Hi everyone, last week I just spotted a small spot of my door that's rusted after heavy rain. Upon closer look and bringing it into the workshop, I found out the rust was quite damaging.... especially the interior side of the door. I asked for a quote and they said $1000 to repair it (sanding the rust and repainting).

But they said the problem we continue to reoccur... any suggestions what I should do and is there any.... fixes to prevent the rust from spreading? They asked me to replace the entire door which will cost $2000 to permanently fix the problem...

Any help appreciated... here are some pictures.

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images...031600044.jpg/
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images...031600046.jpg/
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images...031600048.jpg/
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images...031600049.jpg/
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images...031600045.jpg/

 

I would look at a site like car-part.com to see if there are any wrecked TSXs with the same paint color as yours. Then you can swap out the door.

I haven't seen too many threads about rusted doors on the TSX, so maybe you will find one that has no rust. Replacing the door isn't really too difficult of a job.

You may want to look for a reason why water would lay up against the door that would cause it to rust. Is the seal not seated properly or possibly torn?

 

Seeing rust on the outer door skin screams "big trouble" to me. Both front doors on my '04 TSX had seam-area rust on them for years, and I finally attacked it back in the fall. So far, I'm happy with the results of what I did. When I saw the first couple of pictures here, I thought the OP's problem was just a more severe version of what I tried to deal with, but the photos showing outer-skin rust make it apparent that the rusting went unchecked for so long that the situation is bleak.
I urge other owners of first-gen TSXs, especially the oldest ones, to give their cars' doors a careful look. I doubt that rust in the seam area is an ultra-rare problem. (I'm pretty sure I've seen at least one other Acurazine post from an owner reporting door rust.)
As for what I did, well, I described it in a post on the Autopia car-detailing forum about a month ago. He's an edited-down version of what I wrote:

The car is a 2004 Acura TSX, which I've had since October 2003 (bought new), making this its ninth winter. I live in Massachusetts, so it's been subjected to the ravages of road salt, and those ravages wound up being primarily evident in the horizontal seams at the bottom of both front doors, down by the drain holes. The problem was worse on the passenger's side of the car: maybe a foot of rusty seam there, versus 6 or 8 inches on the driver's side. For a few years those sections of seam were just bumpy: there was obviously rust under the paint, but only in the last year or so did it break through, in places.
Back in November, I decided to attack the rust, and my approach was much like what the starter of this thread said he was thinking about trying. I already had a rust-conversion product and Eastwood's Rust Encapsulator, so I figured I ought to: use a wire brush to get rid of most of the rust, then apply the converter, then apply Encapsulator, then apply paint. That's what I did, and it turned out pretty well.
... (Instead of regular touchup paint) I used Rustoleum Gloss Black Protective Enamel, which was recommended to me by a local body shop operator, who thought it might be more protective and durable than automotive touchup paint. Because mine is a black car, and because the seams are largely out of sight, I didn't hesitate to go with the Rustoleum -- three coats, with light sanding between coats.
... I'm quite pleased with how it turned out. With the between-coats sanding, the paint is pretty smooth, and I think I achieved good coverage on the rusty areas. I hasten to point out that this winter -- crazy mild and pretty much snowless -- has kept the roads largely salt-free, so the durability of what I did certainly hasn't been put to a tough test. ... The body shop operator who gave me advice cautioned me early on in the process to be realistic -- to expect to have to redo the job every year or two. But it seems to have held up perfectly so far, so I'm thinking I might just get lucky and have it last for three or four years, and maybe even longer. (I'm probably jinxing myself with this optimism.)

 

Thanks alot RX280, as long I am able to continue driving my TSX as for atleast another 4 mores years because other than the rust I maintain my car in good condition such as maintenance.... but never even considered checking for rust. I guess I learned my lesson.

I will definitely try your method RX and wouldnt mind doing it every year if I am able to continue driving my car because its a beauty.

Thanks for your input.