How To: C15a Wire-3 restoration

[chris vickery]

Well Bob there you have it for one advantage of epoxy primer- it can be painted directly over with no other special coatings, primers etc required.
Once it has hardened, it will not come off. You can bend metal whatever you want. You can hit it with a hammer and it will not chip or flake.
The key with the epoxy is to let it cure sufficiently to not affect the top coat but to top coat it within 24hrs of spraying.
With flat military type paints not such a big deal as the epoxy flashes off quickly but I have seen guys in a rush with gloss finishes where they did not allow it to flash off and the solvents from the epoxy causes the top coat to become patchy-areas that were glossy and areas that were dull.
Two part epoxy is available from a wide range of places that deal in auto body supplies but I think even Napa and Carquest carry it.
I have painted 95% of my projects outside on a nice calm day when its not too hot. Even better if you have one of those tent shelters that you can work in.
All paints are obviously nasty for ones health.
A well fitting cartridge style half mask is recommended at a minimum with the correct filters. I use a 3M brand.
Also, don't be tardy in cleaning up your spray equipment.
Most industrial applications as well as body shops are using epoxy primer systems and even epoxy paints.

[rob love]

I used to be big on the epoxy primers, but have now migrated over to the POR 15. I have sandblast capabilities ( I live in Shilo, so the sand is free), so the metal preparation is not a big deal. I find that if I paint my topcoat onto the POR-15 while it is still tacky, the adhesion is good. It does however make my flat military gillespie paint almost into a semi gloss, but also seems to harden the gillespie paint as well.

I did apply the POR15 onto a M152 fame by a spray gun once, but think I will live with the brush from now on. The final finish by the brush is every bit as nice.

If only they would make POR-15 in military colours.

[Jordan Baker]

Frame got dropped off yesterday. Should be picking up paint tomorrow from the states. Hopefully in 24hrs it will be painted.

For my cab frame. I was going to spray it as well. However I will be going over the metal work as I have a number of the fasteners to weld back on and have to do some other patch work. Should I just spray the entire thing then grind off where I need to weld?

[Bob Carriere]

Hi Jordan

....sprayed the phosphorous etching solution yet...?

What fixtures are you welding back on...?

I would weld first..... then clean the welded area and phosphate again before doing the POR as fumes from the welding can be tricky.

Good luck and be safe wear rubber


...gloves!!!

[rob love]

No need for the etching solution if it has been sandblasted.

I ran around town a little while ago trying to find that solution (metal-prep) and of all places it turned out to be at Canadian tire, and at very reasonable prices too. Ours does not carry the POR-15 paint though, but who knows in the future?

[Jordan Baker]

Got everything I needed today. However I'll have to apply it tomorrow. Being awake for 30hrs isn't conducive for applying this stuff.

As for the welding on the cab frame. It's those special nuts that sit in the metal tabs. I have to replace a bunch of them. But it may be a while before I get to it. I though that I may por15 the cab. Then go back and sand the spots with grinder to weld new ones in.

When I apply the metal etch and the degreaser do I just let them dry? Or do I hose it off?

[rob love]

The welded in brackets with a nut inside them is a form of cage nut.

You de-grease, rinse off, then petal-prep, and wash off again. If you have a bit of flash rust, it's no big deal, as that is just more adhesion for the POR-15. But if your metal is freshly sandblasted you do not need any of the degreaser or metal prep, unless you have handled the metal with oily gloves or really sweaty hands.