|
Since purchasing my 300E I have become an avid fan of POR 15 and some of their other products. The attached pic illustrates one of the rust issues that I attacked and overcame thanks to POR 15 and another "secret" I picked up on. After noticing rust in the battery area, I removed the battery and discovered the tray was almost entirely gone. Once the remaining pieces of tray and other debris were removed, a hole appeared, not large (about silver dollar size) but a pending repair nonetheless.
Before proceeding I want to share this with you - Warning: Cover everything you do not want POR 15 to stick to cause once it dries you will have one heck of a challenge on your hands to get it removed - no pun intended. Wear hand protection at all times, tape off everything outside work area and follow any other precautions that may be suggested/required by the manufacturer!
To continue - the rusted surface was first sanded, wire brushed and scraped (not necessarily in that order) to clear the area of scale then vacuumed and washed clean with Metal Ready. Next I cut a piece of heavy fiberglass fabric about 2" larger than the hole, placed the fabric on a piece of cardboard and painted both sides with a coat of POR 15 heavy enough to saturate the fabric. Then I brushed a coat around the perimeter of the hole and when the paint on both the patch and the metal became tacky, not yet dry, the patch was pressed into the paint at the hole, stretched flat, edges feathered into the paint and left to dry about 2 hrs then coated again along with all the rest of the rusted metal.
The next morning the first thin layer of body putty was spread over the patch as well as any pits then sanded with subsequent layers applied/sanded until the surface was smooth. When the repair was ready, primer, color coat and clear coat were applied and I'm pleased to say, you wouldn't know it if I didn't tell you! Lastly, before putting the new battery tray in, it was sanded and covered on all sides and edges with POR 15 then topped with semi-gloss black Rust-Oleum - 2 1/2 years ago.
Note: I have no affiliation with the makers of POR 15 or any other of their products!
__________________
'87 300E Arctic White/Palomino 154K miles
|