how to thin por-15?

[VTStang66]

Does anybody know what solvent/solvents to use to thin that stuff and clean it up? The can says to use their thinner at $11/quart (plus shipping), but it seems like I should be able to buy something at the hardware store for half that that would do the job. I'm about to get to the point where I'm ready to start coating this floor pan I've been working on.

 

[enferno]

once it drys, no way to clean it up!

if it's still wet, just use lacquer thinner to wipe up what's left.

 

[stangman65]

Thin with xylene aka xylol. They are slower evaporating solvents. You can get them much cheaper at Home Depot or Lowes. I learned years ago that the POR15 stuff was overpriced. BTW there's another muuuuuch better coating now called kbs rustseal,and it costs less than the por. I found this out when I was buying a new front end from these guys:

Stang-Aholics Restoration
8521 Road 256
Terra Bella, CA 93270-9742
Phone: 559-535-5669

or www.kbs-coatings.com

 

[Platonic Solid]

Thin with xylene aka xylol. They are slower evaporating solvents. You can get them much cheaper at Home Depot or Lowes. I learned years ago that the POR15 stuff was overpriced. BTW there's another muuuuuch better coating now called kbs rustseal,and it costs less than the por. I found this out when I was buying a new front end from these guys:

Stang-Aholics Restoration
8521 Road 256
Terra Bella, CA 93270-9742
Phone: 559-535-5669

or www.kbs-coatings.com

Looks like the exact same product as Por-15 except about 10% cheaper. Not sure what you're basing the "much better" claim on, but to each his own.

 

[golf4283]

not to hijack this thread but I am gonna start doing some major rust prevention on my 66 and was wondering what the best way is to remove all the old paint and crap in the engine bay/front clip of the car. I wanna start at the front get it all done and por-15 and then work my way back slowly when I get this back on the ground. I want to remove all the old crap first though and then por-15.

is there a good paint remover IE the por-15 remover or anyhting else thats good?

 

[BarnStang]

A sandblaster will take Por-15 off
At the Fall Columbus show we stopped by the vendor we got Por-15 from the previous year and he had all the Por-15 he had left on clearance. (We bought half of what he had) and he had switched to the Rustseal stuff. Said he was no longer carrying Por-15. He said one of the improvements is a higher resistance to UV light. At least that was his story. We also bought some of the new stuff too. Seems a little thicker than Por-15, and makes a tough coating as well. Oh yea, I asked about the thinner too. The claim is that "their" thinner is more pure, some BS like 99.98% pure compared to common off the shelf thinner (Xylene) and that the performance of the product will be compromised if you don't use their thinner. Meaning they claim it will not have the strength or durability it is supposed to. I think I read that off the Por-15 web site. That's why they want you to use their thinner. Sounds like some marketing BS to me though.

 

[VTStang66]

not to hijack this thread but I am gonna start doing some major rust prevention on my 66 and was wondering what the best way is to remove all the old paint and crap in the engine bay/front clip of the car. I wanna start at the front get it all done and por-15 and then work my way back slowly when I get this back on the ground. I want to remove all the old crap first though and then por-15.

is there a good paint remover IE the por-15 remover or anyhting else thats good?

Aircraft stripper will take everything off. That's what they call it; it's just a chemical stripper. I used it before, it's messy and toxic and it takes a little while to work, but it's head and shoulders better than sandpaper. You used to be able to get it at the auto parts store, but I don't believe I've seen it there lately. Haven't really looked though.

Yeah I got me a gallon of xylol at lowe's today, should start coating this floor within the next week or so. I'm pretty psyched. Thanks for the replies.

 

[Platonic Solid]

I thought this was just for clean-up. For use in thinning Por15 to use on your car, I'd only use the recommended Por15 thinner. Are you really willing to potentially botch your whole floor pan job for the sake of $11?

 

[BarnStang]

It's $11 a QUART. I don't think I would get off the shelf stuff at Lowes. I wouldn't be opposed to trying a product from a local auto body supplier. THe real question though is why are you thinning it? Unless you have some reason to force it though a spray gun, you should be brushing it on by hand. If you haven't used it before, a little bit does go a long way. I think the POR-15 brushes easier than the new Rustseal stuff. I got this fronm the POR-15 site:

IS IT BETTER TO BRUSH OR SPRAY POR-15?
Most people brush it on due to its leveling characteristics however it
may also be sprayed. Proper equipment and organic vapor particulate
respirators for solvents are essential for spraying.

HOW DO I THIN POR-15 IF I WANT TO SPRAY IT?
You should use POR-15 Solvent for thinning. Some lacquer thinners will
work, but many will not. Keep lacquer thinner handy for clean-up. Do not
thin POR-15 more than 5%.

ANd from the Rustseal site (says the same thing as POR-15):
Thinning is not generally required, but if needed 5%-10% is normally adequate. Use KBS #1 Thinner only.

Here is what I was looking for. It's the moisture content in the thinner that's the problem. From the RUstseal site:
Make sure to only use KBS #1 Thinner for the thinning of RustSeal and our other Rust Preventive Paints. Regular solvents may contain moisture that can adversely affect the performance of our coatings.

ANd their's is $10 a quart. I would assume the high cost is due to the low moisture content. (or no moisture content)

Unless your determined to spray it, you are beter off brushing it on. You can use anything to clean up like Platonic said. I would think you would really have to have a lot of metal to coat to have to spray it. And the clean up on your spray gun would be a chore and a half. I know we wouldn't spray it though any of our good guns. THe Sikkins Ralle Black with the catalyst is hard enough to clean up.

 

[VTStang66]

Yeah I was planning on brushing it, and I should just need the thinner for cleanup.