POR-15 take 2

Nah, me and a few guys in the lab did some tests on the stuff a few years ago out of curiousity, we were working in a green chemistry lab so i suppose its relevent? Basically we just wanted to fuck around with the stuff lol.

 

Lol either way I appreciate the info. There is a ton of heresay and BS talk on multiple forums about the stuff with about zero consensus on what UV actually does to it. I’ve seen comments from UV just makes it look ugly to UV destroys it.

It’s easy enough to topcoat and that’s what I’ve done on any projects where I’ve used it.

 

Yeah if its poked away so only a bit of sunlight can get at it (some parts of the frame and other spots) it might just fade, but in direct sunlight it decomposes real quick, as op found out lol

 

Interesting stuff indeed.
Every time I go under my truck that surface rust is glaring at me. It's not event that bad but I'm really looking forward to dealing with it.

 

Just make sure you get rid of pretty much all the flakey crap. I just treated my 4Runner rear crossmember and took it down to at minimum flat rust with a wire wheel. Went back over it with 80 grit on both the rust areas and adjacent paint for better bite.

The only annoying thing is if you use their degreaser (which smells just like simple green and probably is) and the metal prep, they are both water based so you really need to then let the frame dry before actual POR15 goes on. I’ve always done about 2 hr between each coat (2 total for adequate coverage) and then hit it with a good spray paint topcoat while final coat is still tacky. I’ve used those cheapo foam paint sticks from HD or Lowe’s to apply the POR15. Goes on real smooth and evens out. Don’t need much for each coat.

Only issue I’ve had is getting the damn lids off the cans. They must contract the Hulk to force weld them on or something.

I wouldn’t plan on saving any for later either. It dries inside the can pretty fast unless you cover it with some plastic wrap. If you put the lid back on it will fuse and it’s no good.

Ymmv

 

Excellent tips! Thank you for taking the time to write that.

I'm going to be taking the bed off my truck to build a flat bed camper. Before I start that I'm gonna deal with the surface rust so at least the bed won't be in the way. And the truck isn't my daily driver so I can take my time with it.

I should be able to use all the paint I have. I have a quart but I also have to re-paint my auxiliary fuel tank and the frame work that holds it in place.

 

I just painted my sliders with high temp BBQ paint. Holds up really well.

(EDIT) Although, full disclosure, I do live in CA, where this is what happens to a frame after 6+ years of being completely unprotected from the environment:

 

Pretty much should use metal prep for por 15 to stick properly.On bare metal etches metal and on rusted metal leaves a coating on . Also a dust coat primer or paint before por15 dries. Once dry almost imposible to prep good for paint to stick .
Follow @JdevTac advice and alls good .

 

this is an interesting read and some good info, thanks for posting it

 

do you have any pics and info of how this is holding up 8 months later?

any scratches/chips pop up yet anywhere?

 

These pics are as of right now. I do travel a lot and work near the ocean but I’d like for it to last longer. No big deal to wire wheel them and throw another coat on there. I may try another product to see how it holds up.

 

did you apply a top coat on top of the POR-15?

 

Yep, the 1st time I did it, I didn’t put a top coat on and it’s started rusting through hence why the “take 2” post. This time after applying the por-15 I put two coats of OEM paint.

 

I gave my full experience with applying POR-15 to sliders here.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/tutorial-for-por-15-and-bedliner-coating-of-sliders.628414/

It's a lot of work to do it right, but once it's done, it works well.

 

do you think the coating is super thin like the Tacoma frame paint seems to be?

i have put 2 coats of extreme primer on parts of my frame and waiting to scuff and put a topcoat on when the weather gets warmer here.
it seems thick enough but maybe i should take a hammer to it and see if its junk primer and cracks easily

 

There is a rust converter called Enrust that my company use to let us use prior to painting any metal. Like POR-15 it has to be rusted prior to application. We stacked our boat for 9 months. Prior to that we were preparing to paint the entire engine room. There was a metal Union fitting that was rusted pretty bad. I cleaned it up pretty good and applied the Enrust. We just took the boat out of stack and I noticed the Union fitting was still black from the Enrust. It goes on white like milk and turns black by the chemical reaction of converting the rust. I think I’m going to try that.

 

Note: When applying the Enrust I did not put a primer/paint on it and it did not rust through. I’ll update this once I apply it

 

is that stuff fairly pricey?
i was just searching some similar items of the like and found one that is $100 a gallon lol

 

$27.50 a quart or $70 a gallon.

 

Also be careful when applying chemically activated encapsulators like Enrust- If the rust is deep and layered (flaking) it will seal the top and look good, but rust will still be working underneath. You still need to knock all the loose rust/scale/etc off.

https://www.permatex.com/products/s...r/body-interior-trim/permatex-rust-treatment/

I like it for quick stuff because you can get it in an aerosol can.