I just removed all my carpets from my 81 and going to install all new carpet. When I took out the old stuff I found some rust in the floor pans, nothing major. I scraped and wire wheeled it but now I want to put something on the pans to stop any more rust from forming. Is POR-15 good for this purpose? I want something I can apply with a brush so I do not have to spray inside the cabin. TIA.

 

OOR-15 should work fine for this. Make sure you follow the prep instructions.

 

 

Duplicolor Truck Bed Coating also work real nice as well. http://www.duplicolor.com/products/truckbed.html:

 

Thank you.

 

Check out RustBullet also. Similar protection to POR but less fussy about the prep. www.rustbullet.com



Rick B.

 

I like por-15 myself but all the above answers will put you on the right track for sure. All the products mentioned are great for your needs.

 

I'm gonna piggyback on this topic. I just bought a vette (well actually picking it up this weekend) and it has a bunch of surface rust on parts of the frame. I did have it inspected and the mechanic said the frame is fine, it just needs some cleaning work for the most part. I'd like to clean it all off and just POR-15 (or similar) the entire frame. Sure I'd like to have the whole frame sand-blasted and powder-coated, but a frame-off is just not in my cards. What's the best thing I can do while not taking the body off/taking the car totally apart?

 

you could try this
http://www.interstateproducts.com/rust_remover.htm

 

Drive it and enjoy it!

 

Do you have any experience with this stuff? Also, do you think it's a better alternative to POR-15?

You know I will! But, I've got enough time right now, so I can't just do nothing!

 

I do with the spray on, it will remove the rust and por-15 will coat the treated surface it just gives you peace of mind that you are not coating a rusted surface with por-15, The two products are in no way related in the jobs they do.

 

por= paint over rust.

 

Any of the products mentioned will work on your floor pans. Personally, I don't care for powder coating in the engine area as it is not resistant to harsh chemicals. My upper and lower control arms were powder coated gloss black several years ago. I found wiping grease off with lacquer thinner also removed the powder paint. POR is resistant to chemicals and it will not come off. I painted my frame with POR-15 in HG black with the body on, and still happy the the result several months later. I have used PPG DP epoxy primer applied with a brush with good results. That is how I painted the fiberglass underside of both my 79 and 69. Here is a before and after.
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This was done with the body on and over the course of about six months. I was having everything out back freshened up, and thought 'while I was at it,' use the opportunity to clean everything. The gloss black POR holds up better than powder coating where grease and chemicals are involved IMO. My gas tank crossmember and front susp is powder coated; the rest of the frame, trans crossmember, gas tank and rear frame crossmember are POR coated. The underside fiberglass is brush painted with PPG epoxy primer. All fiberglass bonding seams have been molded in the four wheel wells.

You can do this to your new 73, but enjoy driving it until maintenance needs to be done. Then, put your plan into action. My floor pans were painted with PPG as are the #2 body mount areas behind the kick panels.

BTW...I also powdercoated my differential, half shafts and DS in chrome powder. Next time, I will POR the shafts, TA's and diff in gloss silver, as it much easier for way less $$ and looks as good IMO.
[IMG][/IMG]

 

What? No spare tire?
Just kidding, that's look's awesome!

 

Red69, looks awesome! So good idea would be to clean it off, then POR15 it? How much POR15 should I get to cover the frame, crossmember, etc? Did you paint the POR15 on w/ a brush? How many coats? Sorry for all the questions, just want to make sure I do it right the first time!

 

Yes, everything was brushed on, but the below is about POR only. My frame got one coat and a quart of black was enough. Most of my brushes were on sale at Harbor Freight like the 1" and oil brushes I bought. Also, I used some of the long stem artist brushes to reach some difficult spots. Whenever you stop, throw the brush away and start with a fresh brush. Cheap brushes lose bristles, so keep a look out for them. In some spots you will be best using a sponge to spread the POR. The POR goes on thin and goes a long way.

Buy a box of latex gloves before you start, POR won't wash off. Wear a long sleeve shirt to protect your arms. I buy disposable long sleeve shirts at the recycle clothing store for these projects. It is a good idea to cover your hair with a doo-rag or something, or you will be losing some hair afterward.

Preparation is important and all surfaces must be free of oil and any loose material. I pulled the fuel and brake line bolts to seperate and clean the lines. They were painted silver POR and assembled later. POR's Marine Clean is a good final cleaning product that is hydrocarbon free. You can also use Simple Green, but it doesn't clean as well as MC, and you can dilute it with water 50/50. In preping mine, I started with a putty knife to scrape all heavy deposits of grease and oil. Some areas needed to be washed with lacquer thinner to remove grease. Srape and wire brush all loose rust, dirt etc. Last, scrub all surfaces with Marine Clean using a scrub brush, kitchen pot scouring pad, Scotch Brite pad and rinse thoroughly. I used an assortment of brushes to reach the top and difficult to reach places under the car. A coathanger bent in horse shoe fashon is helpful to get on top of the frame. I was even able to clean and paint the rocker channels with a contrasting color and without making a mess. Saran Wrap can be helpful during this process.

Before painting, all surfaces must be metal etched with Metal Ready or equivalent product. Lowe's and other home building supply stores have their brand that will also do the job. I prefer to stay with the brand recommended by the paint supplier. It is alot of work, but my results made it worth while. If it were easy, everybody would have a great looking underside to their car. The painted underside makes keeping it clean easy, and I do clean the underside regularly. Good luck with your project and hope this helps.

 

Nice! makes the underside of my car look like a POS thanks...

 

Like the floor pans, most people never notice the condition of underside parts until there is a problem. The frame corner braces, under the kickup, tend to collect dirt, sand, pebbles and just about anything that become airborne during driving. The fuel lines on the passengers side and brake and vapor return line on the driverside lay in that debris where it bends to come up the frame. The lines help anchor the debris and promote rust in the area. The debris in mine solidified and needed to be chizeled out like concrete. The worst rust on my lines was in this area and the brake line needed to be replaced. Now, with gloss paint on everything, there is no good anchor for the dirt to adhere. I vaccuum those corner braces when I am doing a good cleaning. Flat paint texture does not clean as well as gloss.

I'd never tear everything out just to paint, but if already doing a front end rebuild, going the next step is easy. Same with the rear, when the IRS is out, or the TA's need to be rebuilt, pulling the tank and third member is a relatively easy next step. The POR holds up very well and I prefer it to powder coating on frame and susp parts.

Some people top coat POR with another paint, as it is suppose to turn chalky with exposure to sunlight. My one coat of gloss black looks good after 18 months. The sun never directly contacts the painted underside parts and a POR tech suggested I do it this way. If you follow POR prep directions well, you will have great results.

 

So to recap (I'm slow):

1. Clean off all dirt/oil/grease/rust w/ a combo of lacquer thinner, scrapping (putty knife), wire brush, etc.
2. Marine Clean all surfaces
3. Metal Ready all surfaces
4. Apply POR15 w/ assortment of brushes

Also, what about the inside of the frame? I know there's access through the "keyholes" and the other few holes; would you recommend using some kind of a sprayer to spray POR15 in there also? I could always use a power washer or something to force all the dirt/rust flakes out of there, but obviously I couldn't get in there and scrape. What's your recommendation?