Someone was asking about POR 15 a while ago - I picked up a supposedly equivalent product and thought I'd share my thoughts on what NOT to do.
I picked up DOM16 which is made by a Canadian company @ half the cost. I applied it for the first time yesterday and was VERY DISAPPOINTED.
I followed the instructions as close a possible. I apllied to bare sheet metal and cast iron. All surfaces were either sandblasted, wire wheel dressed/stripped with a grinder or cleaned with solvents and scrubbed with a wire brush by hand (cast) I missed the recoat window and had to sand/scuff all the surfaces by hand today, or I started to...I found instances where the coating failed to adhere to the wire wheeled surfaces. Oops - not rough enough? I re-read the destructions and found "bare metal surfaces; allow 3-5 days extra adhesion: - This does not make sense to me. Its hard as glass unless I can lift an edge at a sand through...then it peels off in sheets. Sorry, I dont buy how this dry paint will magically somehow stick like glue in few more days!!
I think I'm going to strip it all bare AGAIN, and rough up all the surfaces with coarse sand paper...and use POR15 this time.
I also didnt like how I got air bubbles by applying too heavily in spots (brush runs or sags) - Next time, I think I'll spray if POR has similar warnings. I'm not a pro and I've applied my share of industrial coatings before so I'm not a total newb....all in all, I feel that this product is a little tempermental. I did dust/wash/dry everything before hand...so I'm a bit puzzled. (Aside from some surfaces being too smooth...but cast?? The only thing it stuck to like cat s**t to a blanket was the sandblasted surfaces
Anyone else try this product and been disappointed??
-- Edited by Gearhead on Sunday 23rd of September 2012 02:42:34 PM
-- Edited by Gearhead on Sunday 23rd of September 2012 03:56:14 PM
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Tom Laughlin "Billy Jack" RIP - a true Hollywood hero
Por-15 is not much better on bare steel. Anything rusty, and the por-15 will never come off. If you're coating small items, why don't you look at the cheapy powder coat guns? They work awesome, and is extremely cheap to paint stuff. I made an oven out of an old paint cabinet and 2 old kitchen ovens I found on the side of the road.
-- Edited by hemi43 on Sunday 23rd of September 2012 05:16:39 PM
Thanks - I mainly stripped everything (paint and small bits of rust). You've got me thinking about the Pcoat system....hmmm
Question is; how do I strip this crap off of the engine block I've just painted? I wish I only painted the oil pan. (It was pitted after blasting - wanted to be sure it didn't rust again.)
Take to an engine builder and get it hot tanked. I'm not 100% sure it will remove the DOM-16 because that stuff is a moisture cured epoxy, but it should. I have a small "hot tank" at home and it will make a part look freshly stamped even if it has 10 coats of paint on it, but it won't remove any rust. The active ingredient is Caustic Soda and can be purchased from any chemical warehouse. Just make sure you don't try and strip parts made from aluminum or the part will disappear.
-- Edited by hemi43 on Sunday 23rd of September 2012 09:42:30 PM
Thanks - I mainly stripped everything (paint and small bits of rust). You've got me thinking about the Pcoat system....hmmm
Question is; how do I strip this crap off of the engine block I've just painted? I wish I only painted the oil pan. (It was pitted after blasting - wanted to be sure it didn't rust again.)
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Tom Laughlin "Billy Jack" RIP - a true Hollywood hero
POR 15 is ok, it found it didn't hold up as well as I thought it should on some suspension parts I did a few years ago I went and bought an Eastwood powder coating system and love it Built myself a nice size oven because a lot of stuff I wanted to coat wouldn't fit in a household oven, but if you just want to do small stuff a regular oven will work fine. If you want to check the Eastwood stuff out ,stop by and try it.
the in por in por-15 stands for Paint Over Rust. i've painted many of rusty or weathered frames and it stands up for many years but wont adhere to anything shiny or new.
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There are 106 miles to Chicago. We have a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark, and we're wearing sunglasses.
Thanks guys - Yeah, I'm screwed. I'm going to try and remove what I can and hope for the best. Learning the hard way it seems - wish I had read more about it first.
Oh, and I cant hot tank the block...I should have said, freshly assembled engine
I know its not a high dollar auto resto (my '70 Lincoln engine drive welder), but I was hoping to do a good job on it that will last another 40+ years like the first finish did
Home powdercoating is now a keen interest
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Tom Laughlin "Billy Jack" RIP - a true Hollywood hero
Ok, here's the skinny...I managed to get a hold of a sales rep who admitted that the product label was a little "light" on the instructions. DOM16 is exactly like POR15 in where it needs rust or very porous surfaces to adhere to. In removing this product from the various parts I had coated, it DOES stick very well to rust, heavily pitted and sandblasted surfaces.
Smooth, bare metal surfaces?? Not a hope. It comes off in sheets. I'm supposed to receive some free goods to make up for my loss. From now on in, I'm going to be very selective where I use this product...
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Tom Laughlin "Billy Jack" RIP - a true Hollywood hero
I use epoxy primer, it resists gas and brake fluid..seems to stick to anything and stands up well..There is a lot of surface prep for por15 for a vehicle that will likely not be subjected to the same elements as a daily driver.. I also tried por 15 on tailgate of daily driver when the stuff first came on the market..I found the product claims over stated.
I've used POR type products on heavy trucks a few times. As the other guys said it ONLY works well on rust or well blasted steel. It will pretty much fall right off of a smooth surface. It also tends to get chalky looking after exposure to sunlight and I have noticed that rust will bleed through it if it's not on thick enough. If you can get it to stick, it really fuses with the surface and stone chips that go down to bare metal don't spread like they do with regular paint. It's also very tough, you can hardly put a scratch in it. I think it's pretty good stuff in the right application but I don't like it all that much for use on hot rods. I find it hard to work with because it's hard to wash off of your skin and the fumes are pretty strong if you spray it. Overall,I find I'm happier when I use a good automotive paint.
I found a similar product called Zero-Rust that claims you can apply over clean, painted or bare metal surfaces. It claims that it does not require sandblasting, but they do have a metal conditioner/rust remover called "Prep-step" which sounds like a metal etch solution. It comes in different colours, is low VOC and contains no isocyanates. They also have a clear that you can apply if you need UV protection.
I'm going to try this next time (on a SMALL batch!)
www.zerorustusa.com
-- Edited by Gearhead on Friday 5th of October 2012 10:09:35 AM
-- Edited by Gearhead on Friday 5th of October 2012 10:10:13 AM
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Tom Laughlin "Billy Jack" RIP - a true Hollywood hero
Rust Bullet is another product that I found that also states goes on bare metel. This was written up in Street Rodder Magazine a number of months ago and they were very high on this product. I have not tried this or any other like products - the more I search, the more confused I get. The following is the web site for the Canadian distributor.