Trailer Talk

If I’ve got a trailer thats basically in pretty good shape except for surface rust (25% of trailer), what steps should be taken to eliminate the rust and seal things up? Should I have the whole thing sand blasted? If I sanded myself Ive been reading about zinc chromate primers and stainless steal paint in B&W magazine but not too sure about that. I was also thinking about getting some “rhino liner” coating and just painting that on. Anyone done that? This is a cat boat trailer so I dont want the thing looking too pretty when Im done, i.e., I dont care what the finished project looks like and I want the least expensive option that will do the job. Thanks for the help!! Oh ya, anyone have any experiene with the new LED trailer lights??

Talk to a body shop that does sand blasting. Have them blast it, prime it, and paint it. You’ll be happy with the work of a professional.

If you want it to look good & last a long time, a body shop is the way to go.

If you’re just looking to clean it up and keep it decent for a few more years, get a wire-wheel for your drill & knock off as much rust as you can. Follow that up with a few coats of the brush-on rust-preventing paints. In the end, even a poorly done job will look better than a rusty trailer.

I have used that rust converter, and had pretty good success with it. It is good to get the excess flaky rust off, and apply this magic potion, and prime and paint. It was easy, and lasted quite a while. Might be the ticket for the cat trailer…
Good luck with that. Let me know when I can come over and see it..
Tuck

Dirk, Brush on bed liner works great at covering small imperfections. Some products tend to fade from UV rays. One draw back is cleaning the water scum. You must take great pains to prepare the rusty spots, but you don’t have to be a skilled painter to apply it. The best option is sand blasting and body shop work if your budget allows.

I took a couple of rusty ones in the past to a Monument Place here in town and used their equipment (at a $/hr rate). It was professional equipment and very powerful, they provided the sand and hood/gloves. I already had the lights etc stripped off, only popped the wheels at the place and proceeded. Once blasted, I had a couple cans of primer with me and primed it right on the spot. That dries very fast so by the time I got the wheels on the rest was dry. I took it home and painted it with another shot of primer, then just used pressure cans to paint it (best I could get from the auto store). Those trailers lasted looking nice for a looooooong time and the cost was pretty minimal. I believe the sandblast time was about $100 including their sand and equipment. I tried blasting one at home with a pressure blaster but the mess is far too disgusting, better off at a place where they do this frequently.

A friend who restores old VW Beetles swears by some primer called POR-15. It converts the oxidized steel into something harder than steel and forms a strong bond/seal around the rest of the metal.

You have to paint over the top of the primer with a regular paint because of a sensitivity to light. Expensive – I think about $100 / gallon.

ThumperW

I have redone a few metal horse trailers and my boat trailer. Sand blating is the best way to go but what I have found the best for rust ( and I do auto body work on the side ) is good old Rustoleum red oxide. Do a decent job in preping making sure every thing is good and clean, and let it dry good.Put on a good top coat of paint. It does about as good a job of hoding rust as any thing unless you get into the high priced epoxy primers.

Good Luck
Supporting our troops
Tom P.

I have a related question. What do you do when you want to repaint your trailer but have no way of leaving the boat at a marina. Down here where I live, we have no docking facilaties at any of our ramps and you don’t dare leave an unattended boat in the water at the ramps. So, is there a way to get the boat and motor off the trailer at home without pulling a “red green” and leaving it lay on the ground?

If you’ve got a relatively small boat and a roller trailer it isnt too difficult. Just put some old tires down and slowly push your boat off the trailer leaving the winch strap connected and locked so you dont loose control of things. Do this a little at a time and slowly pull your trailer forward until its off. Others may have a better idea but thats how I did it. Watch the tradsducer!!!! Better yet take it off so it doesnt get broken. Having a couple of freinds over to assist is a good idea. With a bunk trailer I’m not so sure.

Thanks Dirk, I wonder how the body shops do it with larger boats?

I had a friend that put down hay bails. He put a bail on each side and slid the boat off a little at a time and then drove ahead a little and two more bails and it was off. He also said he wet everything before winching it back on. I was thinking of doing mine the same way. Steve

What kind of boat is it Herb?

Here’s what I’m thinking. I’ll meet you at the ramp early in the morning, fish all day from your boat, run through all your gas & filthy up the bottom with mud, chicken liver, and fish slime.

We can meet back at the ramp that evening & load it onto your good-as-new trailer!

I don’t know what to say John. This is why this site and it’s members are so great. Someone is always there to lend a hand! he he Don’t forget to bring the little cookie crunchers with you. Diapers not needed.

As far as repainting trailers, my vote goes with sand blasting. Then again, I own a sandblasting business. Any trailers we do, generally get a good epoxy primer if we paint them. Most guys tend to do the painting themselves as that is very easy once you have a bare surface to start with. The key to a good job is to get going with the refinishing immediately after blasting

A buddy of mine had his trailer sand blasted and then powdered coated. That stuff is on there so good you can take a hammer and not knock it off. Not sure but I think it is expensive to have done. But if you only have to do it once it might be worth it if you plan on keeping the trailer for some time. Some guys I know had the frames on their Harleys done and they look like brand new.

Other than the labor / time is there a reason why I couldn’t grind / sand the trailer myself rather than sandblast it. What should a guy expect to pay to have a trailer sand blasted? Iv’e checked the rental places, not an option.

I’d say it depends on the outcome you want. Sand blasting gets into tiny areas that is tuff to do with sanding/grinding. If you grind, sometimes you will see the grind marking thru the primer & paint.

$200 would get it blasted clean

I have a small portable sand blast hopper , hose and nozzle that I purchased from Northern Tool. Black silica sand is available from Menards for $3 for 50 lbs. If you have a compresser available you could borrow my blaster. I did my trailer last year and it looks good.
Dino

Dino, do you remember how much sand you used?

A 50 lb bag did the job. I had quite a bit of surface rust but it came off easy.