Last year I bought some POR-15 to "fix" some minor surface rust on my rear fenders. I only bought the starter kit because there was only a few, very minor rust spots. Followed the directions, removed flaking paint, bubbled spots and sanded. Used the metal prep stuff, let it dry, and then applied the POR-15. Let it dry and then topcoated it with touchup paint. After all of that was done, I put fender flares on the truck to cover up the "not so nice looking" fender. This spring I decided to pull the fender flare off to see how the truck had "weathered" the winter. It didn't fair all that well. The spots that I had uses POR-15 on had bubbled up under the POR-15 and caused more rust. I pressed on one of these bubbles and water squirted out like a blister. Now I need to go back and fix the new rust AND the spots where the POR-15 is. Some of the POR-15 stuck and worked. Most did not. I wrote to them to see if I had done something wrong or if there was a bad batch. But never heard back from them. Does anyone have any other ways to fix rust besides POR-15 or a new fender? The rust is surface rust, the paint is slightly peeling (less than a dime sized spots). There are no holes through the metal (at least not that I can tell). I am having the fender flares painted to match my truck, so now is a good time to fix that rust. Any ideas? The paint shop suggested Rustmort. I have heard of Zerorust and Corroless? Either of these work??

 

A product I like is called PHIX. It is a rust converter. It turns it to a phosphate coated blackish color and if done right will never rust. I personally think POR 15 is highly overrated for the job it does. With all of these products surface prep is the key though. Good luck. Just search the Web for Phix metal prep. It is out there.

 

I have never used POR 15, but it sounds like it protected the side that you painted. The rust came through from the back side (under the POR 15) - or did you paint both sides of the rusty metal?

 

It sounds to me like it got water in from behind too. Water didn't squirt out till you popped the bubbles so the paint sounds like it held. You may have had pinholes in the metal allowing water to slowly pass through. You'll either need to do both side or replace the rusty metal. Good luck, Phil

 

I will look for the Phix stuff.

I guess, technically the POR-15 did "protect" the side I used it on. It did kind of peel off, like skin after a sunburn.

I am going to scrap down the side and try to leave the "pores" open and see if that helps.

The rust is only surface rust as far as I can see. Nothing bigger than a dime, and nothing deep. I am not sure that it goes all the way through. I will check the other side and coat it as well with whatever I can find that will stop the rust.

 

I am a new user of por 15 metal ready. I don't know if you just forgot to mention this step, or if you actually did not do it in the application, but I know that a necessary step after the metal ready is dry (at least 4 hours), you must wash the area with water and allow to dry before painting. If you did not wash the area, then perhaps the process was not ready for topcoat. Thanks, John

 

I had similar problems with POR-15 a few years ago, including a total lack of response.
Stumbled on to ZeroRust and have been so impressed Im now a distributor.
Also have been told by others that POR can be broken down by road salt. One customer used it on his snow plow trucks and it started to peel off part way thru the season. He called the dealer he bought it from and was told "its not supposed to be used on vehicles driven in the snow".

www.zerorust.com

54 F350
46 1/2 ton

 

Carl, I took another look at the Zero-Rust website and noticed they are now setting up a dealer network. Does this mean they will no longer be charging a "flat fee" shipping charge? That was always one of the things I never understood about them. It made thier product less competitive to potential users in the midwest and eastern U.S. By the time you added the inflated shipping cost to the cheaper product it was a wash. Good to hear they'll be expanding. I'm looking forward to trying some of it. Later,

 

They have been setting up a dealer network for about 2 years now; its been slow going as they are rather cautious.

They never had a flat fee that Im aware of, I suspect you are thinking of a dealer down in GA that ripped off their name. Good luck trying to get product also!
The true ZR site is in Oregon so $10 to the East Coast isnt bad. They would ship from there only if the customer wanted it that way. Now it is strictly thru the dealers.