So this POR15 stuff...

I am buying a starter kit from POR15, it comes with the degreaser, etching stuff, and rust-stopper all in one. The wife's new Protege5 has some rust starting that needs to be nipped in the butt right now, before it becomes an issue.

Most of the rust is superficial- a body panel here, the tiny spot on a wheel well there. There's one spot on the car that is very rusty, and very important- the oil pan, which I didn't notice until I jacked the car up the other day. Can I use POR15 on the oil pan?

Probably can, but it won't keep it from eventually leaking.

It can't hurt to throw a coat on there. I'm impressed with the stuff myself. What really got me is the fact that a really small amount goes a long way. I bought a pint of it, and I should have enough to paint everything I need to paint on my CSX, my Trans Am, AND my Dakota, and probably have some left over. On that oil pan, I'd degrease it the best you can and do multiple coats.

Oh, and wear long sleeves, gloves, etc. you do not want to get this stuff on your skin. Only time will take it off.

Completely off-topic but if you have a P5 you will want to stock up on headlight bulbs, and pay careful attention to the rear calipers. The calipers have a nasty habit of seizing.

I'd replace the oil pan -- why take the risk?

In reply to SilverFleet:

This. The POR doesn't come off your skin so much as your skin is eventually removed from your body, and the POR just happens to come with it.

I see you're in PA, and I assume this is a year-round DD.

I would recommend grinding down the rust to bare metal and re-painting. If you caught it early enough, this should be an option.

I have fiddled with por-15, eastwood rust encapsulator etc. on many occasions.

Bottom line, in PA, if you use it exactly as directed, it is a temporary fix that lasts 2-3 years.

I have no experience with it in different climates in cars that aren't driven year round in the salty slush, maybe its the bee's knees then.

I've thought about it to extend the life of my Elantra. I noticed when changing the axles last weekend that one of the radiator support mounts (welded onto the core support) has a bad case of cancer on it while the other is still painted white. I figure it MIGHT make another 24 months in it's current state, then the radiator is coming out on it's own.

I had good results with the Eastwood stuff. Minimal prep, they said it sticks to rust better than clean metal. Held up very well, even on a battery tray.

I was underneath my 1 year-old (as of yesterday) truck changing the oil a few days ago, and I noticed this:

That's the transmission crossmember. There is similar surface rust in several places. But what really bugged me was this:

That's a series of 40mm access holes on the inside of the rocker panel. Perfect place to collect dirt, salt and moisture, right? Well, don't worry, Ford covered them with tape! And as you can see, one piece has already fallen off. Nice.

So, my plan is to powerwash the underbody, hit the surface rust with either POR or Rust Bullet, then for the rockers I'll spray either Fluid Film or Waxoylin there then find some better way to plug those holes, like plastic or rubber plugs.

Tom_Spangler wrote: I was underneath my 1 year-old (as of yesterday) truck changing the oil a few days ago, and I noticed this:

That looks easy enough to hit with a wire brush on a grinder and prep, then use higher quality paint. Something about altered metal properties near welds and cheap paint.

As far as access holes, pretty cool Ford actually covered them. I have had good luck with aluminum tape when every thing is clean.

My latest attempt at saving vehicles from rust involves wiping dirty oil all over the rust......who knows...

8 replies, no hootus mention yet. You guys are slipping.

Not to be "that guy", but the term is "nip it in the bud"...as in take care of it while it is still small. Literally, clip it off while it is still a small bud.

I have a feeling that nipping something or someone "in the butt" has a whole other meaning, not that there's anything wrong with that.

We've had good luck with POR15 but only when my g/f was neurotic about following the directions to the letter. Any time we've used it and didn't do EXACTLY what the directions say to do, it failed.

That said, I used it to paint directly over my rusty engine hoist and it's held up surprisingly well even without any sort of top coat.

Yes. POR15 on skin is permanent. She had fun explaining that to her white-collar engineer coworkers...

pinchvalve wrote: Not to be "that guy", but the term is "nip it in the bud"...as in take care of it while it is still small. Literally, clip it off while it is still a small bud. I have a feeling that nipping something or someone "in the butt" has a whole other meaning, not that there's anything wrong with that.

Right. Well, that's what I get for trying to use an old colloquialism! I had a girlfriend in high school who thought "lactose intolerant" was "lack toast and tolerant." At least she was nice to look at.

I would replace it, only I don't have an engine lift...or the time...or a driveway...or the expertise...or the patience...or the cash to pay someone to do it. But other than that, yea, I'd just replace it.

This is a year-round DD for my wife. We are in PA, they like road salt. She doesn't drive real far in the winter, or at all, she works about 2 minutes from here. We use my car a lot more in the winter because I have a set of snow tires for it, and Saturns are pretty ridiculous in snow, in a good way. So I don't anticipate it being driven a whole lot in snowy/slushy/salty mess. Still, I'd rather take care of the rust before it takes care of the car. The car is what we need/want to a 'T.' I'd like to keep it as long as possible.

Twin_Cam wrote:

pinchvalve wrote:

The car is what we need/want to a 'T.' I'd like to keep it as long as possible.

Do it right, cut/grind off any/all rust, clean prep and paint. Spray the back side of the metal with something too. I would imagine your car is galvanized, so it may just be a paint chip with running surface rust, hopefully not deep rot.

Again, I have used the stuff properly, and it is nice, but it will only give you 2-3 years before it starts rusting through again. Last time I used por-15 I had all the stuff out, directions memorized, timer set etc. etc.

Now I use my spare stuff on tools/stuff that isn't driven on salted roads. Again, its great, but not worth the effort for a "temporary" patch. And I got one drop on a toyota seat, contemplated swapping seats to clean it off.....

Chances are any rust you are sing came from the backside of the panel. Unless you can get the POR back there, any solution is going to be temporary.

POR-15? It ain't cheap but it works at least as well as any other "rust encapsulator." I've used it, and I'd use it again. And yes, I'd use it on the oil pan.

I have used POR-15 a bit, I have seen pictures of it done exactly according to the instructions, but when I tried to do it that way it just peeled off. I had the best luck pretty much just getting the loose dirt off then brushing it on, then painting over it with something else when it was still wet. I also found that the silver stuff worked better than the black, but I dont have any real evidence for that.

POR 15 is very tough and good stuff. As someone else has mentioned you need to follow the directions completely. POR15 will dull with UV exporsure and must be overcoated with paint. You must overcoat before the POR 15 is fully cured or dry. If it drys your only option is to sand it which is not an easy task. My advice is to make sure you have everything you need on hand before getting started use their etching solvent and follow the directions.

I have always used Rustbullet, which is basically POR-15's badass big sister ;) and had incredible luck with it. I used it on everything from the oil pan to suspension arms and even my leaky master cylinder. 2 years of dripping brake fluid later, (and I still haven't placed the brake res. grommets) and it is still nice and silvery - not a lick of Rustbullet has worn away, which is more than I can say for my 3-part marine paint that is everywhere else in my engine bay!

Living in New England and trying to keep your cars rust-free is tough. I have always had good luck just having old, crappy, leaky cars for my winter drivers and keep the good ones for the nicer weather. Oil is a really great rust preventative ;)