my vx is rusting...
 

I bought a nice looking vx with 140,000 miles. All things considered its in great condition. Except I see rust bubbles under the paint all of the sudden... in typical spot over rear wheels. I truly love this car. I want to fix this asap. I know how, I just don't have the tools. I can even do a bit of welding! Anyone near virgina have access to a welding machine, grinder and cutter? I can pay you a bit for the trouble. I'm not a Honda punk. I'm a student studying sustainability and engineering. This car is my lifestyle. My dog and gear go in the back. We go out to the world. And as little gas as possible goes into the tank. I would love to take this baby past the 500k mile mark!
Anyway, figured I'd ask around the community.
Thanks everyone.
PS. Other spots look fine so i know it isn't too late.

What exactly is a Honda punk lol

But if its just surface rust most shops can soda blast it and paint it for not to much or do it your self with a rust converter a little sanding you can buy a harbor freight paint gun and paint it your self

You should be able to just get some sanding sponges and a wire wheel and clean it up enough to maybe put a skim coat of filler on it and repaint. If the paint has just recently started bubbling, and the rust didn't start from the inside, there's a good chance it hasn't started rotting yet.

Before you get too jumpy about it, get yourself a good can of primer and try to clean it up. If you find that there are rotted spots, clean 'em out really nice down to bare metal, and you can remove the panels in the trunk, put duct tape over the holes from the inside and use body filler in that way, too.

If the holes are more than quarter sized, it's best to tack in new metal, then skim coat it and paint it up.

If you do end up using bondo or other filler, never put it over rust or on to bare steel! it has to be over primed or pained steel, bondo can hold water and is like putting a wet sponge on the bare steel, same with any kind of fiberglass resin.
Grind away the rust, clean it, prime it then fill it, or just paint it so you can tell right away if it's rusting again.

Pull the 1/4 panel interior trim so you can get to the inside of the rusted areas. Remove every speck of the existing rust. Use Marine Tex for a filler, it's waterproof. Then go around the wheel arch on the inside and use a good sealer to seal off the area from future rust. Never use bondo to fix rust, it's not meant for that purpose.

I used to weld up and repair rust like you are describing, and I have fixed a heck of a lot worse that that including structural repairs, but I am old and sold my shop and gave my MIG welder to my friend to use in his shop.

regards
Mech

Hey thanks for all the advice. I appreciate it tons! This all sounds like my best choice for now. If I sand and scrub, then find excessive rust I'll have to let everyone check out the pics. I think as a short term fix I could find a cutter and adhesive the 1/4 panel on there until I find a welder.
And the Honda punk thing was just a gag meaning, I'm not "that guy" with the loud car that speeds through your neighborhood and is just looking for a freebie without the work involved. Or something of that nature.
Thank you all! My next day off will be spent accessing those panels from inside and out. I'll check the rocker panels too (i think thats what they are called)

If your not able to get to the tools you need right away a cheep rust converting primer like Rust Destroyer Rust007 - Rust Destroyer sold at hardware stores will buy you some time and when you do go to do all the bodywork for real, treating all the rust spots that you end up filling with a good rust converter from an autobody supply will help to keep this from happening again.

In San Diego there's a program that teaches occupational skills at night in the high school shop classes; its called ROP (Regional Occupational Program). I spent three years in their autobody class and this is the best place I've found to work on my cars; they have all the latest tools/equipment/industry knowledge and its all free. If you have something like this in your area I'd highly recommend looking into it.

Also, how'd it go finding the stock intake for your car? I know what you mean by "honda punk." Nothing but trouble.

Yea I purchased something similar to the rust destroyer. With mine u give the area a light sand then spray it on. It stops rust and applies a 2 in 1 flat black paint primer as well. I used it under the doors above the door sills where rust was forming as a result of rubbing. I also used it for some random bolts, nuts n brackets under the hood.

I think when i sand down the rear panels I'm gonna also use that. Then primer. Then seal. Then paint.

In regards to the intake. My friendhas a dx that is getting a full cold air intake. He's gonna hand over the stock dx. I'm hoping it'll b better for some low rpm power at least over the advanced auto intake. If not, the filter box should b damn close, so i thought about getting dimensions of vx tube and making one from PVC to attach to intake box.

My '97 Civic had the rust at the quarter panel joint by the left rear wheel. I started sanding away the rust, ended up with a hole in the steel. Just FYI, I think there's a good chance that's what you'll find. Once you clean away all the rust you can paint + Bondo, or you can weld it.

I like the advice to clean from the inside also by removing the interior panel. BUT I think at least in my '97 Civic it's a "chamber", you can't get to it from the other side. Yours is the generation before mine, maybe you can get to the back side of it.

FYI- Most Civics have an issue with the above mentioned by brucepick, not sure if it is the same issue but, it could be caused by the drain behind the gas fill door. If it gets clogged, you get rust, (usually starts close to the fill door) so make sure that drain stays clear. Just a heads up, as I've seen this more than once on your model.
Sorry no help on the equip as I am nowhere near you, nor do I have those tools.