Good idea? Bad idea?
Has it been done, and does anyone have any pictures? I have a somewhat rusty engine bay, and im looking for a less than half decent result, but able to get done quick.


Thanks
-Andrew

 

I did it to mine. the strut tower on my ride were looking alittle rusty. so i just went over it with por.15 so far so good its been a year.

 

What do you want it to look like? POR doesn't really go on all that great. Runs are easy to get... spraying really isn't recommended. I understand they have colors available now, but it's still a limited color selection. And POR should be applied to bare metal. Are you stripping your engine bay? Otherwise just use regular paint. There's no reason to spend money on POR if you're not applying it to bare metal because you're not getting the benefits of a rust encapsulator/preventor without doing that.

Mathius

 

Hey, thanks. I am not really worried about the look of it at the moment. I just need to get something down on it to prevent from rust, and to make it look better than it currently is.

I don't want to get into spraying anything at the moment, i just want something i can paint on for now. If stripping the bay is necessary I would do it. Could I at least paint the kmember and stuff with the POR15?

Thanks for any help!
-Andrew

 

You can do like the guy above me said and paint the rust spots with it, but you're gonna have a spotty finish. If your goal is just a temporary fix, then I'd just sand the rust off, and rattle can it. Cheaper.

You could probably coat that whole k-member with POR if you wanted to, but again that's a good chunk of change to lay down just for a k-member.

You have to understand, POR was originally invented for marine use to keep the bottom of boats from rusting.

You can use it over rust, or you can use it over bare metal, or both. But it's really not a traditional foundation for paint, even though the people @ POR have come up with methods to allow you to paint over it.

Its best use in the automotive industry is on the insides and underbody of the car that you won't see, or on a frame.

Mathius

 

That's about how my Trans Am looks. I'm stripping the engine bay for proper degreasing, sanding, primer, paint and clearcoats since I'm installing an LSx.

 

Ok, well i know I am going to paint the underside of the car with it. I guess this is what im asking: Since I am already ordering POR15, and I want to coat my engine bay with something, should I just order enough to do my engine bay? or is there something better and easier to do my rusty engine bay with that I don't have to spray on?

I hope that clarifies what i am asking,
thanks alot guys
-Andrew

 

A gallon of the stuff runs you somewhere around $100, and you should have more than enough to do your firewall and your underbody. I did my floorpans in my '76 Malibu top and bottom with far less than half a gallon.

Do some research before you apply it. I can tell you from experience the stuff doesn't stick well to "clean" metal. It works best when applied over rust.

POR makes a product called "Metal Ready" that is supposed to etch the surface. However, I've used it with very little success. It is possible I supposed that I am not applying enough of it, or perhaps not cleaning it off well enough (you're supposed to spray the metal ready off with water and clean the surface). It's not easy to make a liquid sit in all areas on something as contoured as a floor panel.

Anyways, some of the guys on Chevytalk talked about using another product to etch the surface. I would do a quick google and see what you find. If you can't find anything, then make sure you pay a lot of attention to detail when using the Metal Ready. Maybe I just needed better prep.

And remember, the stuff will run, and it will harden like that. It's a very runny consistency right out of the can. Make sure it's good and smooth before it sets.

Mathius

 

POR 15 was the original, & is a good quality product,
and I've used it on several applications.
HOWEVER, read their lit carefully about ultra-violet effects.
Project success is highly dependent of surface prep -- adequate
cleaning is essential.

There are some second generation products, like Rust-Blast (an
advertiser on the forum...), and another one ("K-something")
that is held up at the moment, in a brain-cramp. I prefer the K-?
because it will accept a top-coat of most any good quality paint,
like Eastwood resto paints.

Spraying will be difficult, because of how you will need to protect
EVERYTHING from overspray. These are epoxy-like products.
They flow out pretty good, but the purpose is for surface protection,
not flawless appearance.

All that being said, here's some pictures of my engine bay. Everything
down to & including the cross-member was disassembled, and painted
separately, then re-assembled. If you don't want to go to that level
of effort, Eastwood products would probably do a good job for you.

PS K-something on the cross-member, Eastwood & VHT paints on the
sheet-metal.