TheSamba.com :: View topic - Fiberglass patch over POR-15??

Tue Apr 21, 2009 4:47 pm

I've started sanding down rusted areas on my bus and many of the areas are rusted through, or heavily pitted . Sanding these areas down to bare metal seems to be excessive as i would be sanding away whole sections of panels should i try this....my questions is can i treat the rusted areas with por-15 and then come back with fiberglass/body filler, or do i need bare metal.. Thanks.

Wed Apr 22, 2009 7:27 am

Where exactly are these holes and pitted areas?

Wed Apr 22, 2009 7:51 am

All over, under windows, by the tail lights, front floor boards...by the front door hinges..some external spots and some internal....

Wed Apr 22, 2009 9:40 am

Well yes you can do it that way but it really isn't the proper way. As good as POR-15 or Masterseries is, weak metal is weak metal.

If I were going to do it this way(the metal would need to be pretty solid), I would strip as much as I could around the rusted area to make sure no more is present. I would then apply Masterseries to the area to ensure the rust would not spread. Sand the Masterseries with 80grit. I would then apply Evercoat Kitty Hair or Duraglas as it is Fiberglass based and waterproof. After that you can apply whatever you like to get it smooth and paintable.

If the holes are large you are not going to be able to fix them without either metal welded in or fiberglass used to create something for the filler to hold to. Another way to do it if you can get to the backside of the metal is to panel bond a piece of metal to the backside and fill it in from the front. It will work and that panel bond is incredibly strong.

Again this is not the "proper" way but you can do whatever you like...it's your ride ;)

Wed Apr 22, 2009 12:18 pm

POR15 sells a fiberglass mesh to be used with the POR15, beds down and gets coated with the POR15 it is hard as a rock when done. Used it to cover a couple small holes in the battery tray, I found it hard to use on anything but a flat surface due to the stiffness of the mesh.