I'm actually just making plans for your Christmas present for this year. They gonna be callin you "Tar Baby"!!!
I have been running an experiment on my truck with POR-15, and it is not going well. I had a small spot of rust appear on my bed on the side, behind the door. So I sanded down to metal, and put 2 coats of POR-15 on it, and wanted to see how it faded over time. About 2-3 years later, there is still no rust, but it has grayed a little, and just recently has started to crack, and I am pretty sure it will start to rust again. Keep in mind that this is AGAINST their instructions. You are supposed to add on top of rust, not bare metal, and it is supposed to be painted if in direct sunlight. I did not do either of these.
Well then. You lose your gov't grant privileges and you have go stand in the corner while the rest of the class gets to go out for recess.
let's see...you have a 2" round rust spot...you sand up to but not the rust spot, so you can prime the bare metal...do you tape off the rust spot and prime or tape off the bare metal and por-15? you don't want the por-15 on the bare metal...and don't want the primer on the rust spot. Rust Bullit can be applied to both surfaces... ......
I haven't seen any of these products work very well unless the rust area and surrounding metal were agressively sanded, ground, or sandblasted. You MUST remove the rust scale AND the surrounding metal needs a "tooth" for the paint to hold onto. The wire brush and pre-treatment chemicals work on light rust but not scale. Just like any other paint work....it's all in the prep. Also, I've always had better luck brushing the rust paint rather than spraying. If you want treated surfaces to come out glassy smooth then hit it with a coat of polyester primer to build the surface. Cleaver
here is my test subject...and pics. of my quarter repair... this was done by using Rust Bullit as a resin for the fiberglass mat that was put over the repair...2yrs. old... ...Frank...
POR-15 instructions are to either apply it directly over rust-scored surface, or if new metal, spray with water and wait a day or so then brush off loose rust powder, and paint POR-15 over it. I have sandblasted and sprayed with water, then come out the following day and painted POR-15. On items I have done that to, it works VERY well, and looks like powdercoated material. As strong as powdercoat also. I have done this on my monte bars, upper radiator mount, and painted the inside of the entire body inside doors, inside fenders, all those unpainted areas in our cars where the paint did not reach. (I didn't have to wet those areas because they already had that thin layer of surface rust that POR-15 loves to bond to. I know this seems counter-intuitive, but that is how they say to use it, and that is what has worked for me.) I will do my subframe connectors if I ever get it out of the garage and they get wet. They have only been out of the garage once and only for an hour on a clear dry cool day. On the other hand, places where I have sanded and painted the P15 without letting it rust, the paint has cracked and peeled off. Quite easily, actually. My two cents on the POR-15, with no money on the other products...I would like to have an opportunity to try them and see how they compare.
This is what most of the metal inside the panels looks like on my stock car. It is already "seasoned" an the POR-15 sticks to it VERY well. This is inside one of my doors, but it looks just like it inside the quarter panels etc. I have hit it all with POR-15, and since it has not exposure to the sun and elements, it should long outlive the life of the car.
On Terry's '77, we went over the whole trunk with a wire wheel on the end of a die grinder. We were left with some shiny bare metal, and some areas that had the slight pitting and discoloration of rust, but weren't really "rusty", if you know what I mean. We went over everywhere we wire wheeled with a rag dampened with Acetone to clean off any dust created by the wire wheeling. Brushed it on thick with a foam brush. It stuck very well to all surfaces.
another trick i have used to coat unseen areas is cold galvanizing compound. it comes in a spray form and can reach areas an arm can't. i always coat the back of fenders and doors with it and have yet to get rust coming up. it cannot be painted over very well tho so i only apply to unseen areas.( this is a welder friends trick to prevent rust). cost wise how does the por-15 compare to rust bullet and the eastwood product?
When I rebuilt the front suspension and switched to front disc brakes a few years ago I gave everything a good cleaning and couple coats of Por-15 while it was apart; springs, control arms, spindles, dust shields, hubs, etc. I just hose 'em off every once in a while and everything still looks like new. Tough stuff, no stone chips or anything.
