POR 15, expoxy or powder coat?

[Glenn-BJ74]

I have built a rear bumper for my BJ74 with a swing out 2X20 litre NATO fuel carrier. I plan to have it all sandblasted prior to paint.

My options are POR 15 (undercoat), epoxy paint or powder coat. I guess I could use the POR 15 as an undercoat and the epoxy for top coat. Powder coat would be the most expensive, since I would have to get a shop to it

What are the pros and cons of each? What would others, more experienced than I, recommend?

Thanks in advance.

 

[WarDamnEagle]

I just did axles, sliders and several steering parts with 2 coats of POR15 and their Chassis Black top coat. That is really tough paint! If you go with POR15 I don't think you need to sandblast. I let the sliders rust completely and then lightly sanded them with 220 and used the POR Metal ready (phosphoric acid) prior to painting.

They turned out pretty nice....and did I say how tough that paint is?

 

[debushau]

Both POR-15 and epoxy need to be topcoated. Miracle Paint (Hirsch Auto) is like POR-15 but does not need to be topcoated. I have never been satisfied with the results of either POR-15 or Miracle Paint - with the exception that it does okay when brushed on rusty, rough parts. For clean metal, POR-15's "hardnose" product might work better over a primer but I have not used it.

POR-15 sticks to a rusty surface best so if your metal is clean, you have to use the etch product first.

The epoxy/paint route is good insofar as you can "repair" scratches. Powder coat is tougher but not easy to repair/match. Also, a poor powder coat job can reveal rust "pin holes".