Body shop for rocker panel rust holes
 

So i have at least 7 holes running across the driver and passenger side rocker panel. Every where else is rust free. The holes vary from small to half a fist size. I was hoping it would cost minimum of 500 to do a cheap and decent fix, however i heard from someone that its around 2000 minimum...

Anyone have any insight on experience they like to share or recommendation of a body shop with cheap prices?? I was thinking of bringing it down to VCC but im hesitant to let other students mess around with my car + it would probably take a month until i get it back. Also another option is fiberglass + bondo, but i have absolutely no experience on that.

If you have tiny rust holes and want something done fast - spray rust converter on the inside/outside, put some short strand fiberglass on some wax paper and stick it on the inside so it fills the hole - then apply a bit of bondo on the surface and sand down. This is by no means a professional or permanent solution, but it can be done for $30 by yourself

If your budget allows you can get shops to weld in a replacement rocker patch panel (if it's available for your car). Doing proper bodywork is very time consuming if you don't have the tools and experience.

The holes range from small to half a fist size. For rocker panels, im not sure how to even access the holes from inside. I do believe there are replacement rocker panels so that can be another option.

Replacing a rocker is expensive, two is very pricy. Getting it done professionally is always time consuming and expensive. Doing it yourself will never be a 100% fix but it works to your satisfaction and budget

I know this is gonna affect my studying habits. Its gonna be in the back of my mind everyday until i do something about it. I've already tried por 15 on the rust but now the holes are the main concerns. I really dont want it to start rusting inside. Im guessing no putty can overlap the hole without some sort of reinforcement?

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Have you tried melatonin? I used to be awake all night worrying about my rocker panels until I tried it.

If you don't give a shit about the car, fiberglass.

If you give a shit about the car, replace rocker panel properly.



If it were mine, I'd rip the rocker panel off and buy a new one, patching it is just temporarily preventing the inevitable.

Depends what car you have OP... most decent body shops will charge around $1000+ for that level of work, as a good shop would typically wire wheel all the paint off, cut out all the rust, and weld in new metal. Or weld in a new rocker panel.

If $1000 is too much for you (can't blame you) I just fixed the rust on my AE86 fenders (non-structural) by grinding away the flaking bits, applied rust converter to the rest, fibreglassed the hole, and put fiberglass-reinforced "kitty hair" body filler, sand sand sand, finishing putty, sand sand sand, prime + paint and it looks pretty damn good for about $100 in supplies. If you are not planning on a concours-level repair just DIY it until it looks good. We live in Vancouver, rust is inevitable especially if you winter drive your car...

^will try that next summer on my winter beater. How has it held up for you so far?

Yup, ran to lordco and bought the supplies. Its pretty easy to fiberglass the small holes, however I ran into a problem on the 2nd last hole.

Below picture isnt mine, but it an idea of how my car structure looks. The hole runs across from the bottom rocker panel to the fender. Notice that there is a split between the two. What are my options when using fiberglass? I dont want to use one whole strand across the bottom two and cause water to be trapped down there causing further rust. If i cut the fiber glass into two separate pieces, i wont be able to close the ends in the split which also lets water in.

http://bostonmacosx.dyndns.org/cabby/rustpic2.jpg

Grind the existing rust away, POR-15 it first, then use 2 pieces of fibreglass one for each "side" of the seam. Eventually yes that spot will rust, but POR-15 (or any rust converter, really) will mitigate that for a long time. Make sure you get lots of overlap and seal it well with primer and paint.

Again, it's a DIY job... it will rust again, but it all depends how long you'll be keeping the car IMO.

doing it cheap as the shop name states:

They are rusting from the inside out. fiberglass and bondo will look good for a year then it will bubble back out. secondly rust is forming on connecting panels from the inside as well rust that you cant see or stop if you dont open it up and repair it properly. Ive seen plenty of hondas go from a loonie sized rust hole ignored or fiberglassed up to being rotten wrecks within two years. If you love your car and can afford it, fix it right and fix it right away.

No way of telling, as I just did this a couple of weeks ago. I also did a similar job to the inner rear wheel well of my winter beater Civic this year.

That being said, the buddy who taught me this admittedly "ghetto" rust repair technique has shown me the result of a repair he did 2 years ago on his rear fender and it looks flawless. With that in mind, he takes his car to Esso every couple of weeks to thoroughly spray the vehicle and underbody (including wheel wells)...

Like I said above, I wouldn't do this to a car I want to restore, or even a track car or "fun car". But for a winter beater it's more than adequate