Guido

Here I am, in front of the home in whose garage I have spent WAY too much time the last couple of months. Notice the manly chest hair. I did not intend to photograph that, but the type of raw masculinity I exude just begs to be noticed! :-D

Marine Clean

The first step on prepping the metal surface was to spray on Marine Clean. This is a very alkaline (base) solution that degreases like nobody's business! Because of that, wearing gloves (as well as eye and breathing protection) is a definite must!

Rub-a-dub-dub

Using a long-bristled brush, I can get into nooks and crannies and really work that Marine Clean solution.

Washed Up

After making sure that everything is cleaned, the wash solution needs to be rinsed off with a hose. Here sits the car, after cleaning.

Metal Ready

After washing the base solution off, it's time to use a light acid wash to dissolve rust and prep the metal by etching it. This will ensure that the POR-15 will adhere well. Note the blue coloration of the Metal Ready. This is due to the zinc in the phosphate solution, I believe, and helps differentiate from Marine Clean, which is colorless.

Drying Time

After rinsing off the Metal Ready, the car has to dry. I hastened this process by towel drying everything I could reach. The nice, warm day did the rest...

Residue

You can see the residue left behind, even after rinsing off the Metal Ready. I rubbed down the surface to remove most of the residue.

POR Begins

I used up the remaining POR-15 that a co-worker had given me. This was used on the areas that I knew were going to get LizardSkin, because the color of that product is black, and there is no worry of "shadowing" through.

Bottom POR

My new can of POR-15 is a grey coat, and was MUCH more viscous than the POR-15 my co-worker gave me. It went on easily, smoothly, and quickly, using a $3 mini paint roller with a short nap.

Front POR

Here is the front, after POR-15 application. I'm really liking the look!

Inside POR

I used the black POR-15 to coat the seams to ensure a good, thick coating of POR in these areas to prevent any future issues that might occur.

Tie Coat

Here is the intermediate product used as an interface between the POR-15 and paint/coating. The POR-15 dries to a very hard, shiny finish, and it becomes very difficult to paint on. You can roughen the surface with sand paper, but this is much easier and (I believe) a better alternative. Notice the paint gun? It was a Harbor Freight POS, and I threw it away after use. I almost wish I'd brushed/rolled the Tie Coat on, after struggling with this cheap piece of equipment!

Tie Coat Front

It doesn't show well in the following pictures, but the primer coat is far from even. The previously mentioned gun had a difficult time siponing paint up and through the nozzle, so it's kind of blotchy. I hope that does not mean that the Tie Coat will be less effective.

Looking Down

This is looking down the bottom of the car to the rear. I went ahead and coated the battery box, after reading that Tie Coat can be used as a general purpose primer, not just for use with POR-15.

Blotchy Bottom

OK, you can see some of the blotchiness in this shot. Yeesh...

Tie Coat Inside

It took forever, but I finally made it to the inside and spent loads of time getting it primed, too.

Rear Window View

The inside, from the rear window. You can barely tell that the rear parcel shelf is patched in. With LizardSkin over it, I have no doubt that any patch will be entirely obscured.

POR Hazards

I couldn't find any gloves, so I thought we were out of them, and painted the POR-15 on without them. This will take at least a week before my hands will go back to normal. It will probably be three weeks before the large patch on my left leg (where I spilled a bunch of POR-15 in a mis-hap) is gone... -sigh-