Would you use Por-15 on this..., ...or how else would you clean it up? Options

[Rick986]

I've confirmed that this crap on the battery tray is not a fiberglass patch. PO obviously treated it with something as a preventative measure. HH is also solid, inside and under. The car is virtually rust-free.

I'm using a solvent to get the crap off the side wall and generally clean this area up the best possible (it's coming off - nice job, Stevie Wonder!). But the gunk on the tray is there to stay. Also, the acid corrosion on the side needs addressed (car sat for 8-9 years and battery seemingly "discharged"...thankfully, in a dry garage).

So...I'm thinking of a fresh coat of Por-15 or similar on the tray and small "patch" over the surface rust on the sidewall, just to clean the whole area up. Is this sacrilege...or a decent solution short of a total tear-out and repainting (not gonna happen anytime soon)?

Thanks...and hope you all had a great holiday.

[emerygt350]

That looks a little like the stuff I used. I had a battery tray with excessive rust and splash up on the wall behind it. There is this rust stop stuff that turns black. You are supposed to sand down/wire wheel the surfaces before applying (but not to bare metal, it needs some rust to start the reaction). I put it on mine just so I could ignore it until I am ready to deal with it. I painted over it though. Doesn't look awesome but I have noticed it has not degraded since I did this months ago. Bigger fish to fry on my car than a battery tray.

[mate914]

I think yes if you remove battery try and clean then coat all sides. At that point you might just replace battery tray...+ clean + coat.
Matt (IMG:style_emoticons/default/flag.gif)

[NARP74]

If it is coated badly and you paint it, it will come back. Rust never sleeps, so you will find out eventually. Peace of mind might be a treatment, not a coating that will fail and then top coat. I am going to use a product called SEM rust mort, great name. You might also add this to your monthly maint list to keep an eye on it.

[rjames]

Doing it the right involves removing all paint and rust and then etching the bare metal so The por15 will adhere to it. Otherwise it will continue to rust. See information from Por15 web site below:
The stuff works extremely well if you correctly prep areas to be painted. I used it on my floor pans ~10 years ago and it’s holding up great. I would’ve used primer/paint instead, but I don’t have a compressor or access to painting equipment. The nice thing about Por15 is that even when you paint it with a brush on a flat surface it lays down smooth as if it was sprayed.

WHAT IS THE “PROPER PREPARATION”?
If you are sandblasting, blow off the lose dust and apply directly over the surface. On all other bare metal or rusted surfaces use the Marine Clean and Metal Ready preps for proper adhesion. Metal Ready It is a rust remover that leaves a zinc phosphate coating on base metal, the perfect pre-primer for POR-15. Areas that have been previously painted should be cleaned with Marine Clean and then lightly scuffed with 400 grit sandpaper. Keep in mind when POR-15 is applied over another coating it will not prevent against rust long term but will serve as a durable, moisture resistant coating.

[Geezer914]

Do it right the first time, replace the battery tray and buy an Optima sealed battery.

[roblav1]

Ospho is the best stuff I ever tried.

[Costa05]

Ospho is the best stuff I ever tried.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif) Ospho Is my go to for treating rusty areas as well, but that tray looks like a candidate for replacement to me.

[dlee6204]

I don’t understand the allure of POR-15. If you’re going to go through all the proper steps for POR-15 you might as well just clean it up and paint it correctly.

I suggest the following…

1. Wire wheel all the rust
2. Treat rust with Ospho
3. Sand
4. Paint with epoxy primer. You can get a two part epoxy in a single use can. $25
5. Paint with the correct color from a touch up can. Approximately $40 from various online suppliers. Order based on your color code.

[KELTY360]

I don’t understand the allure of POR-15. If you’re going to go through all the proper steps for POR-15 you might as well just clean it up and paint it correctly.

I suggest the following…

1. Wire wheel all the rust
2. Treat rust with Ospho
3. Sand
4. Paint with epoxy primer. You can get a two part epoxy in a single use can. $25
5. Paint with the correct color from a touch up can. Approximately $40 from various online suppliers. Order based on your color code.

I think this makes sense. That does not look like rust on the battery tray to me. Otherwise it would have eaten through at some point. I think it's a reaction to whatever coating the PO used.