strip or cover paint and rust?

[nyhillbilly]

I am stripping my engine compartment or want to, allot of the paint is ok but has surface rust spots about 1/4 round or less. I would like to POR but everyone i see is saying not to POR over the paint. I do not want to just paint over with regular paint as the rust will come back, and i do not want to sand down to bare metal either. For the engine compartment what is the best rust and paint covering paint?

 

[broncosbybart]

POR will help with the rust, but it isn't quite the magical stuff that they say it is. You can paint the whole thing with either and the rust will come back with time. Granted, POR is very good, but it isn't a fix all. If there are no rust holes, you can sand, POR or prime and paint with a top coat. Either way, work is required. You can POR over paint. It isn't needed, but it won't hurt anything. If you go with a glossy paint, you will see where the rust spots were unless you use a glazing compound to skim over the rusty areas before painting.

 

[SteveL]

Just get in there and strip it. It doesn't take that long and you'll be happier with the results.