Well I have applied POR-15 to the underside (rear half) of my Tiger and am a
bit concern with the results. The whole area was removed of undercoat, paint
and rust. I then went over the area with sandpaper to rough it up a bit
after much rotary wire brushing. I then wiped everything down with denatured
alcohol (I was told it left no residue). I applied "their" Metal Ready prep
etcher/cleaner. This was then wiped that down with water (as recommended)
after the specified time. I then waited a few days to ensure it was dry
(with a no humidity, Calif Santa Ana wind conditions) and then applied
(brushed on) semi-gloss POR-15. The first coat went well, but it took about
8 hours (not the 3-4 hours they state --- most likely due to the Santa Ana
winds) until the "finger drag" was noticable for the second coat. The
second coat seemed to take about 3 times more paint to cover as it appeared
to want to stick where it was put and not spread like the first coat did.
These are my "concerns": The semi-gloss came out gloss on about 80% of the
area. They kind of warned (in a round about way) that the appearence could
"vary". OK, but if it's so likely to not be semi-gloss why sell it in the
first place. They state that it is a "ceramic" like coating. This is what
really concerns my. I can leave a mark in the paint with my fingernail if I
push real hard. That doesn't sound too "ceramic" to me. It is most noticable
where the paint is thicker. Though I tried for thin coats, you can only do
so much with a brush and the second coat application difficulties mentioned
above. Today I was assembling the springs. I had heard of people having to
grind out holes that had filled in with POR-15 and I was ready to have to do
that to the central locator holes. However, when I ran the bolt through the
hole the POR-15 (it had dried for over 5 days) pushed out, with a bit of
effort, like a good, quality caulk ( stiff, but flexible). Yes it is
sticking to the metal, but not nearly like I understood from their claims
("chemically bonds to the metal, ceramic like coating, etc. etc."). After
about a 100 hours of prep and at $35 a quart it doesn't seem any better than
the paint that was there to begin with. I just can't bring myself to hit it
with a hammer to see if it will pass that "claim". Its not a hopeless
situation, but it sure has the makings for disappointment unless I treat it
with kid gloves. Whats your experience I would really like to know. Thanks
for any input you might give. Tom Witt B9470101
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