Rustoleum on floor pans?

[myredracer]

Any reason not to use use Rustolem "Clean Metal" primer + one of their "Commercial" top coats on floor pans? The floors are a combination of new metal, old metal that I blasted clean and some spots with original paint (in good condition). I had initially thought of POR-15, but after a little googling that's def. out.

Have been doing extensive rust repairs & mods on a shell for over a year and am getting close to applying some primer & paint and would like to make things easier on the floor area since it will be covered by sound deadening, mats and seats. Want to get a coating on it so it won't rust but appearance isn't a factor and would brush it on. Prepping the metal for epoxy would take a lot of elbow grease and time and I'd prefer to use something quicker and easier. Getting pretty tired of working on the metal and want to get on with some primer and paint!

If Rustoleum is acceptable, would I use seam sealer over the primer or top coat? Only thing about the Rustoleum primer and commercial line of products is that I can't find them locally. Not sure if it's available in Canada but I can just go down to Lowes in Bellingham and get it off the shelf. Maybe there's other similar products out there but I don't want to go hunting all over the place or having to order it online and wait and wait...

Thanks!

 

[SlappyWhite]

Rustoleum products are sometimes sold under the Tremclad label in Canada, not sure for the specific ones you are looking at... odds are south of the border will be cheaper any ways.

Last time I did floor pans I used Chassis Saver (like POR15) as the bottom coat (well prepped). Seam-sealer for the seams... I then top coated with spray on bed liner (the well scuffed Chassis Saver).

 

[bradpac]

Rustoleum professional stuff has worked great for me. Its noticeably more durable than the regular IMO.

I would prime everything, then seam seal and prime over that, then 2 final coats (spray it wait a couple of minutes for it to dry enough to not run and spray it again)

 

[Rag Roc]

FWIW on my floorpans, I plan to put some POR 15 down on some slight rusty spots tonight. After it dries, I will seam seal and cover the whole pan with some Rustoleum brushed on.

 

[Vegaman_Dan]

Any coating of any kind is better than none, but if you don't have a good clean oil and dirt free base, then it won't matter what you put on there as it will flake off eventually. Wire brush, clean with acetone, and I like Wax and Grease remover before I put on any coating. For the Spitfire, I put down a good etching primer, followed up with simple enamel Rustoleum. I coated that then with rubberized underbody coating with multiple coats. It's a bit thin for my tastes, so I went over it again. It's good now. The bottom side has brushed on bed liner. In hindsight, I think I should have brushed on bed liner on the inside too.

 

[gorilla]

Read the label on your seam sealer. Some is meant to go over bare metal some goes over primer and some casn't be used over self etching primer.

 

[myredracer]

I picked up the Rustoleum primer I wanted on the weekend at a Lowes in the US along with some of their brush-on professional top coat paint. They had a huge selection of Rustoleum and Tremclad stuff side by side.

Tremclad has been around in Canada for decades but you don't see Rustoleum much. Tremclad is owned by Rustoleum and much of the Rustoleum line of products could be sold on retail shelves, but they don't. Tremclad seems to be aimed more towards the homeowner types. I had to hunt around all over here just for a rattle can of the Rustoleum professional paint.

I was planning to clean the metal with TSP & W&G remover before putting the primer on.

Read the label on your seam sealer. Some is meant to go over bare metal some goes over primer and some casn't be used over self etching primer.

Great info. I'm heading to our local autobody supply shop today and will see what they have. I'm only going to use Rustoleum on the floor and wheel well areas and the rest will be epoxy primer + finish coat. Then there will be sound deadening on top of that *if* I can afford the stuff (sigh...).

 

[Retlaw 66]

Urethane roof sealer from Home Depot/Lowes works fantastic as a seam sealer, and only about $6 a tube. Apply it over the primer. Paintable too.

 

[mike_dmt]

I guess I'm out of the loop.

How come POR-15 isn't a good option?

 

[SteveH-CO]

Many folks don't like POR15 due to the lack of UV resistance, but I object to $40+/quart pricing and you can only find it at paint stores. I have used Rustoleum Hammerite paints (Home Depot) to great effect on rusty trailers and truck frames. Much cheaper and seems bulletproof.

 

[astroracer]

I guess I'm out of the loop.

How come POR-15 isn't a good option?

Along with the price POR-15 wants to be painted over rusty metal. That is where it gets it's "tooth". painting over the rust means you haven't fixed anything. The rust is still there. Painting over bare steel will have it peeling off in a short time.
Another issue is, it will not hold paint of any other kind if painted over the POR.
Added on top of all that, it makes a huge mess if you have to go back in and do future work. Removing it is almost impossible without a lot sanding.
Keeping it simple, with spray or brush on paints, makes touchups and future work easy to do. It also leaves the metal "visible", as in not buried under an impermeable top coat. If there are issues I like to see them before they make a hole.
What a lot of people don't realize is, most of these builds and restorations are not going to be daily drivers. Driving the car in the summer only, with no salt in their futures really doesn't require all of these "miracle coatings" and snake oil formulas.
Mark