yep POR stands for Paint Over Rust, you can Google that to back that up,

and Rust Bullet is the same from what i understand, and you actually need rust for it to even bond correctly, it also costs more than Epoxy or truck bed liner, and my Auto paint/body supplier stated i didn't need POR15 even with its higher cost! (at least he was honest) so i took his word for it, as he has been doing this longer than i have been born! (1989 was my birth year) now if i didn't sandblast the frame and had rusty body panels, he then stated POR15 would be best, but as we all know nothing beats sandblasting or grinding! and he even stated that as well,

-Brent

 

I just sanded mine down and but some bedliner on the floorpan. works and looks great.

 

The problem with this method is you have to remove ALL the rust. That little spec of rust in a seam will spread underneath that beadliner or sound deadner like cancer. Believe me, I have done what you described, and have used items like rustoiliem, etc many times. It last's only a few years if ALL rust is not removed. Other than blasting and powdercoationg, I've been useing POR and Rust Bullet lately. I'll let ya know in a few years if it works.

 

I was told above not to use POR15 since all I have is light surface rust and pretty much still all the orginal paint. If POR15 will indeed work in my situation I will use it. Just scuff it up before hand?

 

I'm looking at blast and powder for the frame. I was quoted $350 for the whole deal so think that is gonna be my route now.

 

I've done this, using the other products..They do not last for very long. A few years yes. If your going to sell it, go for it. If your going to keep it, try the POR-15 or Rust Bullet. Por-15 must be used as a primer, or a place sunlight cannot reach it, UV kill's it. Rust Bullet is UV resistant. Both should really be considered a primer and be coated with a topcoat of paint\or whatever. Use the cleaner and acid prep as described. As another post mentioned, you can get the acid prep cheaper from Lowes\Home depot, etc. Yes, this method is expensive, but, it will last. I will state this for the last time: The cheap way out only buy's you a couple of years and the cancerous rust spreading underneath your bedliner coating, or spray can rubberized stuff will be devestating a few years from now if the base metal is not not preped correctly. They just seal moisture in betwen themselves and the sheet metal, causing more rust. Been there, done that, several times.

 

That is about what I paid for mine. Remember, every piece of rubber must be removed....

 

acid prep like i mentioned earlier must be done, either that or sand blast the rust, or if you can grind the rust off the surface (mind you make sure you get it all! as you can miss some rust with the grinder) the best and cheapest method would be to grind the rust off the surface, than prep it with the acid, then rinse and then dry with a torch or heat gun, then coat with a good primer, personally i would highly recommend a Black Epoxy primer, then once that is done and dry, coat with a rubberized bed liner coating,

now simply scuffing up rust and applying any kind of coating is not recommended by me and many others, as your not removing the problem, just sealing it up,

also keep a eye on your floor, do a check every 2-3 months, check for rust starting underneath the floor, i know you can't always see the rust from inside the cab, but before you apply a carpet, make sure your floor is good and sealed, as you do not want moisture trapped between the carpet and the floor building up, as rust will occur, then you have a rotten floor in no time!

also oil guarding your truck is another great method, as it seals the metal from road salt and water, thus reducing your risk of rust in the first place, and also wash your truck thoroughly (even underneath!) every 2-3 weeks, and maybe even once a week if there putting tons of road salt down,

also on a rust quick tip, on my truck i greased all the mounts for the cab and the nose clip, and even the bed, thus if water does get in there, it will have a tougher time starting rust,

i find the best thing you can do with rust is to stay 10 steps ahead of it, when you forget or get lazy, or don't care, well that's when rust will overtake a vehicle, rust is the enemy of cars and trucks, and it needs to be on everyone's minds, as it doesn't take long for it to develop,


also POR15 is only used when you actually paint over rust, or do a quick scuff, its not to be used if you are removing rust, as there is no rust left for it to work on, thus its called Paint Over Rust for a reason,

i am not sure about POR15 and other similar products, the cost is to high, and its to great a risk to simply Paint Over Rust, thus i did what i did, and sandblasted the frame, and other areas like around the front and rear windows, and i used the acid where ever i could to cut down on the mess and cost of sandblasting,

also undercoating tar works really great, on the underside and on the inside of the cab floor, and under the bed, that is if you prepare the surface first, if you leave rust, the new coating you put on will simply fall off as the rust flakes off, thus exposing the rust and metal to the air, thus causing more rust to grow, thus its hard to seal rust up, that's why it needs to be removed and treated, than sealed,

-Brent

 

The problem im gonna have is time. This truck is a daily driver so it can't be tore down long. But I know I will have to do this sometime or other.

Now concerning the POR15 so I get it straight. My floor boards are still mostly covered in the factory paint. Does the stuff you pretreat the metal with remove the paint or just clean it?
I'm not clear on if I am supposed to get it completely spotless like I would if I was going to paint it like you would the outside body or if your supposed to leave it rough.
How much POR15 will it take to do just the floor pans on both sides?

Sorry for the questions, just trying to understand how to use the POR15 correctly. I feel like im hijacking the thread, but it is still on topic.

 

Just had a thought. What if I grind/wire wheel/sand/ whatever I gotta do to get it clean then coat it a couple times in fiberglass resin?

 

my advice, don't use POR15 its really for someone who isn't going to sandblast or acid treat there frame,

others may disagree, but that is what i have found from other people, including my local auto paint/body supplier, who actually steered me away from it! and it cost more than what he suggested! thus he could have said, "sure use the POR15" its the best stuff out there" but he was honest, and suggested i follow my plan i explained to him, and he thought it was a great one, and yes he does carry POR15 and other similar products,

as far as i know POR15 will not remove paint (but the floor will need to be super clean when applying a coating of any kind), but do you have pictures? lets see your floor, is it surface rust, or is it starting to flake, or has it flaked? if its surface rust, just grind the rust off, then apply some of that acid stuff on the bare metal areas, then dry it, then apply a Epoxy primer to the complete floor, then apply some truck bed liner, that is my suggestion, you can also use other primers, but i find the Epoxy stuff works wonders,

-Brent

 

the fiberglass resin will crack and lift eventually,


are you putting in carpet? or floor sound proof?

if your putting in carpet and just floor padding (the non stick kind)

then you can coat the floor with chain lube, that will seal your floor from moisture, you can also cut out thick plastic sheets (like vapor barrier from a house) then just lay it over the floor and oil coating (then seal the edges), then sit your sound padding on top, then your carpet, then it should be really sealed up!


but you can go to far, and i think we are reaching that point, lol lol we can think of a million ways to do this job, but just pick a method or methods and run with it, and Git R Done!

-Brent

 

Lol ok, maybe I am thinking about this to hard. I think my best bet after reading over everything again is the epoxy primer since all I have is slight surface. The truck is going to get new carpet from SMS Auto Fabrics(NumberDummy if your reading this, thanks for telling me about that place they are awesome).

Do you think I can get as good results by brushing on the epoxy primer? I don't want to fog anything that isnt going to be covered up by the carpet.

Thanks for the help guys. Sorry I'm a pain in yalls @ss.

 

ah i wouldn't brush on the Epoxy primer, you can, but i would spray it, i know its a pain, but just cover up what you don't want fogged, but i guess you can brush it on,

also preparation is key, no matter the coating, if rust remains it will either continue to grow, or it will grow in the future once the coating is compromised. Thus grind away! and grind some more! then grind it again to be sure! then if you see some small rust pits, just buy a small jug of that concrete cleaner/etcher at Home Depot/Loews, read the label and make sure it has Phosphoric acid in it, otherwise leave it on the shelf at the store if it doesn't have it in it,

then rinse the area with some wet rags (wear gloves) just keep rinising with a wet rag, then dry the area, and your golden!

then apply the Epoxy primer, (any good auto paint/body supply store should carry it)

i would do 3-4 coats of the Epoxy, we did about 6 coats on my frame (after it was sand blasted)

mind you the Epoxy does require you to mix a activator into it, and i would not use thinners, you want this stuff to concentrated, but when you brush it on, it makes it more difficult to put thin even layers, also you can do multiple coats, just let it tack up good, then just coat it again, and continue this method, as you do not want this Epoxy coating to sit for more than a week, as you will then have to scuff it up with sand paper to do another coat, thus get your coats done in one day,

-Brent

 

I know several others recommend POR 15, however I don't.

Yes, it will fade if exposed to UV radiation (sunlight) however Restomotive Labratories (the makers of POR 15) has another product to go over the POR 15 called Chassis Coat which does not fade with exposure to UV rays.

Back to why I don't like POR 15:

I did a frame, springs and axles on a K-5 Blazer. I was advised to brush it on. I was very careful and still got brush strokes and a few runs. So thinking I made a mistake by brushing, I tried spraying it on the radiator core support. It takes an exceptionally long time to dry/cure. What that means, is during that period any fly, bug, dust or whatever will adhere to the surface. If you take pride in your work and want a nice finish; well, you're screwed.

Powder coating will yield a very nice uniform finish with no runs. The downside is that it can chip and when it does, how do you repair it?

Next time I will try a high quality epoxy paint. I've done the POR 15 and I've done the powder coating. Of those two, I prefer the powder coating, but I think the epoxy route may be best.