POR-15 Rust Preventative

[SKFengineer]

Has anyone used POR-15 on the frame of their truck? Were the results good? Should I consider a different solution or is POR-15 worth the time?

I don't have cancerous rust just looking to protect the old frame, curious about some general thoughts.

Thanks all.

[dwcsr]

I've always used Rustoleum bare metal primer and top coated with Rustoleum Semi gloss black if its nor bare metal use an product like Ospho to convert what rust is there , degrease and paint with the Semi gloss

[pvienneau]

I used POR 15 on frame and I am satisfied. Top coated with rustoleum black hammered.

[SKFengineer]

I too have always been a rustoleum guy. I was prepared to do that on this truck and I had a friend from a body shop tell me I should look at POR-15.

I will have the engine out of the truck this winter and there is some light surface rust I want to treat and then paint black. Some time next year I'll have the bed off and I want to do the same thing back there.

I'm going to do some further research on the POR-15 but I was just curious to hear what others have done.

Thanks

[dwcsr]

I never tried POR because of the mixed reviews. I didn't see any advantage on clean metal for the added expense. If you not blasting the frame and not de-rusting it then POR may be the way to go.

This may be useful
http://forums.off-road.com/jeep-shor...years-use.html

[my56chevytruck]

I've used POR15 on a 1985 Dodge truck painted bumper years ago, and within I'd say a year, it began to blister and the rust began to return. I sanded down the area and used Rustoleum and painted over and never saw the rust again.

[50dude]

ive used it on two different frames very happy with it so far

[franken]

POR (paint over rust) is a rust encapsulator. If you clean off the rust, there's no reason to use it. Its also not meant as a topcoat. You need to paint over it w/ something else.

[b-mac]

I too, was torn but ended up using POR on my frame. I stripped all could to bare metal, but you've always got some rust left somewhere. But, because I had bare metal in most places, I used their prep spray, as recommended. I did etch the metal, (much like ospho) but it left a lot of the white powdery film on the metal (much like ospho). Apparently this is due to moisture... You can clean it off, but the more you clean, the more it seems to reappear. The instructions on the prep say it's fine and to paint over it. Which I did. But it seems to have left some brush marks in the POR. I used the Satin black. I haven't decided whether to paint over it or now, though I probably should, or it will chalk on me. But the frame shouldn't see never much daylight.

Anyway, I feel I've heard more good things than bad. Mine hasn't left the garage yet, so I can't tell you how it preforms over time. I've got some pics of the back half. The bare metal picture are after the prep. You can tell in the sunlight pic that the metal has an etched look to it.

There are 100s of threads asking this question all over the web.

[Foot Stomper]

Originally Posted by b-mac

There are 100s of threads asking this question all over the web.

If not 100's, then 10,000's.

I think this topic may rival the "what kind of oil do you guys use?".

In short, the ONLY thing to put on bare steel is epoxy primer. Doesn't matter which brand or what you put on top of it because it's the only coating designed for a true anti-corrosion, chip resistant finish. Nothing on the planet is better than any epoxy.

If you decide against an epoxy coating, just know you are not getting the best result possible.

[vintovka]

Originally Posted by Foot Stomper

In short, the ONLY thing to put on bare steel is epoxy primer. Doesn't matter which brand or what you put on top of it because it's the only coating designed for a true anti-corrosion, chip resistant finish. Nothing on the planet is better than any epoxy.

If you decide against an epoxy coating, just know you are not getting the best result possible.

What the $100,000+ restorers use.

[b-mac]

Originally Posted by Foot Stomper

If not 100's, then 10,000's.

I think this topic may rival the "what kind of oil do you guys use?".

In short, the ONLY thing to put on bare steel is epoxy primer. Doesn't matter which brand or what you put on top of it because it's the only coating designed for a true anti-corrosion, chip resistant finish. Nothing on the planet is better than any epoxy.

If you decide against an epoxy coating, just know you are not getting the best result possible.

So if you don't sandblast, how do you get all of the rust out of all of the spots, like the inside of the frame, at cross-member points? (or even if you do blast)
And if you do have a little rust left in those spots, how does the epoxy handle that? I understand that if you get everything sealed under a perfect layer of epoxy, then it can't rust any further, but I don't know if you could ever get every nook and cranny.
I'm not trying to be a d1ck, I'm truly curious. I debated this issue with myself for a long time. Since I couldn't blast, I decided to go with POR on the frame. I do plan to do epoxy (DP40) on the inside of the cab. But there is no-doubt rust in some unseen areas in there too.
And while I'm asking questions, how do you feel about bed liner and/or undercoating over epoxy? I'm considering bedliner on my floorboard, and possibly underside of the cab.

[ranger danger]

I've used POR 15 on lots of projects. It always worked well for me. I've tried Rustoleum a few times as well. I'm not much of a fan due to the drying time being around 7-10 days.

[Lo1dakota]

I used a product call Rustshield from SEM. I sandblasted the frame and it states it can be used on bare metal. So far I'm happy. Plus it costs less than POR-15

[Guyz55]

Has anyone used KBS products

[SKFengineer]

I sort of figured there would be tons of threads all over talking about POR15, thanks for bearing with me and answering my question anyhow. I have a few trucks and the one is a full fun, nice weather cruise night truck that will get the frame ground down to bare metal and painted. The second truck is more of a driver that has no rot or cancer rust but has some light surface rust. I don't want to go bananas doing a frame off so I just plan to coat the spots I can get to as I do various projects, ie: pull the motor, pull the bed next year etc. It's the driver that I'm thinking of the POR15, thanks for the replies and if I learn anything new I'll share it here.

- George

[Foot Stomper]

b-mac your questions are very valid so continue to ask away.

If you clean with a wire brush, sandpaper or other mechanical method the goal is to remove any scaling and/or loose material. If you take a paint scraper and can get rusty crap to scrape off, then more scraping is required until you can't get anymore to come off. You might still see rusty spots or areas and that's ok as long as it's clean as I have described. At this point, go ahead and prime with epoxy as this is an acceptable surface to allow the epoxy to do it's job.

Think of it this way, if you have scaling or dirt or other crap that you can rub or wipe or scrape off, then anything you apply to this debris is only going to fall off with the coating.

Tight corners and around rivets and such are OK, so long as you get the loose crap out. Getting the epoxy into those areas can be tricky so a brush or finger blob may be required.

I'm not a fan of bedliner for any purpose outside of bedliner. It's not a "cure all" and is far more expensive than epoxy/urethane paint coating system. There's no harm in using it over an epoxy but serves no real benefit in my opinion. Lots will use it in the applications you describe and that's fine. My frame off restoration is not getting any bedliner anywhere.

What epoxy does not allow is "rust creep" around an injured area. We've all seen a rusty bubble under paint. This is the result when an epoxy coating was not used. The injury itself may rust if the epoxy is chipped or scratched off but it won't spread. This is the magic or epoxy. All other coatings will bubble and spread.

[dsraven]

I redid a 79 ford 4x4 for a friend. it was always noisy in the cab. he was a big outdoors kinda guy and used his truck like a real truck. not abused but really used. when he was done a hunting or offroad trip he just used the garden hose or the car wash inside on the floors. needless to say we redid the floors and after we epoxied the whole truck in the process of rebuilding. when it was all painted and cured he had the box and the floor, from the pedals all the way around to below the back window, sprayed with rhino liner. it was laid in on the floor so thick the floor was smooth-no ribs showing. after that the truck was waaaay quieter and easy to spray the mud out. he loved it. the box did start to show some colour fade over time though, just something to consider. also, I think the spray liner in a can from the hardware store is not even close to the real box liner that is a chemical reaction (I assume because of the heat, or maybe they cook it?) and that is why the paint MUST be cured before application-it gets quite hot during the process.
footstomp is right, in my opinion. if you don't take the whole truck apart and blast every piece then you just gotta be smart and do what you can with what you got. you can't reach everything. epoxy sticks like s@$t to a blanket so it will stop any spots from getting bigger. attention to detail will need to be a priority on those sort of areas where you can't get behind a cross member overlap etc. spray more on in those areas or use a brush or another method like the finger bad. I have seen por15 chip off a lower door area so on a frame it may suffer from rock chips (at least in Calgary it would, any time of the year)
footstomper, I sent you a pm the other day, did you get it?

[roger55]

I can't think of even one good reason to choose POR15. However, I can think of several reasons not to.
Epoxy primer all the way.

I used SPI epoxy primer for mine:
I did the first coat in gray and the second in black. It's easier to get even coverage on the second coat that way.

Blasted and ready for primer:



After first coat of SPI epoxy:



After second coat. Done. No need to topcoat. It looks perfect and just like chassis black: