I have an older 88 Okanagan Camper Van I'm fixing up. It has some body rust areas I want to go over to stop those areas from continuing rusting. I don't really want to spend money to restore the van to it's original conditions as it's only going to be used for camping off-road in the Wilderness.

The Van E-150 is mostly grey with some maroon striping. I have a couple of gallons of Grey Chassis Saver in storage that had been previously opened up. Upon opening one of the gallon cans I found approx. 50 percent of the gallon of paint had dried up.

After pouring the remaining paint into a new gallon paint can I then mixed some S8 and applied some of the Chassis Saver to to several large rusted areas on the hood of the van mostly to just stop the rust. I was going to sand the rusted areas down but decided to leave it and just apply the chassis saver over the rusted areas of the hood.

I'm out of S8 reducer which I applied a coat over the top of the chassis saver before closing the can and pour some around the lid.

However I'm wondering about the Chassis Saver and spending more money on S8 reducer.

Instruction show to only use S8 reducer to thin the Chassis Saver paint but I'm wondering if S8 is really required instead of a paint thinner?

I haven't opened the second gallon of Chassis Saver which was transferred into a new tin gallon can before storage I'm thinking the same thing occurred where much of the paint has dried up into a hard paint block.

These tin gallon paint cans were brand new and everything was well sealed.

I'm looking some more S8 reducer and found the least expensive I'm able to find is ~$34.00 for a gallon.

I'm trying to figure out how to work with what Chassis Saver I have left and perhaps should be looking with some paint less difficult to work with.

Honestly I’d just toss out what you have and start over with new product. It seems moisture/air got in your can and ruined your paint I wouldn’t trust it. Try looking up Por 15 it’s a great product. Also buy in smaller batches! Only buy in gallons if you can go through it before it expires

Por-15 is about the same as Chassis Saver and requires it's own Por-15 thinner.

I may just try to salvage what I have left to fix some more rust spots. Possibly divide what's left into smaller paint cans or containers.

I've worked with Miracle Paint and it's easier to work with and stores better. What I've used in the past isn't quite as thick as Chassis Saver. However afaik it only comes in silver and black. I think there's a heavy duty version. Also there's a choice depending on the amount purchased the type of cans it comes in as I see some sizes such as gallons come in an upright can with a smaller spout.



Chassis saver recommends when using their regular paint cans to poke a hole on one side of the top of the can and then pour the amount of paint needed in a container. Then place a piece of tape over the hole. The hole with tape internal paint seals itself so there's no messing with a paint can and lid.

The problem imo are regular paint cans don't work with heavy thick rust paints because they don't seal up as their suppose to after closing the lid. As you said if applying from a paint can then it's probably better to use the entire can for each application.

Anyway I'm still trying to figure out what special about the thinners used with Chassis Saver, Por-15, etc. i.e. what ingredients do they have that makes them different from regular paint thinner.

Ok.. but you also don’t have to thin por 15 to brush it on

I would do more research on Poor-15 before you waste money on it.
There are a few people that have had bad experiences with it getting brittle, cracking and allowing moisture and rust underneath.

Littlevil wrote:Ok.. but you also don’t have to thin por 15 to brush it on

I don't know, some people have needed to thin Por-15 as it became too thick. There is a thinner made specifically for Por 15.

I think when you first open any of these rust type paints, it doesn't take very long for them to thicken and harden.

Miracle Paint I have in some pint cans and poked a hole in the top. It has kept for years. I only needed to unplug the hole pour some out and put the tape back over the hole and it never became too thick or needed any thinning.

Now if you have a tall can with a small spout as the one in the pic, all you would need to do is open the screw-on cap, pour some out into a paper cup. Then screw the cap back on. No big mess like when trying to work with a paint can with a lid.

Miracle paint seems to work with regular paint cans with lids if you poke a hole in the top. The other paints such a Chassis Saver and Por-15 may be too thick to pour through a small hole ~1/8 - 1/4", I don't know as I've only tried this with Miracle Paint.

I ordered a gallon of Chassis Saver Thinner and will try to salvage what I have left of the Chassis saver. Perhaps I'll try to find some smaller paint cans to store the Chassis Saver that made a huge mess after being stored. The Chassis Saver didn't store well in brand new tin gallon paint cans which may have been too thin, as the first gallon can I opened it was rock hard on the top half, I so Hard I couldn't punch through with a screw driver. So I used a can opener on the bottom and after making a big mess poured into another paint can. The other gallon can (Chassis Saver) I haven't opened up yet and can see can has became deformed as if some has dried up as with the previous can. Likely due to the paint cans I purchased at the paint store aren't strong enough to store this type of paint.

May be something to consider when transferring this type of paint to a new paint can? The only reason I transferred the paint to a new can was the original cans had some damage. I would have been better off leaving them in their damaged paint cans.

These were brand new paint cans, apparently both gallon paint cans leaked and were made too thin and flimsy to store paints such as Chassis Saver, which may require an additionally strong can to store because of it's chemistry. If any air leaks in the paint starts to hard has rock.

I'm not going to purchase any of these paint is gallon paint cans with lids anymore.

If you put a piece of plastic like a plastic wally world bag or even some saran wrap between the lid and the can you shouldn't have much problem. You could also store it in plastic containers as long as they're air tight. I use Chassis Saver and I like the results, but it can be a pain, I also shoot some gas from my mig welder or even propane into the can right before I seal it. It doesn't last forever but it does help.

FYI,

I found a couple of products that can be used with Chassis Saver.

One is called Xylene that can be found under different labeling. One product being Klean-Strip GXY24 Xylene - Gallon for around $25.00

I've read it works the same as S8 for thinning Chassis Saver and similar types of paints.

Another product used for cleanup and restoring paint brushes, etc. is called MEK.

It's recommended to use nylon paint brushes, some people use sponge brushes.

Poking two holes in the top of gallon can, one on each side of the lid, pour the paint into a small cup then cover to holes with a piece of duct or gorilla tape the gallon cans are know to last over a year if your careful not to remove the tape and add some chassis saver over the hole if neccsary. When needed to use again can either remove the tape or punch a new hole.

The other method as previously mentioned is to use plastic bag or wrap under the paint can lid.

Some people store Chassis Saver in glass containers with lids and then place some grease on the threads of the lid before sealing. Glass containers should be covered as Chassis Saver doesn't really have UV protection.

If you are buying MEK, then you aren't in California.

We haven't had MEK for 10 or more years!

OldFatBald wrote:If you are buying MEK, then you aren't in California.

We haven't had MEK for 10 or more years!

No I'm in Washington State and purchased a gallon of S8. I was just providing others with some information.

Most of my experience has been with industrial marine enamel paint from when I worked in the shipyards years ago. We built Navy and commercial vessels and there was left over paint one could bid on at auctions. We used on wooden boats, homes, etc.