Chassis Saver gloss black paint for slowly rusting body

[ZeKahr]

I'm not too knowledgeable about paint jobs, so bear with me here. My Schwarz black E30 has surface rust in a few areas and I am running all over trying to get rid of it so it stops spreading. I figure the car will eventually need a paint job as the current one is slowly falling apart so I am looking to give it one that looks presentable (i.e looks good from 10 ft away, I could care less if there's orange peel when you look at it close up; my car is going to be a daily driver not a show car) but is highly durable and affordable (with durability and affordability being my top priorities). I've seen a couple of videos on YouTube of people spraying gloss black Chassis Saver directly over rusty underbodies and suspension bits without using a primer (from what I read on the cans, you don't need to use a primer). I figure this stuff is much stronger than regular car paint since the undercarriage and suspension lives a much harder life than the car body when the car is being driven, especially in areas where the roads are salted in the winter (when driven the salt is pretty much kicked up into the undercarriage). I don't have a garage so I will be keeping my car outdoors at all times. Has anybody used Chassis Saver to paint a car body? If so, how does it hold up over time?

[TC Baur MD]

Use Por 15 black over rust and be done. Would work best if you wire brush it first.

[roguetoaster]

So, if you paint over rust without doing prep you aren't solving the issue. But you are potentially creating a place for the rust the be nice and comfy while it eats a hole in the metal and eventually creeps to the perimeter of the area that you "treated."

Best bet for stopping the rust is along the lines of what was posted above, remove the surface rust, prep the rusty area, paint a quality epoxy type product on, such as POR 15.

Also remember that if you have surface rust it might not actually be surface rust, but rather a sign of a larger issue behind the sheet metal.

[rturbo 930]

POR 15 is not an appropriate product to paint the bodywork of your car. It is specifically designed for one purpose - encapsulate and stop rust. Best used on rusted, non-visible surfaces (like a truck frame). From what I've heard, POR 15 is extremely difficult to remove as well. If you want your car to look nice, use an appropriate product. Wirewheel the surface rusted areas, and paint over with an appropriate primer and paint. How large of an area are we talking? https://www.paintscratch.com/ has spray paint touch up kits that include everything you would need.

[ZEKTI]

POR 15 is not an appropriate product to paint the bodywork of your car. It is specifically designed for one purpose - encapsulate and stop rust. Best used on rusted, non-visible surfaces (like a truck frame). From what I've heard, POR 15 is extremely difficult to remove as well. If you want your car to look nice, use an appropriate product. Wirewheel the surface rusted areas, and paint over with an appropriate primer and paint. How large of an area are we talking? https://www.paintscratch.com/ has spray paint touch up kits that include everything you would need.

Agree that best use is to actually remove all rust and tackle the way one would with a new piece of metal. I have been using POR15 more this winter and you can paint it. I bought their final coating and self etching primer. That way in theory, if flat, you can paint over as you would with a standard primer. Find a place to test this though OP. Removing POR15 is a pita. No matter which route you go you this is going to take some time to do properly.