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How to Stop Rust With POR 15 |
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As seen in:
Sheetmetal Saver
By Jeff Smith
Photography by Jeff Smith |
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Before
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After
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This is the
POR 15 trunk floor kit. The critical components are the
cleaner/degreaser and the follow-up zinc phosphate metal treatment
that prepares the rusty metal for the POR 15 paint. Restomotive
includes a silver base paint followed by the original black. The kit
also includes a black topcoat, a two-part epoxy putty for small
holes, and even a fiberglass mat for covering larger areas. These
chemicals are somewhat harsh, so also included are several pairs of
latex gloves, a mask, several paint brushes, and a container of
solvent. |
Because we're such conscientious hot rodders, we decided to take the
time to read the directions. As with painting, surface preparation
is the key to success. We scraped, chiseled, and wire-brushed the
surface to remove all the loose rust and then vacuumed the trunk
floor clean.
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Then it was time for the first step: Restomotive's heavy grease and
oil remover. This cleaner is reserved for very greasy surfaces, but
we felt it couldn't hurt. We used gloves and the supplied dust mask
since many of these chemicals are hazardous. We followed the
degreasing step with a fresh water rinse, which we allowed to dry
before moving to the next step.
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This prep was followed by a zinc phosphate coating that we applied
with a brush and allowed to sit on the surface 15 - 20 minutes then
rinsed with water and left overnight to completely dry. If you try to rush the process and the
surface is not completely dry, it's possible the hard coating will
not adhere properly and it will eventually lift off.
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We poured some of the solvent into another plastic cup to clean the
paint brush. It only took about an hour for that nasty solvent to
dissolve the plastic cup! Obviously, these are materials that should
be treated with respect. Use containers that will be disposed of
properly. A tin coffee can is probably best.
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To finish off this trunk resto, we added a rear decklid spoiler from
Classic
Auto Parts to replace the missing one that allowed water to
enter the trunk. The rear spoiler (PN F6768-12181-A) bolted on with
no hassles. We also added a new trunk lock from Classic (PN
F67-10266-LK). |
The next day, we returned to the trunk and applied the silver base
coat that seals the rust. As per the directions, we ladled the paint
into a disposable plastic cup and resealed the can, being careful
not to spill paint onto the lid sealing surface. We also used
plastic wrap under the lid. It took surprisingly little paint to
coat most of the trunk floor.
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With the trunk floor now finished off with the silver portion of the
POR 15, it was time for the black coating. We merely brushed the
paint on, just like the silver coating. When coating larger areas,
you can spray POR 15 with a gun, but be sure to wear a mask and
carefully clean every orifice of the spray gun before the paint
dries. POR 15 cures by using the humidity in the air to aid the
drying process. Restomotive also warns that if either the silver or
black coatings dry on your skin, they will only come off with time.
We then finished the trunk with Plasticoat's spray-can splatter
paint and new weatherstripping from A&M SoffSeal to keep our new
trunk clean and dry.
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This same Camaro needed a tune-up undern the back window to keep
water out of the trunk. As you can see, there were several rust
holes but nothing bad enough to warrant replacing the panel. We
performed the same cleaning and degreasing operations as on the
trunk,in preparation for the silver POR 15 coating.
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Here's the rear window ledge with the rust cured with the POR 15
silver paint.
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Next, we mixed up two equal amounts of the POR 15 putty, making sure
to mix it thoroughly.
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We then applied the putty with our fingers and smoothed it with a
small amount of water. The following day, after the putty had cured,
we easily sanded the areas smooth with a Dremel tool and a tiny
sanding drum. The putty dries absolutely rock hard, yet it sands
very easily. This is great stuff.
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The final black topcoat will only partially show after the rear
window is reinstalled. This coating will not fade in the sun and
will look good for years. The whole process took only a few hours of
actual work and is far less expensive than sheetmetal surgery.
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The war against rust never ends, but
winning those individual battles just got easier. Hot rodders and resto
artists fight rust on an almost daily basis.
Before your next alteration with
oxidation, add POR 15 to your arsenal. In the early days of hot rodding,
there wasn't much help besides primer, paint, or chrome. Worse yet, once the
metal began its oxidation process, there was little you could do short of
radical sheetmetal replacement surgery to prevent the metal's inexorable
march toward further corrosion. But, the wonderful world of chemicals from
Restomotive now includes a product by the name of POR 15.
The concept behind this stuff is
fairly simple: create a product that when applied to sheetmetal will bond
like it's been welded in place. The extremely strong bond prevents the
corrosion process from continuing. In essence, POR 15 puts rust to sleep.
While the chemical part of this equation would probably put all of us to
sleep, the bottom line is that once it's applied correctly, POR 15 is like
concrete. Unlike paints or other low-budget coatings, this stuff will
prevent rust from coming back.
Perhaps the best news is that you
don't have to have a degree in chemical engineering to use it, but it does
demand you apply it properly. The key to success is a clean, dry surface on
which the POR 15 chemicals can react and bond properly. Once it has dried,
the topcoat protects from further corrosion and leaves a surface that, with
the proper primer, can be painted easily .
Oftentimes, rust leaves deep pits or
holes in the sheetmetal that must be filled as well. While typical bondo
will work, Restomotive has developed a two-part epoxy putty that will also
get the job done. In fact, once the putty has been mixed properly, the
manufacturer claims it will cure even under water! We didn't put that claim
to the test, but we did employ the putty to seal up a rusty '67 Camaro rear
window area and trunk floor. While we could have performed sheetmetal
replacement surgery, this Camaro wasn't bad enough to warrant that amount of
work. We decided instead to treat the rusty metal with POR 15, and then
repair the small rust holes with the epoxy putty.
Among its many products, the latest
from Restomotive is a complete floorpan restoration kit offering a
combination of the classic POR 15 chemicals along with a sizeable offering
of the two-part epoxy putty and fiberglass mat material. The fiberglass mat
is used to span small rust holes that are too large for the putty but don't
necessarily need welding. The hole is covered with the fiberglass mat, which
is then soaked in POR 15 paint and allowed to dry. This transforms the
flexible fiberglass into a rock-solid chunk of rust-proof flooring. This is
a permanent repair, though it's not advisable to consider this a fix for
those Fred Flintstone floorpans where there's more open air than sheetmetal;
those are more often lost causes.
The good news for musclecar
restoration fanatics is that there are sheetmetal replacement panels for
virtually every popular musclecar. But, there are times when a complete
panel repop isn't really necessary. Some great spots for a POR 15 repair are
the window channels around the windshield and rear glass, the area
underneath the package tray, and any small spots of rust that are difficult
to replace with welded panels.
The beauty of POR 15 is that once the
rusted metal is properly treated, you can forget about rust ever appearing
there again. If initial impressions are worth anything, even the first layer
of the silver POR 15 looked like it would last forever. By the time we were
finished, the trunk floor looked almost new. Our only regret was that we
hadn't tried this stuff sooner!
