POR-15 Top Coat Paint, Direct to Metal Paint, Long-term Sheen and Color Retention, 1 Quarts, Chassis Black

I discovered this product while doing research on rust prevention for a project that had been long in the planning stages: restoring my 1985 Jeep CJ-7 from the frame up. I'd heard of POR-15 before and after reading some pretty good things about it I decided to give it a try. If you want to maximize the life of the metal for whatever it is you're wanting to protect or restore, then read on...First, you are well-advised to completely read the instructions included with POR-15 before you get started! And if you take nothing else I'm writing with you, at least heed this advice: be absolutely certain to cover yourself head-to-toe BEFORE applying POR-15! Put on an old long sleeve T-shirt & some jogging sweats or an old pair of pants that you don't care about. (Trust me, they'll be trashed by the time you're through, depending on the size of your project.) Alternately, you can buy one of those 1-piece painter's suits sold at most paint, autoparts & big box hardware stores. Yeah, they're hot & sorta stifling, but it sure beats having this stuff bond to your skin for a week or two. (Don't ask how I know. LOL) Just remember, if it gets on your skin it will NOT wash off no matter how much scrubbing you do - short of scrubbing your friggin' skin off! POR-15 will have to wear off, like a dye. Don't say you weren't warned! And speaking of covering yourself... if you're in a garage you ought to make sure your project is covered underneath, too. Sit your project on / roll your vehicle chassis onto a clean hole-free tarp. It's cheap insurance. Otherwise, if you drip or splash any POR-15 on your floor you'll be scraping & chiseling it off. NOT fun. I still have patches in my garage more than 3 years after glopping the stuff on, and having it land in/on places I never intended!The POR-15 guys recommend some prep work for heavily-rusted projects. They also offer a spray for new or clean surfaces that's designed to chemically "etch" the metal for better coating retention. I initially just used a grinder with a wire wheel cup attachment to strip away the larger scale & rust deposits. After some consideration I decided to go ahead and have the entire chassis professionally sandblasted. (This was a wise choice, as it exposed how completely rusted-through the rear arms of my CJ frame were. Repair required fabricating & welding in replacement steel pieces.) Anyhoo... I applied 2 coats on the Jeep's frame. POR-15 applies easily and can literally be brushed or rolled right on top of existing rust. After almost 3 years the POR-15 is holding up remarkably well, and though it took time to do the job properly it has been worth the effort.One last piece of advice: if you have any of the stuff left in the can when you finish, be sure to apply a piece of plastic wrap (Saran Wrap) between the can & the lid! If any of this stuff gets in the groove and you just tamp the lid shut, you will have effectively glued the lid on permanently. It's best to cover the rim of the can with some masking or painter's tape or buy one of those re-usable rubber snap-on pouring spouts (with the sealable spout lids) and just pour a small amount into a disposable bucket or pail, refilling as you go. It may take a little longer this way, but it will help keep POR-15 from drying out prematurely if the pail is just left open. It will also help avoid the frustrating "lid welding" mistake should any of it get into the lid groove.BOTTOM LINE: Yes, POR-15 is kind of expensive, but if you have a project you're working on and you want it to last ...it's money well-spent.

I use this on my cars and lawn tractor. You can paint this right over rust and protects the metal for a long time. It goes on smooth. I’ve only brushed this paint on surfaces. I haven’t tried to use it in a spray gun. It’s relatively thin but may need to be thinned a little bit more. If I just want a black finish I usually don’t paint over it with another paint but it can be used as a primer and paint over it with another color. This paint isn’t inexpensive but the quality is very good.

I repaired a rusting area on the roof of my Ford Expedition using POR-15 patch, and then POR-15 rust preventive paint. I've reviewed both of them separately. The manufacturer indicates that the rust preventive paint is a bit UV-sensitive, and they recommend that it be covered with a couple of coats of this Top Coat. I wish they made this in smaller volumes (as they do the rust-preventive stuff) because I didn't need a lot. That aside, it seems great. I had to stir it for a while, because I could feel a lot of accumulated "gunk" at the bottom of the can. I stirred gently, because I didn't want any of the paint to spill over into the rim that forms the lid seal - several reviewers have pointed out that if you get any of this stuff into the lid seal (for example, when pouring some into another container), and then close the lid, the stuff will make such a tight bond that you can forget about opening the can again. It seemed to thicken up a tad after I'd stirred everything for a while, so then I used a cheap turkey baster to transfer a small amount of paint into a disposable plastic drinking cup (that way, I didn't get any paint into the lid seal). I also used cheap (25 cent) disposable brushes, so no clean-up was required. I'd lightly sanded the area to be painted (including the POR-15 rust preventive stuff, which was pretty much rock-hard), cleaned it and allowed it to dry in the sun. When I applied this Top Coat, the roof was warm (but not too hot to touch). The paint went on smoothly, and began to dry very quickly. I let it dry overnight, then applied a second coat (this time, no sanding). Again, went on fine. It's dried to a hard matte finish. I'll come back & edit this review if any rust re-appears. I am pretty optimistic that it won't.

This is a great product that became hard to get. The price is ridiculous. But the product is great. You can say you get what you pay for. But still not acceptable at this price.

it looks nice and you can tell its going to last. i would use again.

Order arrived in smeared box and was rejected. Replacement followed rapidly. Excellent service.

I used a paint brush to install this, you just have to take your time with it