The POR-15 thread

[rob love]

We are starting to have lots of believers of this product here on MLU, so I thought why not have a thread specifically on the pros and cons, and with tips on it's use along with what was found to be unsuccessful.

Let me start the ball rolling:

Pros:
-Hard weatherproof finish
-Paint is self leveling......it won't leave brush marks.
-Very chemically resistant. Battery acid and brake fluid will not touch the stuff.
-The paint creeps and will fill cracks and voids.
-The paint leaches into the metal, anchoring it for life to the surface

Cons:
Somewhat pricey
-A little harder to find than most paints. In my area though, it is now available in the quart size from Cdn tire for a little under $60 a quart
-It sticks to nothing better than skin. Anytime I use it, the signs are there on my hands for the next two weeks.
-If the paint can lid is not super clean before re-assembly, you will have to destroy the lid next time in order to get the lid off.
Surface must be super clean....no oil residues, finger prints, or old paint. It will not adhere, and the whole area can come off like a sheet
-You will not be able to clean the brushes or rollers. Nor will you want to for risk of getting it on your skin.
-The paint is not entirely UV resistant. In a recent test, I painted a Maxim and sled mount at the local town cenotaph with only POR-15. Two or three years later, the paint is changing colours. It still gives the rust protection, it just doesn't look as good.


Here are my tips:
Clean surface. I sandblast, which gives an excellent surface prep for the product. Rusty surfaces are also good, although all loose rust must be removed. Otherwise, you have to etch the surface with metal-prep.

Spraying: You will cover the surface in 1/4 the time by spraying. You will also likely get less on you. I bought the companies reducer which was not cheap, but have also had good results with common xylene. But these days, I have found I do not need to thin the product, but rather spray it at about 35 PSI. You will want a full mask when spraying along with coveralls. The POR15 uses moisture from the air to cure, so guess what is in your lungs and eyes?

Clean the gun immediately and thoroughly. With POR-15 you will not get a second chance, and if you simply leave the gun for a day or two you will now have a unique curling rock.

Finish coat: If you let the POR-15 harden completely, you will have to fine sand it and then prime and paint, in order to get good adhesion. But if you spray the surface coat while the POR-15 is still slightly tacky, it will not only adhere well, but will also take on some of the hardening properties of the POR-15. I recently sprayed some deuce rims with POR-15, followed by the semi-gloss Gillespie olive drab. After I replaced my wheel cylinders, I had two of them leak for a day or so onto the rims. The brake fluid did not lift the paint from the freshly sprayed rims.

If you top coat too soon, Carbon Dioxide bubbles can form. The hydrogen off-gassing is part of the curing process.

Brushing: Buy the $1 brushes from dollarama and simply throw them away afterwards. Cleaning brushes is not worth the effort in my books. The paint will self level anyway, so you don't need a quality brush. You will lose some bristles from the cheap brushes,and if not removed before the POR-15 sets, they will now be a permanent part of your vehicle.

Clean-up: I use Xylene with good success. I use this product as thinner anyway with the Gillespie paints, so I always have lots of it around.

Fuel tank patching: Small pinholes in fuel tanks can be repaired from the outside with this product.

Clean and pure: Work from smaller containers rather than the quart or gallon when brushing. Margarine containers work well, and if you put the lid on it in reasonable time it might still be liquid the next day. If not, you will come to a hockey puck. The POR-15 will peel or come off the plastic so you can use it again.

Careful you do not contaminate the paint. A single drop of sweat into the gallon is rumored to ruin the whole can.

Bugs: No doubt the bugs will come and land on your still tacky POR-15. They like to check out the work. If they are larger like flies, use tweezers to remove them before the paint hardens. But for the small aphids that land, I leave them there and top coat over top of them. Once everything hardens, they can be removed with a cloth. Otherwise you will have fish eyes from the oils from the bugs bodies if you end up squishing them before the top coat.

I likely missed stuff here, so those that have used it as well please add your findings, tips, and experiences good and bad.