janders111

So as many of you might know, the long rubber trim that covers the pinch weld on the inside of our fenders is known to hold water against the pinch weld and cause rust.
This is a problem on most Hondas and Acuras.
My 02 is getting rust in this area. Leaving the trim causes rust because it holds water against the metal, but removing it can make it prone to rock chips, which also causes rust.

Solution?

1. Some people fill it with grease, but I just don't want to do that.
2. I was thinking of masking the area off, applying silicone, putting the trim back on over the silicone, and then removing the masking tape.
3. I could also use 3m trim adhesive instead of silicone,
4. or just paint over the pinch weld with black POR15, and leave the trim off. Not sure how that would look.

On my Lexus, they applied a thick layer of something like seam sealer, but harder, and did not use any trim. But that would have to be done with a machine to make it look nice.

Any thoughts?

zeroptzero

I took the rubber strips off when I got my 02 ap1 to prevent rusting. I cleaned up both sides of the metal arch, and then coated it in rubberized rockerguard - black. You can mask off the area and spray it on, I actually rolled it on with a foam paint roller which was easier and cleaner. I covered both sides of the metal. The reason I chose rubberized rocker guard was to protect from stone chips while also reducing rust damage. I think I did some paint touch ups on the metal lip before I coated it in rocker guard.

It looked great when I was done, protected for years without issues. If you buy the spray can version you can spray it into some plastic paint tray and then use a roller to apply, or you can buy the product in liquid form (non-aerosol) and pour it into paint tray.

starchland

Do not use silicone

B serious

POR-15 is a fantastic idea.

Top-coat it with something durable (it isn't UV light stable)...but avoid rubber under coating type paints.

I would remove the rubbers, thoroughly clean the area, POR it, and then top coat with black paint and a 2K clear.

Obviously, you'll need to mask properly....

Billman250

In my experience, the rubber strips do not cause rust on the S2000. I get the worry here too as the Accords were famous for that. I’ve seen some badly corroded S2000s (rusted components, aluminum salting) yet the body structure/frame is always rust free. They did a great job with body protection here.

Removing the rubber strips also opens up the body to sandblasting from the tires, which can cause rust.

POR15 is badass and definitely couldn’t hurt to put a coat in there.

TsukubaCody

When I bought my car it had rubber strips, rust all underneath them.

The rubber strips cause rust. Always have on every Honda.

The King

The rubber strips don't cause the rust, but they trap crap that cause the rust. The only time they would "cause" the rust is if the rubber coating is compromised, and then the metal inside the strips start to rust.

janders111

same here.

TsukubaCody

If something causes the trapped moisture/junk that causes rust....that thing causes it.

The King

Nope, not cleaning the crap out causes it.