Trying DIY Frame/Undercarriage Paint Job

[Yoox_II]

I got POR-15, a three step frame/chassis paint package. First product is a degreaser, second is a metal ether, then the third is a gloss black top coat that's apparently very durable. I will just be using a drill with a few different shaped wire wheels to remove surface corrosion then applying the POR-15. I'm getting an entire new floor welded onto the truck right now because my inner rockers, floorboards and door post pillars are all soft. My question is, can I wire wheel all chassis components such as the rear diff and axel, upper and lower control arms, shock mounts, leaf spring mounts, etc? Don't want to damage the bushings on the front end and don't want to damage the rear diff (not really sure how durable the diff covers are assuming its the original diff)

Thanks

 

[S0CAL]

Hey great, I was looking to do POR-15 as well. You have an '84, but it shouldn't matter. Why not contact POR-15 and ask for best recommendations on which parts to stay clear of. One thing I did read was make sure to wear gloves and cover the can with plastic wrap or it will dry out on you. POR-15 is the real deal.

If you can, post progress pics. A bunch of us would love to see your DIY and results. Good luck!

 

[crazzywolfie]

i don't know if you got an air compressor or not but if you do you should invest in a needle scaler if you have any good amount of flaking rust on the frame or axles. it helps remove that stuff real quick. i also like using a air drill or air buffer with a wire wheel to clean things up quick. i don't think you really need to go too crazy cleaning things up if you use por15. pretty sure you mainly just need to remove the loose and flaking rust.

 

[reek]

I've "Por-15-ed" several cars. The rust preventative is an epoxy-like coating that pretty much seals everything underneath it to slow any corrosion. it does not stop or neutralize rust. you just want to get most of the loose rust and grease/oil off before you coat the frame/undercarriage. Not sure if you need to do suspension parts with it, of course you can but it may be a long run for a short slide. If you do go ahead, Por15 rust preventative (paint) needs to be top coated otherwise it will fade. not sure if that affects it's sealant properties. I always akin it to epoxy primer during body painting.

don't ever remember por 15 damaging bushings. of course, soft materials can cause the por 15 coating to peel/lift from movement. kind of like peeling sun burned skin.

all my frame off restores, I wire brush the frame, por15 then I follow that with por15 top coat chassis black. that's some thick **** frame paint! I've done the same with the floor pans of the cars while they were off the frame. just make sure you get all the dirt/oil/grease off first. I'd use the chassis black on the suspension parts over the rust preventative. that's just me though. I'm very liberal with my por15. If I can't spray it with epoxy, I'll por 15 it. but make sure to prep, prep, prep. no matter how good the product you're applying, a bad prep will ruin the end product.

https://www.eastwood.com/por-15-top...MItcyMzqGx2QIVT1p-Ch0HnwkoEAQYAyABEgL5j_D_BwE

 

[reek]

here's a few shots of my chevelle frame, before, after wire brush, after power wash, then por15/frame paint, and then a shot of my floor pan after welding in/seam sealing a new trunk floor also with por15/frame paint.

 

[Yoox_II]

here's a few shots of my chevelle frame, before, after wire brush, after power wash, then por15/frame paint, and then a shot of my floor pan after welding in/seam sealing a new trunk floor also with por15/frame paint.

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Looks great! Unfortunately I don't have the means of doing a frame off resto, so everything will be left assembled. Any tips for doing it with the truck's body still attached to frame?

 

[reek]

oh, the frame off shots were just for por15 demo purposes, not intended to suggest you pull the body off. I don't have a rotisserie so I'd imagine doing a truck undercarriage would be similar to how I did my floor pan. That would be to get a filtered respirator and go to town with your wire wheel. get ready to be dirty head to toe. I found a 3 inch cup style wire brush and a 4 inch diameter wire disc were the best for reaching most of the nooks and crannies. rinse with a hose or maybe a brush tip on your shop vac. you may have to do round 2 depending on how thorough you want to be. be careful of the lines and electrical. Wear long sleeves and eye protection as you paint laying on your back.

have fun!

 

[crazzywolfie]

a body off restoration would not be that hard but i would at least suggest pulling the box off to make getting the frame in that area cleaned easier. pulling the bed off is a lot easier than lifting a cab off. i would also maybe suggest removing the fuel tank and get behind it painted real good since the frame rusts pretty good there.

 

[MarshRam]

I got to researching this awhile back and the only thing that concerned me was longevity. However, I could not verify if those who complained did not apply it correctly. Any thoughts on this? Anyone have first hand experience they can share?

 

[reek]

I got to researching this awhile back and the only thing that concerned me was longevity. However, I could not verify if those who complained did not apply it correctly. Any thoughts on this? Anyone have first hand experience they can share?

Here's my take on the whole sealing/coating of the frame and underside: if the vehicle is a daily driver, it will eventually fail. Even though I still jump through all the hoops, in the end, the protection is time limited with use and I think I do it just to make myself feel better. Sure, it buys you a several years of extra protection but ultimately, on the underside of a vehicle, it will fail. Now if you're saying it didn't last more than a year or so, I'd say the surface was not prepared well.

Now that brings up another point. Just how well can you prepare a frame with a drill and wire brush? The best way would be to sand/media blast the frame. But if you're going to that much trouble, I'd imagine you'd spring for powder coating the frame. that would be the most durable solution.

so long winded answer just to say, early failure is probably prep related. Late gradual failure is expected but its better than uncoated steel under your vehicle.

 

[crazzywolfie]

i always feel way better when i have cleaned up parts and painted them even on my daily driver. stuff usually looks way better and it will help keep some of the parts that accumulate dirt safer for longer.

i don't know if it would help after using POR15 but i know my buddies 91 had so much oil and grime on the frame that is seemed to help protect it very well especially considering how badly rotted his cab was. i just wish we could have spent more than a weekend on his cab swap. would have degreased and painted the frame. it would have made it look way better even tho it was not really that bad.

 

[reek]

I have a buddy that swears by heavy oil for protecting the inside of the boxed sections of his frame. the frame on my 67 chevelle is 50 years old, unmolested. only thing it has is surface rust, even on the non-oil saturated parts. so I'm not sure if he's right or its really just not a big deal overall. Of course, California frames are way different than say upstate NY frames, where I grew up.

 

[crazzywolfie]

in my buddies truck case the oil seems to have helped a lot. the truck had over 400k km of exposure to salt and sand in Ontario. it was even a plow truck at 1 point. ya i could see parts from California not being rusty or bad as places that drop tons of salt on the roads every winter. i know around here most vehicles are starting to barely make it past 10-15 years old without having seriously bad rust.