POR 15 or Epoxy

[BrewCityCobra]

So my kit has finally arrived a week ago and it is time to start coating some of the metal parts. Specifically, the IRS pumpkin, hood hinges, and the like. I was wondering what the Board's feelings were on POR 15 vs. Epoxy when it comes to painting this type stuff (tins not included). For context, I currently have a spray gun and all the necessary equipment to spray epoxy I just wasn't sure if people have found POR 15 to be more robust and last longer.

Any thoughts?

[cv2065]

POR15 works great for anything that is not exposed to UV on a regular basis. I'm sure that epoxy would last just as long if not longer, it just depends on where your expertise and capabilities are for application. POR15 does level out nicely and doesn't take a lot of skill to apply. My pumpkin came out nicely. Anything other than the pumpkin, I powder coated. Not sure if much more than that is needed in terms of durability.

[BeePea]

I've had similar thoughts, and at the risk of hijacking the thread... what are people's thoughts on using POR15 on the tins in the engine bay as opposed to powder coat?

[Blitzboy54]

I painted a set of brake calipers with POR-15 and they came out really good looking. It's thick and leaves brush lines but as it dries is smooths out and becomes almost like a ceramic coating. My only concern would be how long it would take to hand paint all those tins. The brakes took 3 coats to look right. I'm considering spray on bed liner instead of powder coat to manage cost but not sure yet.

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The pictures are not the best, it was dark in my garage at the time and I hadn't replaced the overhead lights yet. Indecently I may end up giving these away since I ended up upgrading to Willwood's.

[BrewCityCobra]

I've had similar thoughts, and at the risk of hijacking the thread... what are people's thoughts on using POR15 on the tins in the engine bay as opposed to powder coat?

I was actually wondering this as well. What options (aside from powder coating) that people were using.

I suppose it is really a two part question - 1) what is good for "solid" metal parts (e.g., the pumpkin, hinges, etc.), and 2) what is good for the aluminum panels if one doesn't want to powdercoat.

[FF33rod]

I'm curious why you don't want to powder coat? POR is great for the pumpkin etc but for hinges, brackets and such powder coating is great - fairly durable, isn't super thick and easy to do. I picked up the Eastwood powder coat system (only couple hundred dollars) and did them all myself. Taking them to a shop would be a pain and not cheap but the DIY system works great. Just my opinion :)

Steve

[BrewCityCobra]

I'm curious why you don't want to powder coat? POR is great for the pumpkin etc but for hinges, brackets and such powder coating is great - fairly durable, isn't super thick and easy to do. I picked up the Eastwood powder coat system (only couple hundred dollars) and did them all myself. Taking them to a shop would be a pain and not cheap but the DIY system works great. Just my opinion :)

Steve

I'm definitely not against powder coating. Actually very much for it, just wanted to see what the other options might be out there that could help me save a few bucks on the budget side of things. I figured taking the tins to a shop was the only way forward but I'll have to take a look into a do-it-yourself style.

[Rdone585]

My roll bars were done with POR 15 18 years ago. At the time I built it the purchase options were bare steel or chrome. I wanted something different so I used the POR 15 that I used to paint the frame and rear end. I think they still look good. They are not glossy but in great condition even though they have been exposed to UV light - 8 years in FL, 10 years in the midwest.

[GTBradley]

The IRS diff is painted already and really doesn’t need to be coated with anything, however; I did coat mine with clear ceramic from a spray can. The aluminum panels are more durable than anything you can coat them with, so I left the unseen ones untouched. For the panels that can be seen, like in the engine bay, a cost effective way of treating them is to do the Jeff Kliener method of scotchbrite and clear coat. That’s what I did and they look great after 3500 miles.

[CraigS]

I like Rustoleum Self Etching primer and either their 'Hammered' paint or their Appliance Epoxy paint. The 'Hammered' dries very quickly and, due to it's mottled surface is easy to touch up. Put 3-4 coats on w/ the last two as heavy as you dare for the best hammered effect. The Appliance Epoxy is an overnight dry time, very limited colors, but dries nice and shiny as you would expect.

[Hoooper]

The IRS diff is painted already and really doesn’t need to be coated with anything, however; I did coat mine with clear ceramic from a spray can. The aluminum panels are more durable than anything you can coat them with, so I left the unseen ones untouched. For the panels that can be seen, like in the engine bay, a cost effective way of treating them is to do the Jeff Kliener method of scotchbrite and clear coat. That’s what I did and they look great after 3500 miles.

Yours may be special because it looks like the GT350 diff, but the regular mustang diffs are just bare cast iron and dont come painted.

[GTBradley]

Yours may be special because it looks like the GT350 diff, but the regular mustang diffs are just bare cast iron and dont come painted.
Yep, I should have looked, it looks like he didn't get his from FFR like I did. "3.55:1 Torsen IRS Rear End (already purchased)"

[BrewCityCobra]

Yeah, the IRS assembly was one thing I bough used for this build. The black paint on the Diff was pretty rough and marked up - needs a bit of freshening up (along with the aluminum spindles).