frame cleanup/painting recomendations

[coldtaco]

Hi y'all, easy question for the experts here. I have the front part of the frame of my 75 ute (pickup) free from all parts as part of a rhd to lhd swap. I want to clean it up and treat/paint it. I don't want to sand blast it or spend a lot of time cleaning it up. Any recommendations for light cleanup and then rust proofing/painting it? Was thinking of cleaning it up with wire wheel or the equivalent and then rust treatment and then paint with something. Recommended products for rust proofing and painting over please. Thanks.

 

[47coeman]

Hi y'all, easy question for the experts here. I have the front part of the frame of my 75 ute (pickup) free from all parts as part of a rhd to lhd swap. I want to clean it up and treat/paint it. I don't want to sand blast it or spend a lot of time cleaning it up. Any recommendations for light cleanup and then rust proofing/painting it? Was thinking of cleaning it up with wire wheel or the equivalent and then rust treatment and then paint with something. Recommended products for rust proofing and painting over please. Thanks.

POR 15 is a good product and can be applied by brush or roller, and is very forgiving.

 

[coldtaco]

Por15 you have to have a clean frame-no paint or rust is my understanding.

 

[69LC]

Por15 you have to have a clean frame-no paint or rust is my understanding.

My understanding recently with POR use is that it’s supposed to go over some rust to convert and neutralize it. Can anyone confirm that? I just read about it on a mud thread within the last month or so.

 

[Tank5]

You can put Por15 on clean bare metal but you should use a degreaser and metal prep before you apply Por15. Por15 sells the degreaser and metal prep. I did this on a frame and new axle housing several years ago and it has help up great.

 

[coldtaco]

Yeah, I am trying not to have to work so hard with prep, I am not wanting a concourse finish There's got to be other options?

 

[NightFury]

I recommend POR-15 as well. I have used it on several axle, knuckle, and frame parts with excellent results. POR actually stands for Paint Over Rust, so you definitely don't need bare metal to start.

These are the cleaner/degreaser and metal prep solutions they sell:
Cleaner/Degreaser
Metal Prep

All I did was mix them with some water in a cheap pump up weed poison sprayer and spray each one on and rinse it off after a few minutes. I agitated the degreaser with a brush in some of the dirtier spots to make sure the paint would adhere well. They also recommend using a wire wheel to remove any flaking rust or old paint.

It holds up super well and doesn't take much prep compared to some other coatings. Plus its super easy to apply and is self leveling. I just brushed it on and it came out very smooth and even. If you are only painting your frame then you shouldn't need a top coat, but if you are painting something that is going to sit out in the sun they recommend applying a top coat over the POR-15 to protect it from UV light.

This is the video I followed along with when I did it.
How to Apply POR-15 Rust Preventive Paint

 

[coldtaco]

Thanks guys, I will go the POR15 route

 

[tgreco]

I heard/read all the POR15 suggestions but I ended up going with this. I prep’d pretty minimally with wire wheel and grinder to knock the surface rust off. Painted it on with a brush. Overall it’s held up great and has been tough.

I got it from my local auto paint/body shop. It was $100 for a gallon and I did most of the frame with about half of it. When I shopped it was way cheaper than POR15.

 

[coldtaco]

Interesting. Thanks

 

[bigfj62]

X2 on the Chassi Saver. Very good product. Works with minimal rust removed.

 

[too tall]

POR 15 is ok if you never need to repair anything on or around it. Have any of you that use it ever had to repair any areas where you have used it? It gets so hard you can't scratch it after it dries to apply anything else over top of it. After you attempt to put anything on top of it or repair anything near it, then try to touch it up. The first time you get the pressure washer out to try to clean whatever you tried to apply over POR15 it will wash right off. I have recently been using plain old tremclad with reducer so I can spray it and activator to make it dry in less than 24 hours. Seems tough and holds its shine for some time. POR 15 gets chalky looking if you don't use the stuff with the UV protectant in it.
I was using Rust Bullet for quite some time but it is very hard to get in canada and the last couple of orders I got must have been old because I wasn't able to use it as it got thick in the can and trying to thin it out after opening it with their own reducer would not work.
I know a lot of guys like POR15, personally I would use something else.

 

[coldtaco]

That’s my main concern with por15. Hopefully I will not have to do any repairs on anything I covered. Same reason I don’t like to use powder coating on large objects.