How much POR 15

[rebel beck]

Okay folks the weather here is going to be great for next week, and the kids go back to school. So I have decided to work on the outside of the trailor.
First of all the tongue needs re painting and also the rear bumper where it connects to the frame. On the por 15 how much should I order they have a starter kit would that be enough? Also can you use the por stuff on the bottels?
Also we have a 75 model and someone in the latter years have added the swing out rock gaurds on the front and one of those bottle cover things, They do look nice and they do have great purpose but they just look so new or should I say out of place on a 75 if it was you would you leave em or get rid of em.

And last what color of the por do most use silver or gray?

[wahoonc]

Hi Beck,
I have no clue how much POR to use. But are you sure you LP tanks aren't aluminum? If so you won't want to coat those...they can be polished. I know what you mean about the gravel protectors and LP covers, they do look a bit out of place on the 75's. I would consider leaving the gravel protectors, my trailer looks like it got sandblasted on the front quarters, not real pretty

The "factory" color on the hitches for 1975 was silver, but that doesn't mean you have to repaint that color. My hitch is currently black (it was rusty and that was the paint I had laying around )

Aaron

[uwe]

Originally Posted by rebel beck

Okay folks the weather here is going to be great for next week, and the kids go back to school. So I have decided to work on the outside of the trailor.
First of all the tongue needs re painting and also the rear bumper where it connects to the frame. On the por 15 how much should I order they have a starter kit would that be enough? Also can you use the por stuff on the bottels?
And last what color of the por do most use silver or gray?

rebel beck

I achieved excellent results on both of my trailers with POR15, by following a 3-step procedure.
1-Clean. Wire brush wheel on a grinder does a good job of that. Then use an etching cleaner on all bare metal. Get teh surface smooth and nice.
2-Coat. Use traditional POR15 as your first coat. Color is irrelevant, as you need to top coat it. POR is not UV stable, meaning it will discolor over time.
3-TopCoat. I used Stirling Silver, which is a nice, clean silver color. The Stirling Silver top coat is UV stable.

Buy a decent paint brush, once that won't she it's bristles. Try and avoid getting the POR on you. It will become part of your DNA and you will have to wait for weeks until it wears off.

To do a tongue, you won't need more than a pint, probably. POR goes a very long way.

[Mark Wiltrakis]

Beck -
I did this same project two months ago. I bought two "starter kits" and a pint of POR topcoat (semi-gloss black). I painted the tongue, underside of rear bumper and frame supports, about half my Hensley hitch, and the interior of the tongue storage box and interior of rear bumper compartment. I had paint to spare. With a decent brush, the POR dries with minimal brush marks and looks quite good. Here are before and after photos:
Mark

[Mark Wiltrakis]

The interior of the rear bumper compartment and the spring bars and struts of the Hensley were actually only painted with the Topcoat. The 2 starter sets POR-15 might not quite cover all this surface area; a pint of Topcoat was more than enough.
Mark

[Jim & Susan]

Beck, this is the stuff we used for the tongue and tail on our trailer. It comes in silver, so there's no need to top coat it. Just clean up the rust and paint it on. We actually sandblasted the entire frame, but you don't need to. It's called Eastwood's Rust Encapsulator.

On the remaider of the frame, we used black POR-15 (anyplace that would not be exposed to sunlight).

I bought a quart of the Eastwood's on the theory that I'll probably need it someplace over the next few months. And I was right, I've had to touch up several areas on the trailer and have actually used it inside the house in a couple of places. The remainder I'm going to donate to another Forum member who lives nearby who's doing the same thing as you and I.

Here's the link:
http://www.eastwoodco.com/jump.jsp?i...ORY&itemID=374

[JimmyJames]

To prepare the metal, people use a metal preparation solution that often cost more than what is really needed. Raw metal paints or primes best if it has a negative charge. Mild (or strong) acid will do this. I have always used muriatic acid mixed very mild to perhaps 1:8 parts (acid to water respectively). Use rubber gloves and a rag and wet the surface of all the areas you will paint. It might smell like sulfur or sizzle a little but at that mix ratio you may not notice. Then come back and rinse, nothing perfect just a splash to get the excess off. Then I use a towel and hot air gun to speed up the drying (this time of year anyway) then paint. The metal will reach out and grab the paint refusing to let go and if you use Por 15, you will have to grind it off once its dried.

Muriatic acid is sold at the hardware store and is a lot cheaper. Its kind of like those vegetable washes they came out with. Some had a little bleach mixed in or maybe a mild surfactant (fancy name for soap) and the rest was water but they charged a lot. They put it in a colorful bottle and sold it for 1000nds of percents over what it cost to make. FYI

[markdoane]

I don't agree with using muriatic acid as a replacement for 'Metal Ready', the metal prep recommended by POR-15.

You might save a few dollars. But if it doesn't work, whose fault is it? The cost of the prep is just a fraction of the cost of the paint, so why risk it?

[Jim & Susan]

I'm with Mark on this one. The Metal Ready only cost about $12.00 for a quart. I brushed it on (with a paint brush that I could then throw away after I was finished), let it sit for 1/2 hour, then hosed it off. Next day, I was ready to go with the POR-15. The POR folks made it easy for us, besides, Muratic acid can be tricky if you're not familiar with how to work with it.

[JimmyJames]

Thanks Jim and Susan:

I used to do body repair when I was a teen. My dad and his brothers owned a shop in Southern California and they raced sponsered stock cars so I got an early introduction to fixing and painting metal. I sence the trepidation in other replys to my suggestion to going with the straight stuff and not a premixed jelly or other mix. I am learning to curtail my advice. We all come from different places and have different levels of experience. I understand that when giving tips that may be outside the established framework of most people, one might be seen as trouble or out of line. I still enjoy peering in from time to time and learning from all the others.

My apologies for the bold suggestion. I truely appreciate the honest feedback.

[CaptainJones]

Nice reply Jim,

It is folks like this that keep this forum going. If someone disagrees it doesn't turn into a flame war. I am learning lots from the forum and enjoy hearing options even if I do not use them.

[FrenchBern]

Thanks for your suggestion Jim, Please don't clam up on your valued experience. Often many manufacturing generic processes are what's used and slightly modified to sell the same thing at a much higher cost.

[rebel beck]

I'm just now getting down to all this and spring has sprung. I plan on working on the hitch, frame and bumper area next week. Thanks for all the advice.


Becky

[Zeppelinium]

Originally Posted by uwe

rebel beck
...3-step procedure.
1-Clean. Wire brush wheel on a grinder does a good job of that. Then use an etching cleaner on all bare metal. Get teh surface smooth and nice.
...

I've opened the belly pan (thread "new axis axle") and wire-brushed most of the frame. In some cases the rust scale was bad enough that I used an abrasive wheel, like those sponges with git on one side, only on steroids. What I've got is 30% shiny metal, 40% black steel, and 30% scale-free but still redish steel. Some of the corners are durn difficult to get to.

The question is, if POR 15 does something really chemical with rust, is it enough to just get the scale off? Can there be areas where old paint is still evident, but strongly adhering? Will POR 15 adhere to old sanded paint?

Also, do I have to worry about Metal Ready soaking into and remaining in the fiberglass that is compressed between the frame and the plywood floor? How much of a rinse is needed?

[pinkflamingoes]

Remember that POR15 "likes" rusty surfaces, even better than smooth sanded ones, so you might not want to go overboard on super-cleaning it. Make sure they're smooth, but a little rust left on it, as long as it's not loose scales, makes the POR15 adhere better. This is my experience.

I also read elsewhere that olive oil gets POR15 off of your skin pretty nicely (but I can't quantify this advice!! I had to scrub skin off to get it off of me).

Have fun, it's messy but I like working with POR15. There's a lot of advice on the stuff at www.por15store.com it's not the company's website I don't think, but a lot of questions are answered there. I'm thinking of coating my garage floor with it this summer maybe.

[enduroryda]

Originally Posted by pinkflamingoes

Remember that POR15 "likes" rusty surfaces, even better than smooth sanded ones, so you might not want to go overboard on super-cleaning it. Make sure they're smooth, but a little rust left on it, as long as it's not loose scales, makes the POR15 adhere better. This is my experience.

ok..so do you need to do the "Metal Ready" prep? This is a job I want to tackle soon and I need to get my order in...

Also, can I top coat after the POR15 with the "tool box grey" from Sears seeing how my tongue is the dark grey color and can I expect the same results down the road or would I be better off just going with the black POR15. Thanks

[Jim & Susan]

I can answer a couple of the questions posed earlier.

Metal ready is designed to clean and "etch" the metal. What it does basically is give the POR-15 something to "grip" onto in order to hold on to the metal better. Does that sentence make sense? You don't have to use it, but it makes the job easier.

The directions on the can of POR-15 say to get rid of all the old paint and not to apply it over existing paint. I sandblasted nearly the entire frame, so applying the POR was a bit easier. But since I did a "shell on" floor replacement, there was still paint in a few areas that couldn't be sandblasted. I hand sanded these areas and put the POR right on top of the old paint. Only time will tell if that was a good decision.

There's a better explanation in my main thread here, if you want to read thru it: http://www.airforums.com/forum...e-15132-9.html

Jim

[enduroryda]

I guess I will use the metal prep after a good going over with a drill with a metal brush attachment. Still not sure about the topcoat. Would like to hear any feedback from anybody that has used the Sears "tool box grey"...Has it held up is my main question (after how many years?) and did it apply nicely?

Thanks for the link to your thread Jim....Your Sovereign looks great!

It's snowing like crazzzzy here in CT

[markdoane]

You should use Metal Prep anywhere the metal is new and hasn't been rust pitted. I had a few sections of new steel where the POR-15 peeled off because I didn't do a good job with the Metal Prep.

The Metal Prep contains a phosphate that protects the metal from moisture and air prior to painting. That is why I recommend Metal Prep rather than just an acid etch. It leaves a fine white coating on the metal that you paint over.

Rusty areas need to be cleaned with a non-residue detergent like Marine Clean, especially if they have any oil or grease contamination. I didn't use Metal Prep where the steel was rusted.

[pinkflamingoes]

Re: the Tool Box Grey...I think most folks, once they put that pricey POR15 on, invest in a POR15 product to topcoat as well. If POR15 has a grey topcoat to use, you might as well use it. That way you don't have to worry about it not working or peeling-chipping off in the future.