Worth the Effort?

[Hijinx]

Well, I am getting ready to put the gas tank back in after replacing all the lines and referbing the fuel system as a whole. As I have posted before, I have a lot of rust on my rear frame. I got under there today and started grinding and brushing the frame to get ready to put POR 15. I worked for over an hour and got one small section done. I cant get inside the frame and have no way to get into some areas without removing more stuff (which I really do not want to do).

Do I even mess with it. I am only going to get to do the section of the frame behind the rear cross memeber. Even wearing a mask I am still spitting rust dust. I hate to give up, but with the areas that I will not be able to get to, I just do not know if its worth all the effort.

 

[Bob Chadwick]

Hijinx,

Why are doing all that grinding, etc. If you don't have a bunch of loose rust flakes on the frame just degrease, Metal Ready and POR-15 it.

The Metal Ready does wonders and the POR-15 coats.

The way I am doing mine is if I take parts off and metal is exposed, then I protect it. I only have surface rust on my frame.

Bob

 

[Hijinx]

Mine actually has shed some layers. I have flakes of metal coming off. The rust has pitted the metal badly and caused it to scale. If I dont remove the scale, I will not get to the good metal beneath.

 

[BlackNBlue95]

I agree just brush off the loose flakes and degrease it and prep it with metal ready.. POR 15 is definitely worth it... and doing as much of the frame it insurance in rust preventrion LoL but it will keep that frame intact for a long time POR 15 is great stuff.. just try not to kill yourself with the vapors.. that stuff is very harsh..
did most the floor pan on my AeroCoupe a while ago and it still looks good today..
-Rick

 

[Bob Chadwick]

A wire brush and a scraper should be enough. The grinder is over kill. The metal ready will chemically treat the existing rust and the POR-15 will cover it and prevent future rust. So waht if a couple of flakes are still under there. It will be in better shape than it was before.

Take a look at these pics. The end result of what I have described and what you are doing. http://home.attbi.com/~jchadwick/rustproofing.htm. Its not as neat as a frame off job and I won't be putting any mirrors under the car but I believe that it is worth the effort.

Bob

 

[smurfvet]

I've done a couple of bodies on Corvairs. Taking the loose rust and scale off is all you need to do. If the rust is "tight", or can't be removed with a scraper, just clean it, treat it and paint it.

I used a Rustoleum industrial three part paint system in 1982 on one of the cars. I didn't treat the metal with chemical , just scraped and used a wire cup brush on a 4" grinder. Absolutely no rust has poked through. It wasn't a cheap system, but at the time I didn't know about POR-15.

 

[mvftw]

I'm also thinking of doing this...questions...is this a 3 step process, or is degreasing and Metal Ready the same step? If not, whats a good degreaser? Is Metel Ready made by the POR-15 company?

 

[smurfvet]

The degreasing process is usually a pressure washer or steam generator to move as much of the crud you can, then spray whatever grease or oil is left with a solvent. Since things are much more regulated now than when I did the cars in the late 70's, I would suggest a commercial water based grease remover or heavy duty cleaner. I don't think that too many folks would use some of the solvents I did in the "old days".

The metal prep is an eching/rust stabilizer that is a separate step you do after cleaning.

Last you do the primer/paint.

 

[AmosF16]

My understanding and experience is POR-15 actually works better if it has some rust to hold onto. If you grind down the frame til it's smooth and clean, you'll have a more difficult time getting the POR-15 to stick. I'd do the degreash, metal prep (if necessary), then apply the POR-15. It worked great on my 68 Camaro (A-pillars in particular). If you haven't worked with it before, be sure to wipe any spills/runs off your skin as soon as they occur, or you'll be living with it til it wears off. Andy

 

[Bob Chadwick]

I'm also thinking of doing this...questions...is this a 3 step process, or is degreasing and Metal Ready the same step? If not, whats a good degreaser? Is Metel Ready made by the POR-15 company?

POR15 sells the degreaser, Metal Ready and the Por-15 paint. This link has the degreaser and metal prep. http://www.por15.com/metalprep_degrease.html

Pressure washer or steam cleaner is best but for those of us just treating the metal as we take parts off this would be difficult.