EEK! Look what I found under the Carpet!

[JohnJL]

When I tore out the interior of my COUPE it had moisture accumulated in the rear driver's side seat. No rust or anything, just moisture....?

[rbcsaver]

Regarding the recommendation to Just putty or caulk the holes, I am not convinced that H2O won't get between the putty, JB weld etc., over time and undo the patch over time. I would still back fill the holes first. Then if you want JB Weld over any remaining defects, then POR 15.

For those with wet carpets/mats I would suggest serious investigation work. Pull the rear carpets, mats, and seats, and run a hose over the back window, etc. to see where it is coming from. Water IN THE car will catch up with it's structure over time.
regards,
Steve

[FrayAdjacent911]

Originally posted by cashflyer
Never tried the POR-15, but on a previous project car I had the entire cabin floor sandblasted and then Rhino-Lined. Let's see that b**** rust now!

I seriously thought about seeing if I could have the undercarriage of my car coated with Line-X after I strip it, clean it and POR15 it... I'm not quite there yet.. I might still look into it. But, the POR15 paint is pretty tough. I figure after a couple coats of that after the metal is cleaned and prepped properly, some Wurth stoneguard should be fine.


There are some small holes in my floorpans in a few areas, none structurally critical, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to cut and weld in patches. I had considered fiberglassing (or using POR15's fiberglass/resin substitute), but wonder if JB Weld would work alright.

Soon I'll be starting the process of wire brushing the interior down to bare metal, and then hit it with POR15. My primary concern with Stinky is rust repair and prevention.

[DW SD]

Apply the POR to rusty or pitted metal and fill holes after, if you are going to use epoxy or JB Weld, etc. Let the POR bond to the rust and do its job. It is made to stick to and bond to rust. AFTER you have the rust locked down, fill the holes with composites, bubble gum, or whatever you choose. Using screws seems like a bad answer.

If you choose to weld the holes, grind all of the rust away, replace any badly weakened metal. You cannot weld to anything rusty.

If you try to bond JB Weld or other to rusty metal, it is a matter of time before the patch will come loose.

Good luck,

Doug

[tshih]

POR 15 is a chemical which reacts with iron and rust and chemically bonds to the metal. That's why it sticks like epoxy glue and scraping the surface rust is not even necessary for it to do it's job of sealing out water and oxygen to prevent further rusting or oxidation (chemist term).

Rustoleum is just oils which over time evaporates or gets wiped off. It (zinc primer contains some zinc metal particles which is a cheaper form of galvanizing the steel but not as much as real zinc plating). This is inferior to POR15 or Wurth Rust Proof coating (same chemical).

[86 911]

Thanks for the info and the explanation about POR. I just got the Metal Ready, Metal Cleaner and a quart of POR today in the mail. I have used a wire wheel and cleaned the whole back seat area. I also got some of the sticky stuff off that was left on by the other coating. The P.O. glued the carpet to the metal at some point and is really hard to get off with the wire wheel, so I'm not going to deal with that. I JB Welded the screws in place (no visible rust near the holes) and am going to let the JB Weld set tonight. Tomorrow I will apply some Metal Ready. Here are a couple of photos of tonights backbreaking work:


Does this look POR ready?

[ZOA NOM]

Folks, this kid is 17 years old. I can't get my 17-year-old to take out the trash.

Outstanding work, Matt.

[86 911]

Thank you Zoanas.
Does anyone know if it would be okay if I left the dried glue with some carpet hair on the metal flooring and added the POR 15 over top? I'm not sure if the Metal Ready will dissipate the glue that's on there now.

[fricker]

Hey guys, I'm in the process of welding in a new outer rocker panel. The inner rocker panel had some surface rust and pitting, I removed all surface rust and I used Rust MORT which is a chemical acid which converts rust to a hard black finish. I then used aircraft primer Zinc chromate and top coated it with black acrylic enamel. I'll spray 3M rust fighter on the inner and on the inside of the outer rocker panels before I weld in the outer panel.
Does this sound good?
Chris

[Svensson911T]

I joust finish the same job as you are doing yeasterday... Alot of work, and I still need to put in the new carpet... But Matt I think that you have to remove all the glue before you POR 15 it. I was using a woodworking tool that looks like a big schrowdriver but is sharp (Sorry don't know the english word for it), and the glue came of pretty easy.

[DW SD]

I think you may be going overboard on stripping, though you are doing a nice job.

I think you can apply POR over glue and it just might stick, too. It seems to stick to everything. I'm not advocating this, but I think it would work. I know it won't come off your hands, if you don't get it off immediately with lacquer thinner. Keep up the good work!

POR must be applied directly to the metal for it to rust proof most effectively. It will still seal water out, if applied on top of another surface, but to bond to the metal is the best application.

BTW - POR actually sticks best to rusty, pitted surfaces. When you get the metal too shiny, it actually doesn't stick as well. That's when you use metal ready, which is an etching solution, I think. You may want to apply the POR with trim rollers from Home Depot. They are small 1.5" or so diameter foam rollers - much faster than brushing. Don't go over and over it once you've applied it. Try to roll it on smoothly once and let it set. (If you do this it will lay flat and smooth out).

It will work great, you won't believe it. The POR will be very very hard, chip resistant and rust proof, too.

You can read a lot on their website, which is a great resource.

Good luck,

Doug

Doug

[Bob's Project]

I would leave the interior out until you find the source of you leak(s).

I chased water leaks in my targa and could not really find them until the interior was out.

Much easier to find with out any carpets or rear panels in.

[86 911]

Sort of off topic, but last night I found one of my rear tires were almost flat. I took it off and found a huge screw stuck in it. Took it down to Big O Tires and the hole was non repairable. The tires I had on were 6 years old and discontinued so I had to "break the bank" and pay $377 for 2 brand new rear Toyo T1-R tires. Well, I got the tires today and mounted them on the car and they look great.

Back on topic: tonight I applied the Marine Clean to get any grease/glue/residue off the metal. I sprayed it on using an empty Windex bottle and let it set and eat for half an hour. I then came out and used to wire brush to get any glue or caprpet hair off the metal. I was suprised at how well it works. It makes Simple Green look like dishwashing soap. lol. Anyway, I got most of the glue off (I'm not going to worry too much about the left over glue). Finally I hosed out the inside a good three times and wet-vaced out the water. Here's a photo of tonights work:

[tshih]

Those left over metal screws from plugging those holes must have been the cause of your tire woes! Just kidding. Keep up the good work but I think you are being too obsessive with doing what's necessary for fixing the problem you've found with the body panel getting wet. Just apply the POR15 and paint over with enamel colored paint to match OEM color and replace the carpets after testing for water leaks coming from other source besides the plugged holes and you're done with this problem.

[JeremyD]

You did good Matt - I too would have stripped everything out and restarted - the wire wheel do you have it on a drill or grinder? The drill typically does not have enough RPM's a grinder - at 11,000 rpms will make quicker work of it.

[JeremyD]

Oh - and on the epoxy vs POR-15 - a two part epoxy will also seal the paint effectively against rust. POR-15 is great - two part epoxy will perform a similiar function, especially a laminating or high build two part epoxy primer.

[86 911]

So a couple of weeks ago I finished up my car and put everything back together. The POR-15 seems to be working great and the finish is very smooth and shiny. In fact, I left the elevated part between the two rear seats uncovered since the POR did such a nice job covering the metal.
Here are some photos:

Floorboards:

Sleekness in the rear seat frames:

In goes the felt layer:

Finally finished:

[vash]

damn, nice job! wow!

zoanas never said truer words.

[BRPORSCHE]

Damn matt you are good! So when you coming to Baton Rouge to work on my car?

[86 911]

Vash, thank you for your words. Tom, sure, just provide me with a means of transportation and some good southern food and I'll be down tomorrow!