Hi everyone. About 8 years ago, I took my vehicle to get a minor bit of rust treated. It worked, and looked great. Now the car looks like it is covered in rust. My question is, is it actually rust? Or is it some formulae that inhibited the rust and is now just some chemical treated the metal. Some places are rotted away, but why would that be rust? The POR-15 was supposed to protect the car from rust.

Anyone,

Thanks,

Chad

 

POR-15 is a good brand and works great however it all depends on the prep and how thorough the job was. You clearly drove that car on salt covered roads for years and yes it is rust eating metal away. Unless you spent thousands on a complete treatment that goes in every single nook and cranny, you never would have prevented rust. Even if you did 100% treatment rocks, dings, etc. would eventually form and start rusting.

This is why southern vehicles are worth so much more than northern cars because southern cars are usually not subjected to salt roads. Southwestern cars are usually in the best shape because they do not see much rain, let alone salt.

 

You treated a small spot of rust 8 years ago and now the rest of the car is rusty? Was the entire car treated in POR15?

 

What do you think rust is exactly?

 

Thanks. Yes the parts that were treated are now rusting, but not all parts were rusting before.

Rust is corrosion, but if the parts were treated, especially the ones that were not rusting, is it something else. I don't know if it could be, that's why I'm asking.

 

POR15 is a rust encapsulating paint. If applied correctly, it prevents metal that has already started to rust from rusting further. It converts iron oxide iii to iron oxide ii, aka red rust to black rust, assuming you/they use/d the whole system and not just the paint, then seals it all off to avoid further exposure to oxygen. That's all she do. If applied incorrectly, incompletely, or if compromised over time by, for instance, rock chips, it doesn't have any magical powers. Oxygen and iron will do their thing just like always. If rust treatment were a one-and-done thing, automakers would apply it at the factory, and I wouldn't go out of my way to avoid cars that have ever spent any time outside the southwest.

Your rust is rust. You live in a salt state. There's even a different vernacular for rust in that part of the country. Here rust is rust; you have surface rust and cancer. Perforation doesn't enter the conversation. The car is restored or junked before perforation has a chance to happen. People in the rust belt don't consider rust to be "rust" until there's perforation. People called rusty piles "rust free" all the time up there; and that's not even accounting for scammy used car salesmen. I imagine that is the source of your confusion.

 

Any paint or POR or bedliner etc will just cover the exposed rust. Sure some products "convert" surface rust, but likely you will not convert it all. Inevitably you will see flakes again.

Look into the oil based coatings if you truly want to stop rust. Any of the lanolin based products or NH oil undercoating. These products will leave an oil coating that can self heal due to oil creeping across the surface. Really the only downside I have found is that the bottom of your car will be covered in oil. If you work on your car a lot just know oil will be everywhere. Note that the lanolin products tend to smell like wet dog, which is why I suggest NH oil instead. Really its only like 50$ a year to maintain a coating.

Or just wait for your engine/lines to have oil leaks and spray all over the bottom side of your car.