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POR-15 users...a few questions

5K views 12 replies 8 participants last post by  Dave R 
#1 ·
I'm preparing to coat the underside of my 63 Fairlane 4 door and was looking at the POR15. I noticed a lot of you say you've done it but where did you stop? Did you guys do the entire engine bay with it or stop somwehere down below view and stary painting there on up?

Did you guys use their other 2 cleaners and prep chemicals with it? I see the gallons on E-bay for $130 and am wondering what all I need to add to that to get the car finished. Is a gallon enough for my car or will it be spread too thin?

I'd love to hear your experiences and see some finished products if anyone cares to share pics.

Thanks
Dave
 
#3 ·
Dave,
If you're new to it, a gallon would be enough to do a Navy Destroyer, imho, lol.
I bought one of Eastwood's POR-15 sample kits, did ALL the rust (altho not much there) on the frt floorboards of my '64, and still have enough in that teeny can to do more. Plus, I did generous multiple coats. The Marine Clean and Prep they send along are surprisingly plenty, to be honest, but if you have a well stocked b/shop supplier nearby, you can find similar prep products (I don't so I just went with their stuff). If you buy just the sampler the color choices are slim, but the next size up you can buy the silver (which has more "stuff" in it for fill-in and is more like cream of mushroom soup, haha). Even at pint size, the cleaners go a long ways, so don't need big jugs of it.

If you happened to read on these forums that you should apply a layer of wax paper under the lid before resealing the can -that IS sound advice, as the lid will literally weld itself to the can if you don't.

Another tidbit I learned is to buy good self-etching primer if you wanna apply paint over it --or, if you time it right, you can apply standard primers on it while it's tacky and the primer will bite in. Then paint whatever you want over that -the primer acts as a sealer to support the paint.

The rest of my advice concerning use is the same for any toxic/flammable product (good ventilation, gloves, long sleeve shirt, no smoking, etc).

I agree that I would NOT wanna look at POR-15 above the frame eye-line, ie; on wheel wells, upper control arms, firewall, etc. ...plus, POR-15's "kryptonite" is UV, so it needs to stay in the dark away from direct sunlight exposure, or get some kind of top-coat on it. Hence, if you are prone to showing off your under-hood at a show ....well there ya go.

Have fun with it! Norm
.........Did you guys use their other 2 cleaners and prep chemicals with it? I see the gallons on E-bay for $130 and am wondering what all I need to add to that to get the car finished. Is a gallon enough for my car or will it be spread too thin?

I'd love to hear your experiences and see some finished products if anyone cares to share pics.

Thanks
Dave
 

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#6 · (Edited)
My opinions:

Don't buy over a quart.
Don't open the lid.
Buy some cheep clear tubing at the hardware store, a little larger than your biggest Phillips screwdriver, punch 2holes in the lid, push ends of a 6" length of tubing loop to 'close' it. If you open the can, humidity in the air will jell it up overnight, even if only open a minute( in ohios muggy air anyway). Pull out one end of the loop, pour a little bit into a plastic flexible container, brush it on(harbor freight sells cheep chip brushes that work fine). When done, leave brush in the leftover paint-next day pull it out in a chunk, it don't stick to plastic. I had a can last 2 yrs by pouring this way, was the only can I actually was able to use all of before it jelled up :)

Remember, por don't stick to paint. As far as their prep, IMO 'Ospho' brand at ace hardware is just as good at pretreating rust... They're both phosphoric acid, all they do is convert iron oxide to iron phosphate, which stops rust pretty well on its own, but also gives incredible bite to any paint...por over it and you'll need a grinder to get it off.

Por looks like crap if the sun hits it...within months it's like charcoal, stops rust, but ugly...their "chassis black" bites onto the por, and it's a nice flow out semigloss, think I used 2 qts on the entire frame and underhood area, still looks good 8 yrs later, I'd guess it was closer to 3 qts of the por actually on the car, but I know I ruined at least that much to jelling before thinking about the tubing thing...

Last thing- it is the absolute messiest stuff you will likely ever touch. One drop on your shirt, will wick out over your entire chest and stay for at least weeks, it don't wash off. Drip it on concrete, it's there forever. Brush it over painted areas, it will curl/peel up in days...it's weird- not 'paint' but moisture cured urethane, with phosphoric acid or something in it to make it somewhat self etching... Neat stuff, but needs over coated to look good, and for goodness sake, wear goggles/rubber gloves if opening/piercing the can.

Every time, careful as I could be, I somehow still wound up with this crap all over my hands for weeks... :)

Start out with a small can- it's amazing how far it goes.

For some pics, these a bunch here, underhood stuff towards last pages I think...everything black is por/chassis black except the engine block/intake manifold:
http://s301.photobucket.com/albums/nn78/ford4v429/galaxie/
 
#8 ·
I think you have perfected using the stuff there Ford4V429. That's some great tip talk there. I am researching lizard skin, the Silver bullet and POR 15 among others. I'd like to have something that looks clean and nice for a long time and that might be painting over whatever I do.

Thanks guys.

Dave
 
#9 ·
I havent tried the other stuff yet, but will eventually...POR has held up great so far. I love their tank sealer, but like everything these days seems kinda expensive.

Eastwood rust encapsulator and rust bullet or whatever sound better than POR for some stuff- I dont like how POR wont take to paints, and their 'tie coat primer' is about as expensive as the paint, the worst thing is the mess...

I bought a gallon of sherwin-williams industrial coatings (oil based paint) for pretty reasonable, think for 99% of stuff, that over scuffed paint and Ospho treated bare steel is more than adequate, and even though brushable, it flows out nice, looks good... roll-on bedliner stuff has several options too, the 'rubberized' stuff is clumpy, kinda ugly compared to paint...forget the brand (but it was in a blue can?) but its more of a brushable gel, I kinda like it for wheelwells and such, got about a half gallon of that under my 06 mustang, and a bunch of thick sherwin williams stuff...

I wont doubt properly applied POR would last as long as anything else out there, but not being able to put it over paint without adhesion concerns is a negative for sure. I'm sure theres stuff better for mixed/bare parts- if smoothness isnt a huge concern, the roll-on bedliner is maybe best option in my opinion, just watch, has a lot of xylene in it- too thick it will krinkle up the paint under it and create more work...

its pretty amazing how far brush on coatings have came for sure- but man is it getting expensive. I called to get a price on PPG deltron or concept 2000 urethane clear, its now over $400 a gallon- plus reducer/hardener!

good luck, please share what your impressions are of whatever you go with :)
Tim
 
#11 ·
I'd say use the POR-15 over rust under the hood, but top coat it. The engine bay is not going to get much, if any, direct sunlight to cause UV exposure problems. I used POR-15 in some areas on my car and top coated most areas with Dupli-color semi-gloss black. I am happy with the outcome.
 
#12 ·
I agree with about everything said here...the re-seal part to make it last is tuff, I use a mason jar keeps it from hardening up during long storage, not that it was asked here but I also use it for keeping permatex from hardening up also, think about how many times you've gone to grab that old tube off the shelf and squeeze and nothing comes out! so you cut the tube use what you use and chuck the rest..I hate waste!
 
#13 ·
I know what you mean about the permatex. I hate when I don't leave a little out of the top to pull out and have it work like it's supposed to.

I'm going to get a quart and just do the underside. I'm going to have the bay painted wo match the car when I have it all done next year.

Thanks for the help guys.

Dave
 
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