This was asked on the Healeys list; I'm shipping this to other lists as
well because I think it has general interest.
On Thu, 20 Feb 1997 adnan.merchant@nellcorpb.com wrote (regarding
painting chassis parts):
> 3. Has anyone successfully used a spray-can based product for the
> myriad of tiny parts that have to be painted? On small stuff I can
> bead blast to bare metal and it would be nice to immediately spray it
> with a paint that will protect and serve and not need topcoating.
> That's where a spray can would be very handy.
>
> 4. On the rear axle, I'm hoping to not have to blast down to bare
> metal. Can you suggest a paint scheme that will tackle the rusty
> parts as well as those that are still painted. I was thinking about
> POR-15 but have never used it before.
I sprayed many of the smaller bits and pieces of my car with rustoleum
after they were sandblasted. I usually used the zinc chromate (yellowish)
primer, followed by their satin black. The only "gotcha" was that they
*really* mean what they say about recoating. The can says if you want to
put a second coat on, you should either do so within an hour, or wait
several days. Obey, and you are golden. Try to recoat after 3 hours, and
it all wrinkles up and you are back to square 1. The rustoleum looks good
with a nice satin finish, and has held up well.
I did not want to sandblast the rear axle, because of worry about the sand
getting inside. I wire brushed it thoroughly, then brushed on POR15. As
per POR15 instructions, I waited until the POR15 was tacky, then sprayed
the assembly with black enamel. It worked well and still looks good
after 4 years.
I have an experiment of sorts in progress. My daughter let her old 4WD
truck grow huge scabs of rust, in places 6 inches across. The whole
vehicle was so rusty that sandblasting would have been an incredible job.
I recommended that she and her boyfriend take my angle grinder and a very
stiff wire wheel, and thoroughly wire brush off all the loose scale. I
cautioned them to roughen up the original paint around each patch, because
POR15 does not adhere well to smooth surfaces. Then I had them coat all
the patches with black POR15 (two coats). When the 2nd coat of POR15 got
tacky, they brushed 1 coat of plain acrylic enamel (no hardener) over the
POR15 to protect it from UV light. They did this in October, and I am
waiting to see how it lasts.
So far, it seems to be holding up well with no evidence of any of this
coming off, although the truck is presently so coated with mud and salt
that it is difficult to be really sure. The truck is driven daily in all
kinds of slop, very rarely washed, almost never waxed, and never garaged,
and the paint was applied hurriedly on a cold day. If this works for even
a couple of years, I will be very, very impressed with POR15.
Ray Gibbons Dept. of Molecular Physiology & Biophysics
Univ. of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, VT
gibbons@northpole.med.uvm.edu (802) 656-8910
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