGearGarage thanks, for replying. I can only find wheel arc quarters for the hatchback or 4r sedans. Having trouble finding anything for the 2dr ex model.

[@lachezarsofronov4861]

i got really big problem on my eg.. i dont have where to tighten my left Rear Trailing Arm Bushing because of the rust... my body is rusty crap just tell me is it there a way to fix that problem... does somebody done it already? im searching for months the whole internet and i cant find anyting.. PLEASE HELP ASAP!

[@rileypaterson7117]

Hell yeah dude throwback lol

[@Kuuj0]

How much do you think this kind of thing would cost at a body shop for just one rear corner?

[@6thGearGarage]

Hard to say, it's been 15 years since I got a quote for any body work. I'd guess $500+ to do it the right way, cutting out and welding in new metal. That's not including any paint work. Then again, I could be off. If you get some quotes, I'm interested in what they're charging.

[@Kuuj0]

@@6thGearGarage Yeah at the moment I’m tossing up to get it done or just sell and get a new one that doesn’t need it done. I’ll have to get some quotes and see. I’ll let you know how it goes :)

[@111soreal]

What did you use to seal the wheel well

[@6thGearGarage]

I used 3m seam sealer

[@oscartorres2026]

Great video

[@lindsey5794]

dude you’re awesome

[@mariopic]

pluging thoes holes in rockers is better and use newer 02 si 3dr skirt clips there held on with 3m adheasive and fit eg skirts

[@6thGearGarage]

Good to know, thanks!

[@jaym2316]

I have a 92 civic si ,, I need to do this ,I don’t want to pay so much to fix at shop both side get bad have drivin the car in 4 years

[@57577566475]

How much does it cost for a garage to do the work?

[@eyoboyeegaming1187]

Fax how much?

[@TK42138]

Nice work!

[@hubalahu]

Wow the frame was rusted too?

[@6thGearGarage]

The civic does't have a frame, that was just the rocker panels. They're not as bad as a rusting frame.

[@leopaulevans7573]

Wah size sheet metal did u used

[@6thGearGarage]

For the rocker panels? I was a little thicker than the quarter panel metal... maybe 14 ga.

[@CluelessEngineer]

Good video

[@aprilpsycho113]

Much love and respect for such a detailed guide!

[@bigrod0069]

very nice job man, that rust sure sucks, now they wanna get rid of gas vehicles, so they use liquid salt, it really ruins our cars fast, what a shame, really like the finished project tho, hard work really paid off!

[@CRXJDM88]

For some odd reason the EG always rust really bad worst then other civics dont no why tho I had an eg and had to full the hole left back quarter panel with Bondo no other choice as I don't have a welder or the right tools

[@6thGearGarage]

Yep, EK's do much better. EG's don't stand a chance in winters.

[@CRXJDM88]

@@6thGearGarage I got a 96 civic sadan with 0 rust that I bought for 300

[@bap7100]

I know your pain I live in NYS and are winter's suck and the cars here are all rusty

[@funnypoint111]

Hello good day from Peru, I also want to repair both sides of my civic I lost them in an accident so I have nowhere to get a model, could you share the mold measurements please, thank you!

[@6thGearGarage]

Eduardo Vásquez sorry I no longer own this car.

[@JJMMAN2002]

Does any 1 know where to get Honda prelude quarter panels

[@chvydrptop]

What did you use to grind your welds smooth?

[@6thGearGarage]

I used an electric grinder. You can see it in the video at 1:34.

[@aaronmoura1158]

Does this work for a 2 door coupe ? 1993

[@6thGearGarage]

It's similar but the area between the back wheel and rear bumper is different.

[@aaronmoura1158]

6th Gear Garage so aggravated lmfao I look up the part and all it comes up is hatchback this hatchback that no coupes it’s like wtf

[@qwikpanda5518]

So how much for you to repair my rear quarter panel on my eg 😅

[@6thGearGarage]

I did this almost 20 years ago when I was just learning body work. I bet I'd be a lot faster now... but I still wouldn't want to do this job again unless I had to.

[@CookedTickabc]

The ej8 coupes didn't have as bad of a rust problem

[@6thGearGarage]

Yeah I've noticed that... the hatches got it the worst. Del Sol too.

[@CookedTickabc]

@@6thGearGarage I'm redoing a bad body work job that came evident after taking the car through an auto car wash so I have to cut the quarter and redo it because it was all dented metal and they bonded over it

[@6thGearGarage]

@@CookedTickabc I've seen bondo 1/2 thick on a Del Sol I parted out once. Some people shouldn't be allowed to do bod work!.

[@0371998]

Do you know an American shop Who sell quater, and things like that. In Canada we have nothing.

[@6thGearGarage]

I’ve seen them on eBay.

[@0371998]

@@6thGearGarage ok thx a lot !

[@nastilyasperated2215]

Love from ohio

[@6thGearGarage]

The first person to reply to this comment is getting free Civic-EG stickers in the mail :D

[@stefany2618]

6th Gear Garage sweet video!

[@6thGearGarage]

Stefan Y that was fast! Send me an email with your address: [e-mail] 👍

[@ernesto18guanaco]

This was an amazing description. Very detailed did you paint the car also if so what did you use

[@6thGearGarage]

@@stefany2618 Hey I haven't heard from you yet... lmk about the stickers!

[@6thGearGarage]

@@ernesto18guanaco I actually painted it with aerosol paint. civic-eg.com/pics/members/teal_dx/2010/DSC_7252sm.jpg

[@Coffeeandghosts1258]

How much does all this cost

[@6thGearGarage]

The repair panels were only about $40 each.

[@Coffeeandghosts1258]

@@6thGearGarage yeah I have a 1994 Honda Civic DX and my back panels are really bad on my front panel seem to be perfect I don't know why these back panel is go bad or rust like that on these cars

[@6thGearGarage]

@@Coffeeandghosts1258 It all starts with the spot welds. They're used all around the wear wheel opening. Moisture/salt gets to them and it's only a matter of time before the rust gets bad enough to create a bubble in the paint. By that point it's already worse on the inside of the panel than it appears on the outside. Also some japanese vehicles of the 80's-90's used lower grade / thinner steel than say a german car.

[@noksu_krx1933]

My crx needs needs new quarter panels..

[@suspendedhatch]

My CRX needs a whole new CRX.

[@georgebrandt541]

i did this fix

[@unclereyofficial]

*Dip the tip of the bit*

[@rileypaterson7117]

I just made a joke yesterday about how my video's are like a 2006 slideshow lol

[@6thGearGarage]

home built cars nothing wrong with a slide show 👍 I'd rather see that than some dude shaking the camera like 3 cups of coffee deep.

[@rileypaterson7117]

@@6thGearGarage ahaa true ima get a tripod

[@unclereyofficial]

Uncle Rey

[@mohsinjamil9049]

My 99 civic coupe is clean on the outside but rotten on the underside rears 😭😭

[@toptip786]

Chrome wheels looked a lot better

[@nicolyaee3286]

Upppp

[@nicolyaee3286]

Nice work

[@PNguyen802]

What size welding wire did u use?

[@6thGearGarage]

I think it was .025 wire.