Can POR-15 keep this frame intact and usable?

[BobBoyce]

Originally Posted by JaxPilot

Here's a question. I'm getting all new HD leaf springs front and back. Should I proactively paint them with POR-15? Should I go ahead and paint the axles and tie rods, even though they are not showing signs of rust? Kind of "rust proof" all the undercarriage parts proactively? What about the AllSports 5" drop axle?

It certainly won't hurt anything. It's a good idea to extend service life.

[dundeebarnbuggy]

Your lift kit should be powdercoated from the factory. No need to add anything if it is.

[JaxPilot]

OK - so now I'm debating what to do with the new Battery tray, painted from the factory. There are several places where it is banged up, and bare metal is showing on an edge. I talked to the POR15 guys, and they said that I needed bare metal to make the POR15 stick, that it would not stick to paint, even if I roughed it up with sandpaper as 55BigBlock suggested in another thread.

I'm thinking I should use paint stripper to get it to bare metal, then wash and prep it with the POR cleaner and metal prep, and cover it with POR, since it's the most important to protect from acid. I'm not really looking forward to that task, but I don't want to waste my efforts to do it right from the ground up.

As for the new HD springs, I for sure don't want to expend the energy to strip all the paint off of them. So, I thought maybe I can rough those up with sandpaper and POR15 them and not worry too much. They should last another 15 years like the first set. But part of me also says they are already painted, and if I remove some of the finish and none of the POR15 sticks, then I shot myself in the foot. So I'm wondering if maybe I should just leave them like they are, and spray them with some of this aerosol plasti-dip I have laying around as an insurance coating over the factory finish.

Any thoughts from anyone who has been there done that? 55BB, do you have some time under your belt on sanded, POR15 coated parts?