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Quick question on paint. About how much will be required to paint the chassis and suspension pieces? Planning on epoxy primer and a satin black for all of that.

I have a couple ideas on brands of paint just wondering about suggestions if anyone has a favorite. I'm new at the whole paint thing. Thanks!

What's the consensus of the collective on POR-15 products- - - -good stuff or hype? Their ad copy looks good, but I've always been a bit skeptical of anyone who's going to solve all my problems by selling me something! I'll be prepping at least one frame, and maybe another one or two for upcoming projects. I just bought a wet sandblast attachment for my pressure washer so the metal will be mostly bare, and almost rust free except in a few inaccessible nooks and crannies. Thanks!
Jerry

Jerry, my experience with POR-15 traditional black has been good. I have mostly used it to stop rust on heavily rusted items. I rebuilt a snow plow and painted it, the cutting edge was pretty rusty and the POR-15 held on well to that surface. On the same project I welded some new steel to the ends of the mold board and hit that with POR-15, it didn't bite into the new steel although I didn't etch the steel. I have used it on other projects and I like it. If you can use the whole container it is advised, not a very good shelf life once the can has been opened.

We had the same "shelf life" problem when DuPont IMRON first hit the market almost 50 years ago. One of my friends left a little paint in an almost new DeVilbiss spray gun overnight, only to find it cured into a solid mass the next morning. Ruined the gun! He learned the hard way to clean up his equipment a shade faster than instantly when using catalyzed paint products!
Jerry

I still have my Binks model 7 and model 37 guns from the '70's, used almost exclusively with catalyzed acrylic enamel, you can't let them sit very long before it starts to gel. If that was a DeVilbiss JGA, it was an expensive learning curve. I transferred some unused POR-15 into a one qt. lacquer thinner can with a screw-on cap, it is useable once I put channel locks on the cap to break the cured seal, I store it upside down to keep it sealed.

I used Rustoleum Semi-gloss black on my chassis, after it had been sandblasted and primered with epoxy. Most of it is in good shape a few years later, but I must have had some light spots, as I saw an area of light rust when working underneath late this summer. I buy it in quart cans for about the same cost as one 12 oz rattle can and use my spray gun. POR-15 is about 4 times as expensive and not worth the cost, IMO. For what it's worth. GM didn't paint frames, and they generally lasted the 70+ years without serious damage.

I use Rust-O-Leum semi gloss black in rattle cans. I sprayed the entire chassis and undercarriage about 20 years ago and the stuff still looks like I pit it on yesterday. This is after over 100,000 miles.

It took 12 cans.

You do have to rough up smooth metal before POR-15 will adhere, and used on flexible surfaces such as leaf springs it will crack and flake. If not exposed directly to sun, it will be fine. If it is, a clear top coat is needed. It will just chalk up a bit, but a bit of wax will bring it back. Just remove loose rust, wipe down and POR it.
I still have not seen rust bubble up on properly coated surfaces, but I've only been using it for 30 years.

The last POR-15 I bought was $50/qt. local auto paint supply.

Sand blast.
Epoxy primer.
Whatever paint which you like.
The epoxy primer on clean metal allows the freedom of using less expensive final paint. It does all of the heavy lifting work for a durable frame paint job.

Thanks, Was mostly taking this route since I've never painted and decided that it would be best to use the frame part of the project to work with modern tools and materials. like HVLP guns, multi part paints and primers that require mixing and more. I'll call it pre-school : )

Any thoughts on paint quantities for the frame and suspension parts? As always, Thanks!

I think that you could do the frame and suspension parts with a quart of final coat.

If you're a newbie to spray painting, look at 3M's Accuspray HVLP gun with the PPS paint cup system. You can get a starter kit for about $300 from Amazon, and the cleanup on it is super easy, using just a couple ounces of solvent. The cup liners are disposable, and even if you left the paint to dry in the gun, the only thing you'd lose is the nozzle. Accuspray Gun Info

You put a lot of effort into prepping a chassis covered with grease, oil and other nasty stuff. Then there's the repairs to be done. So, after all this time, money and effort, why cheap out on hardware store paint?

Try a good industrial coating like this stuff: Endura

A criticism of this paint is that it may fade due to UV exposure. That shouldn't be a problem for the chassis.

i see that the OP is in NY. I sure road salt is an issue as it is here. You want something tough!

Previous discussion: Frame Paint

If you want the best rust prevention paint use this:Master Series Silver
It has been promoted by the Repair Geek and has caused the company to run out and delay shipping orders. It's worth the wait.
This paint was designed to protect our bridges.