[wallytoo]

i painted my replacement oem frame with por15 after cleaning it. no scale to remove, and didn't wire wheel it, just left the minor flash rust there. once the two coats of por15 were dry, i top-coated with two layers of a marine enamel, i believe it was pratt & lambert - unfortunately gloss white, but i had plenty on hand. if you use por15, even for the underside/axles, i'd topcoat it with a minimum of one layer of paint.

my jeep will not see any more salt while i own it, but i will drive it in wet weather. i guess i'll see how the por15 holds up over time.

 

[wallytoo]

Then I'm going to do the POR15 process. POR15 needs all of the steps, metal etch etc.

well, the manufacturer recommends only removing scale/loose rust prior to por15 treatment; they do not recommend removing all the non-loose rust. that "flash" rust/type is good; it's what the por15 bonds to and converts. i believe that's one of the issues folks have when applying it, and getting poor results - it works better on lightly rusted metal. it isn't intended to be applied to smooth, polished clean steel.