Chassis Saver vs. Rustoleum (brush on)

[SUX2BU99]

My battery tray needs a re-do pretty bad. It's rather rusted and corroded from battery acid spillage over the years. Anyway I've wire-wheeled it and took my sanding disc on a drill to it but since I don't have access to a sandblaster I figure I'm just going to brush on some rust paint.

Does Rustoleum when brushed on go on as thick and smooth out as well as Chassis Saver? I've used CS on 2 rear ends and I like the outcome, except for a few areas that aren't as 'rock hard and chip free' as they claim. Anyway, I can't buy a small can of CS but I can with Rustoleum. I figured I'd give it 2-3 coats. I would trust the durability of CS to not allow the rust to ever come back through but how about the durability of Rustoleum?

[bigwillie82]

i would go with por-15 it is well worth the extra money

[SUX2BU99]

Availability and time frame are factors for me. It would be best for me to buy the 1 pint can of POR-15 since CS does not come that small but I don't have access right now to the one place that I know of in my area that sells it. CS I can get more locally but only in 1 quart cans. Too much quanity and money. Rustoleum in the small cans are easily available and the cheapest.

[zieg85]

Remember, you get what you pay for.  Rustoleum has done a great job at marketing their name but it is no better than some other brand of the same generic makeup.  (Alkyd versus Alkyd)Any paint will help protect steel if it is prepared properly for painting.  I wouldn't rule out a rattle can rust inhibiting primer as a first step.  Por-15 is expensive because of what it does and what it takes to manufacture it.  It is an amazing product IMO.  My $.02

[Blazin]

Chassis Saver is the only way to go.

[ccz145a]

Whichever way you go (personally recommend por15 or CS) remember to nuetralize any acid residue with baking soda slurry, then wash with soap and water.

[SUX2BU99]

^ Good idea.

[PRattenbury]

The reason I have any opinion on Chassis Saver, POR-15, Rust-Oleum or any other product is a short story. I brought a frame for a Chevelle to my sand blaster to be blasted and powder coated by another affiliated company. When I went in to his office he had a can of Chassis Saver on a desk in there. Since I was having my frame powder coated I was intrigued to see Chassis Saver there. I asked him how he liked the product, and told him I had used POR-15 in the past, with good results. I had sandblasted a Willys Wagon frame and used all 4 steps of POR on it. Here's what the sandblaster had to say about this. His job is to remove coatings, rust and whatever else is on parts of various things and get back down to bare metal, without distorting the shape of said metal parts. In his considerable number of years sandblasting, he has encountered all manner of coatings to remove. He said POR-15 was not hard to take off. He said Rust-Oleum was more difficult to remove and worlds cheaper than POR-15. He then said Chassis Saver was was even harder than Rust-Oleum to get off. But Chassis Saver is more expensive, but not as much as POR-15. Also, Chassis Saver requires a lot less preparation than POR-15. POR-15 is 4 steps, all told. Chassis Saver is one step. The absolute worst to remove, he said, is powder coating. Most times, he said, in order to get powdercoating off he would have to heat the part, and remove the coating while it's hot. Powdercoating is a real big pain in the tookis to get off. So my opinion is actually not my opinion at all. It's the opinion of a sandblaster that's been removing coatings from metal things for decades. That works for me.