Steel-It Application / Review Q's

[carter2772]

Wondering if any of you have had real word experience with Steel-It? I've been wanting to use it as the paint application for a frame i have. Im wondering how well it applies, lasts, any UV issues, touch up. prep, etc.... I've used POR, Rust Bullet, and a few others. My concern is applying it inccorectly, and having issues in the future after the body is back on. What ive read seems to be written by a lawyer, and not giving the best how to and kind of more of " your on your own" lol

https://steel-it.com/

 

[H22crxpwr]

It's really good stuff. Used it on race trucks and sandrail builds. Looks like powdercoat and holds up also. I am using it on my bronco now.

 

[carter2772]

It's really good stuff. Used it on race trucks and sandrail builds. Looks like powdercoat and holds up also. I am using it on my bronco now.

Do I need my frame sand blasted, or is wirewheeled, decreased, and etched make it a good base?

 

[lars]

Do I need my frame sand blasted, or is wirewheeled, decreased, and etched make it a good base?

There are application documents on their website that describe the prep required. Sandblasting is ideal but IIRC they mention coarse power sanding as a substitute.

I'm a newbie to the stuff. Used the black aerosol recently on some suspension parts. I've used a lot of POR-15 in the last 25 years, it's a lot more work to apply and on clean metal it requires the same surface prep or it comes off after a few years. The Steel-it aerosol goes on really thick. It'll run but you have to work at it. Also it cured very hard, very quickly, despite my applying it at the low end of the allowable temperature range. Time will tell how well it holds up, but I'd be inclined to use it again.

And yeah, it really does look like powdercoat. Satin finish, not shiny.

 

[carter2772]

Thanks for the input guys!

 

[snipes243]

Steel-it goes on best when its sand blasted. If you can't sandblast go ahead and hit it with some 36 Grit paper. It goes on thick but levels out. The silver stays its color the best, the black will dull a little over time, but still touches up nicely.

 

[dieselfarmer]

There are application documents on their website that describe the prep required. Sandblasting is ideal but IIRC they mention coarse power sanding as a substitute.

I'm a newbie to the stuff. Used the black aerosol recently on some suspension parts. I've used a lot of POR-15 in the last 25 years, it's a lot more work to apply and on clean metal it requires the same surface prep or it comes off after a few years. The Steel-it aerosol goes on really thick. It'll run but you have to work at it. Also it cured very hard, very quickly, despite my applying it at the low end of the allowable temperature range. Time will tell how well it holds up, but I'd be inclined to use it again.

And yeah, it really does look like powdercoat. Satin finish, not shiny.

Iars - would you be willing to give an update of how well the Steel It has held up and if you would use it again? Thanks.

 

[Dylan_Shaffer]

Used it in on my roll cage 3-4 year ago and still looks great. I’m about a mile from the beach and it’s the only spray can paint I’ve used that doesn’t start peeling/pitting/rusting within a year. Use it for all most my stuff now. Seems to hold up to heat pretty good as well, made a turbo support bracket for my sandrail that boots directly to the turbo exhaust flange and the paint still looks perfect.

 

[lars]

Iars - would you be willing to give an update of how well the Steel It has held up and if you would use it again? Thanks.

So far so good, mostly. I've used more since my last post, applied more carefully in some places than others. I write "mostly" because it's been awhile since I've taken a close look at my radius arms, which are the most challenging location simply because of exposure. So I don't know if any rust spots have appeared. But I haven't driven across any alkali playas (my Bronco has been across many in the western basin & range country over the years) since I applied it, and conditions here in the Sacramento Valley are pretty benign. The places I can see easily such as my swing away tire carrier, look great.

On the other hand, a friend (@ntsqd on this forum) has had a completely different experience. Maybe he'll chime in here, but briefly he applied some to part of his front bumper on his daily driver OJB. His commute takes him on US 101 north of Ventura, where occasionally ocean waves will literally break onto the highway. The parts he sprayed are rusting badly. That's about as challenging as it gets, in general.

I drove my Bronco on that stretch daily for two years after I bought it 29 years ago, waves at times crashing over the hood, and observed it decomposing almost before my eyes. Steel-It didn't exist back then, or I would've tried it. POR-15 probably did but I was pretty naive about that sort of thing at the time. A friend with a powder coat shop bead blasted the grill, then applied a zinc-rich primer powder followed by something closer to (then) body color. That stuff is still on there, under the current blue. The blue has gotten chipped in places but that powder is still holding up and there is zero rust on my grill.

All that said, yeah, I'd use some again, partly because I have several cans, and also because I've gotten old, fat and lazy. And cue the non-challenging environment here. POR-15 would probably still be my preference, but as mentioned previously, it's more work. Plus my step-daughter's boyfriend, who was happy to do that work in exchange for stacks of 20's has moved across the country along with said stepdaughter.

 

[ntsqd]

My post on this topic was originally here: https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/threads/zmotorsports-shop-projects-2-0.366802/post-10961209 but I'll copy/paste it below:

So, Steel-it paint.

I've owed this thread some pics and I've been slow getting that done. This pic was taken on Sept. 25th '22 while on a trip in Nevada:

The winch didn't have it's poly line spooled on yet, but I put it together enough for the trip. The Barnes 4WD winch plate and the structure that moved the fairlead forward enough to clear the bash plate were both painted with Steel-It just before assembly.
For the last ~9 months "Snowball" has been my DD. The route to work has about 10 miles of ocean-front exposure. The sequence is literally waves, PCH & Hwy 101, and then the coastal hills. Google Maps Sample. Which means that I am semi-frequently driving thru a salt air fog one or both directions.

The prep for paint was rudimentary. Spray off with CRC brake cleaner in direct sunlight. Paint once dry and warmed back up.
How they look as of this morning (24/12/07):

The paint has adhered well, but it hasn't resisted the rust very well. I grant that I'm a tough use case, but a bumper that I coated with POR-15 and then while the POR was tacky I top-coated it with Rustoleum stood up to more than a decade of a similar drive (longer, but thru that same area).

For the curious, this is what that bracket behind the fairlead looks like:

It bolts to the Barnes tray and to two tabs welded to the top bumper tube. This was my first project using SendCutSend.com.

HTH.....

 

[dieselfarmer]

Thanks for both of the posts. Sounds like an enjoyable ride along the coast! Much different than our corn/soybean fields in central Illinois.

I have been using the Steel It when I'm getting ready to weld a part on (example -- an outer rocker panel to an inner rocker panel) and then I can't see or get at the inside of the rocker after the part is welded on - in this case the steel won't be exposed to the exterior environment. I wonder how well it will hold up after it has been exposed to the heat of welding. Their literature says it "has the added benefit of being weldable, UV-resistant, and USDA compliant for incidental food contact".

I also have been using SEM Copperweld 40793 as a zinc based primer for welding over - I like it because I can spray it on and it has a super fast cure time. Steel It and Copperweld are similar in cost.

POR 15 has been working well, but I recently started using KBS Rust Seal because they sell several different colors right out of the can, in addition to black. But, it is a brush on product.

I'm still looking for the "best" product to top coat over the KBS and POR 15. Steel It might not be the best option. Maybe I'll look closer at UPOL Raptor or SEM Rock It.

I also might look at Seymour 20-1675 weld through primer.

 

[ntsqd]

It would be if it weren't for the ~250,000 other people going the same direction. The fwy section is 3 to 4 lanes and traffic is solidly heavy from 6am to 9am in the morning's drive. And the lone morning commuter train has been going the wrong direction for two decades.

With POR15 I top coat using Rustoleum when the POR is at the tacky stage. It significantly slows down the POR's cure rate, but the result is worth waiting for.

Lately I've been using Petite's "Rustlok" in place of POR15. No top coat required, but can be done if desired. They offer brushing thinners and spraying thinners for it. I built up a bicycle for work using the Rustlok on the frame followed by Petite's "Eazypoxy" and it too took a while to fully cure, but it's solid now. Not a car show, 13 Brazillion hand rubbed coats of lacquer shine, more like a typical powder-coat shine to it.

 

[dieselfarmer]

It would be if it weren't for the ~250,000 other people going the same direction. The fwy section is 3 to 4 lanes and traffic is solidly heavy from 6am to 9am in the morning's drive. And the lone morning commuter train has been going the wrong direction for two decades.

With POR15 I top coat using Rustoleum when the POR is at the tacky stage. It significantly slows down the POR's cure rate, but the result is worth waiting for.

Lately I've been using Petite's "Rustlok" in place of POR15. No top coat required, but can be done if desired. They offer brushing thinners and spraying thinners for it. I built up a bicycle for work using the Rustlok on the frame followed by Petite's "Eazypoxy" and it too took a while to fully cure, but it's solid now. Not a car show, 13 Brazillion hand rubbed coats of lacquer shine, more like a typical powder-coat shine to it.

Thanks for the Rustlok comments.

With Rustlok, how hard is it to keep once you open the lid?

With POR 15 I use the zip lock plastic bag trick underneath the lid to attempt to seal it, but the shelf life is still fairly short.

 

[399strokerEB]

I sprayed my entire frame, radius arms, and front bumper a few years ago with the black steel-it. So far they've been holding up great, there were a couple small spots in the bumper that I wiped some fluid film on and they haven't got worse. Radius arms show a little rust where the tires have wore through. I did start spraying the frame with fluid film to prevent it from rusting and it makes clean up easier after wheeling. Overall I've been pretty happy with it and it's held up better than regular spray paint.

 

[ntsqd]

Conversely the aerosol paint used on the front bumper, that has been exposed to the same salt air fog as the parts painted with Steel-It, is working far better at protecting the metal. I wish that I knew what it is as I'd buy more.

I don't have long term storage results with Rustlok. I bought a quart for the bike project and ended up using it up on other things. It appears that I don't have a picture of that bike.

MISF doesn't put the cling-wrap under the lids to better seal them. He puts it there so that the paint doesn't inseparably bond the lid to the can. His long term storage solution is his shop fridge. POR15, and other similar coatings, are moisture cured polyurethanes. Long term storage needs to be in as low humidity as can possibly be found. That the fridge is chilled slows down the process even more.

 

[dieselfarmer]

Here is a pic of what Steel It looks like on the back side of 16 gauge steel that has been welded. It did not hold up to very well to the weld. Most of the Steel It flaked off in the area of the weld. Would be interesting to see how well SEM Copperweld and Seymour 20-1675 hold up in this same situation.

Does anyone have experience with what POR15 or Rustlok looks like on the reverse side of welded steel? I don't think they are designed to withstand heat.

 

[ntsqd]

No idea about the Rustlok, but MISF has extensive experience with welding around POR15. First off, his MIG won't strike an arc thru it. It has to be ground back to bare metal to start a weld. It only burns back to the edge of the HAZ. I wouldn't expect any coating to stand up to the metal under it becoming red hot.

 

[hsach]

Here is a pic of what Steel It looks like on the back side of 16 gauge steel that has been welded. It did not hold up to very well to the weld. Most of the Steel It flaked off in the area of the weld. Would be interesting to see how well SEM Copperweld and Seymour 20-1675 hold up in this same situation.

Does anyone have experience with what POR15 or Rustlok looks like on the reverse side of welded steel? I don't think they are designed to withstand heat.

I don't have experience with those products, but I expect it to act the same as Rust Bullet. Nothing is going to stand up to a weld on the backside of the material, it will all burn off.

 

[dieselfarmer]

I don't have experience with those products, but I expect it to act the same as Rust Bullet. Nothing is going to stand up to a weld on the backside of the material, it will all burn off.

I agree - but would like to find a product that holds up the best under extreme heat... for those areas that need to welded, but won't be able to get at the interior side after the weld.

 

[ntsqd]

There are some zinc-rich weld-thru primers out there that might be worth looking at. Beyond knowing that they exist, I don't know a lot.