Jeeps Canada - Jeep Forums - Re: Using POR-15....

On or about Tue, 5 Aug 2003, serg of none@none.com wrote:

> i want to paint my frame with this stuff....

Bare frame, axles off? That would be the easiest way to paint it. POR
doesn't stay on the brush too well when painting over you head and you
won't be able to reach the areas that you want to coat -- and if you are
going to go to the time, expense and mess, you might as well be thorough
about it.

I cobbled up a wooden dolly with casters to move my frame around, when I
wanted to paint the bottom I added some uprights and stood the frame up on
edge (it wasn't too bad a one-man dead lift). Made it much easier to do
rust repairs too. The same dolly then goes under the tub. Tip the tub up
on its side to work on the bottom (and save floor space).

POR will take about 5 days to wear off your skin if you get any on you,
wear gloves, long sleeves and pants that you don't wear to church. I like
the nitrile gloves that Harbor Freight sells for about $5/box. They
almost never tear, they're good for most solvents and they fit, well, like
a glove. I'm using them now while cleaning gunk out of my engine's guts.

Big, foamy puddles of POR can be chipped off your garage floor with a
putty knife after it is cured. If you try to wipe it up you'll just work
it deep into the pores of the concrete and it will be there forever. POR
will not stick to black plastic garbage bags, use them to cover your bench
when painting small parts.

You'll get an instruction sheet with the POR. They aren't joking about
keeping the can sealed -- it will cure in the can if you leave the lid off
for any length of time and it will glue the lid onto the can if you don't
sandwich a double layer of Saran Wrap between the can and the lid. I keep
my open can in a spare `fridge to retard the eventual curing in the can.
It will try to cure in your paint cup in 15 minutes if it is very humid
out. Buy a handful of those cheap, disposable plastic bristle brushes in a
couple of sizes. Throw `em away after painting for the day or during the
day when the paint stiffens the brush. Disposable plastic drink cups make
handy paint cups. Cut one down to make a ladle to dip the paint out of
the can.

I wouldn't spray the stuff. Mmmm. Organic solvents. Very bad. And
over-spray on your neighbor's car. Very bad. Besides, you want a nice,
thick protective coat that you've worked into all the nooks and crannies.

> do i need to sandblast the frame or can i just get away with degreasing
> the heck out of it?

Degrease thoroughly, then chip off any flakes and gritty rust granules.
A wire brush and a couple of cans of Brake Kleen works well on stubborn
grease. Heavy rust is OK, the POR will sink into it and lock into the
holes. You want to give the paint the best chance to bite into something
that won't flake or peel off. Be aware that once you apply POR it will
try to seek its own level -- which means it will sag and drip. Avoid the
temptation to fill depressions with puddles of the stuff -- it doesn't
like that and will bubble up. You can (cosmetically) bridge smallish
holes by taping over the hole and painting both sides.

> how much will i need to do the frame, the axles and the bottom of the
> tub? thanks!

I think I went through three and a half quarts, double-coating the frame,
the inside of the tub and the bottom, plus the axles, spring packs and
dozens of small parts. Buy them one at a time and as you need them -- if
you are really itchy to get to the next quart you can always have it
shipped second-day to you. I top-coated the frame with POR's frame paint.
Be aware that the frame paint _isn't_ shiny, it is a medium matte finish.
It will be a disappointing look after that nice, shiny POR, but POR
doesn't like UV light.

Lots of info on POR for you:

3. POR-15 - Frequently Asked Questions
http://www.por15.com/faq.asp

e-mail me directly if you have any questions.