POR-15 Question

[m-11]

So I have my entire truck down to bare metal and I'm going to treat the frame, underside of cab, inside fenders, top and bottom of bed floor,inside of engine bay, battery box, and inside of cab under seats. I've been told this stuff goes along way and not to but more than you need for the job because it doesn't have a real long shelf life. Has anyone gone this route on their frame off restoration and if so, how many gallons did the job take?

[m-37Bruce]

I'm not sure I would even use it now that your down to bare metal? More than likely it will peel off in large sheets, it needs something to grab onto, like rust and older scuffed paint, if I'm wrong someone will chime in? I would do two shots of sanding red oxide primer, followed with glazing as needed quick sanding and shoot the OD of your preference.

[W_A_Watson_II]

Sticks well to properly prepared rusted steel, but not to smooth non-rusted metal.

[m-11]

According to their application information it states,"rusted surfaces are best; seasoned metal and sandblasted surfaces are also good. Surface must be dry and free of grease, oil, or other foreign substances." The only thing I'll have to do for surface prep is use their metal ready product to etch the metal so the product will adhere better.

[w30bob]

I've used POR-15 on a lot of bare metal surfaces without it ever coming off.........but there are people out there that claim it does. My definition of "bare metal" is sandblasted or glass beaded prior to applying the POR-15. I've also let freshly blasted metal sit out day or so to get a light flash rust on it's surface and then POR-15'd it. Is it better than an epoxy primer? I don't know. I can tell you that once you open the can of POR-15 you better plan on using it fairly quickly....meaning within a few weeks. That's assuming you can get the lid off the can the second time you try to use it. Definitely clean the lid and top of the can to perfection and then use some plastic wrap over the can before you put the lid back on. It sure does make amazing glue. It also does go a long way.......but plan on two coats, as it's very watery when you first open the can. Once it's been opened and sits on the shelf for a few days it's consistency improves, meaning it gets thicker. I buy it in the small six-pack of cans, this way you don't waste what you don't use. It's self leveling, so I've never sprayed it....only brushed it on.

regards,
bob

[W_A_Watson_II]

My frame was blasted and properly cleaned, but the good metal was only blasted enough to remove the paint, not rough up the surface. Everywhere the surface had been rusted or had rough surface texture it's still stuck. Only the clean smooth metal surfaces have peeled.

[RMS]

i will never use por15 again. I ruined one of my 510s by using poop15 on the floor pans, trunk and engine bay. brake fluid bubbled it on the fire wall. pulled the bat and the battery tray was covered with rust jacks under the poop15. with the recommended prep the tie coat still pealed off destroying the top coat. removing poop15 is hard. poop15 doesn't sand. painted my m43 frame with poop15 chassis paint and it lost its luster and chalked up in two years. traded the truck for some 4.89s so i wouldn't have to deal with restriping the frame

the only time poop15 should be used is on a small area of severely pitted steel never on a flat panel. if you decide to use it wear a full Hazmat suit. the voc's and methealetheal keytones absorbed through my skin and eyes when applying stole years from my life. but if you want to get high some might consider it good stuff.

[Snake River 4x4]

Use a paint brush and throw it away. You cannot get any paint in the groove of the paint can, I almost ruined a good paint gun using POR 15. It meeds to be cleaned throughly.

[m37jarhead]

I've used POR 15 and had poor results on parts of my M37 frame. I can see from the previous posts that
the reason the POR 15 started peeling off is probably due to improper preparation on my part. I just
wire brushed and sanded a few rusted areas. Some original paint flaked off to bare metal and I applied
the POR 15 over everything. So, maybe if I had followed the directions I would have had better results.
(If only I could read English )
Too late to try again. I used zinc oxide primer on the rest of the frame and top coated with black enamel.
Jerry

[retiredguy]

I used POR15 on my frame but mine was sandblasted first. With the rough surface of the metal after sandblasting the POR15 seemed to penitrate right into the pores of the metal. I had to remove some brackets off frame after so I chipped some POR15 off and what I found is that the metal itself was black like the POR15 soaked right in. I'm sure that I would have to grind the metal down to get back to raw steel if I wanted to remove it. So I found it worked for me.

[Doc Dave]

The only time I would consider it is if I did not have the time or money to blast and paint with enamel or urethane.
As someone else said, it does not adhere well to the metal, especially smooth metal. I noticed this when I had decided to blast my civilian PW frame down to bare metal. The previous owner had painted part of the frame with POR (the frame was rusted but wire brushed off, I think).
While blasting, it lifted off in sheets in some places, almost like a wax coating over the rusty metal. In other areas it was well adhered.
Before I chose a paint for my frame, I decided to do an experiment. I took two small metal parts, and blasted them down to bare metal. One part I sprayed with epoxy primer and then hardened urethane. The other part I painted with POR15.
I waited one week, then dipped both parts in hot lye water for 1 minute.
THe urethane painted part looked the same When I pulled it out. The POR part? It looked like it never had been painted, the POR was gone!
So, I decided to go with hardened urethane. The other good thing, I can repair it rather easily with scratches. On my M37 I have used hardened enamel on the frame.
I have POR on the tranny and so far so good, but again I think of it as a quick fix more than what is "the best".