just thinking. . . . is POR 15 too good? Meaning, if something were to happen to the floor board (like running over something and popping/denting a hole into your new floor) would it be a major pain the ___ to repair? I haven't used POR15 or anything like that but from what I understand, this stuff dries as hard as a rock.

Do any of you think your cars will end up in the backyard rusting away, again?

 

Oh I am sure mine will rust away sometime... after my lifetime at least. I used POR-15 and rust encapsulator. Of the two, I like rust encapsulator better. POR-15 does dry as hard as a rock but it still can be chipped if hit hard enough in the right spot. RE dries hard after a few days curing but is much easier to work with.

 

I decided to use POR-15 on the bottom of my car after replacing floor pans and stripping it all with a wire brush on an angle grinder. After too many hours of work (blasting next time for sure!) on the rotiserie, I washed it with their Marine Clean, treated it with their Metal Ready and painted it with POR-15. After it got tackyI painted over that with their self-etching primer, all according to their instructions AFTER calling their tech support to verify each step. In a couple of days I went out to sand the primer so I could paint my topcoat (or, rather, 'bottom coat') and the POR peeled off in strips. I called them and they couldn't answer my 'why' (but did refund my money). They said it might be because of humidity (it was kind of a damp day when I painted). Anyway, I used the wire brush/angle grinder and took it all back off again (with some blasting in hard to reach spots). After 5 full days of cleaning all the POR off again, I treated it with ospho andshot it with epoxy primer and it held like . . .well, epoxy.

I have read on several forums that when POR sticks, it is tough as nails, but if it doesn't (for whatever reason), it'll come off with a fingernail. It seems to work best over sandblased or rough surfaces (like rust) but I have read of guys having it come off of sandblased metal as well. It is great stuff, but it seems to be pretty hit or miss. (I did the inside floors and inside of the roof and it worked great.) Lesson - I would use epoxy primer unless you are painting over rusty metal.

Second time around I used Nason epoxy primer with Nason chassis black paint over that. After epoxy primer, high build primer and sealer, I shot the engine bay and front aprons (inside and out) with Nason eurethane with hardener. I used 3M Body Schutz in the wheel wells and front aprons (wheel side).

 

Will POR-15 work in the engine bay (withstanding the heat)? For example, if an engine bay has small areas of rust, on the firewall, will por15 work well for it?

 

The heat shouldn't bother it, but it might not look too good. You can brush it on or spray it onif you thin it with their reducer. It is high gloss and you don't want it exposed to sunlight since UV causes it to get milky looking. You can paint over it but youshould probablyuse theirtie-coat primer under your top coat. They have a chasis paint which would probably work better. It goes over rust too I think. Check out their website (www.por15.com). From what I have read on several forums, the Eastwood stuff is easier to use and probably better, especially if you're going to paint over it, though I haven't used it. I have had mixed results with POR. My undercarriage debacle discouraged me (see post above) but other places I have used it were fine.

 

I had a similar issue with it on the underside of my engine bay. It was clean but not roughed up with rust and POR did peel off pretty easy. I ended up just spraying some rust encapsulator on it and it stuck pretty good. Both POR and RE can withstand around 400 degrees. After experiencing that with the POR I just stuck with RE from there forward.

 

I swear by POR 15. never used anything better, It sticks to clean metal just as well as long as you prep it right, scuff it up with some ehavy duty paper, I have used it from the differential to the engine bay, under coating everything under the car, works great everywhere and have never had any problems. The only down thing is any time you stop you have to use a new brush, but for me it is all worht it.

 

I bet that Eastwood runs ads in Auto Restorer Magazine,

 

Nope,
Auto Restorer magazine is the most expensive magazine I get, more than Car-Craft or Hot-Rod, and yet it is black and white on cheep paper,and only about 30 pages long, because they have no advertising at all, from any one, ever.

 

I would stay away from using POR-15 everywhere just to coat bare metal. It will not protect in the way that you are thinking. It is supposed to be used over rusted metal, chemically changing the rust and stopping it. I used POR-15 on some bare metal on my car, like on the inside frame rails and torque boxes. I hope it holds up ok. If I had to do it again, I would use an epoxy primer then a sealer, products designed to go over clean bare metal. That is the way I treated my entire undercarriage and engine compartment, then topping it with a single stage urethane paint. Came out really good and is tough. There are a bunch of different coatings to use, all chosen with different preferences in mind. Choose what you think will hold up the best and what kind of protection you're looking for. As reading down through this thread, it seems that POR-15 is not great over bare metal, with it peeling off, etc. Go with a good primer, sealer, and topcoat, like a single stage urethane paint. I got all of my products from House of Color. Good luck.