Repainting the trailer?

[Turtle Creek Lawn Care]

Hey guys I was wondering if any of you have ever repainted you trailers. I want to repaint mine and was wondering what are the steps I need to take in doing this. This is what I thought...
1. Throughly wash/power wash entire trailer
2. Sand down the whole trailer
3. Repaint
4. Some kind of weatherproofing for the paint?

Is this even cloes? Also what paint would be best to use.

Thanks
Ryan

[stevenf]

When I do mine, Im going to get it sand blasted and I am going to paint it with automotive paint (base and clear coat).

[cpel2004]

How much do you think the whole repainting cost and prep work would set you back, from start to finish. A buddy of mine has an old city trailer and I was thinking about restoring it from top to bottom. I figured a slightly used 8 x 16 would cost roughly $3000 or more and if I could refinish it for under 2000 it will be well worth. Im not sure about the quality of paint etc, I dont want it to look homemade cheap, if you know what I mean

[topsites]

No, if the trailer is that old it needs a complete restore then it doesn't cost what it would new, assuming they go for 3,000 brand new that trailer might be worth 1-1500 maybe 2,000 at the absolute most. It's not just the paint, the metal fatigues over the years and there could be other issues between bearings and leaf springs and who knows... Trailers can and do last 10 and 15 and 20 years and more but nothing lasts forever...

So I don't see how a factory-quality automotive finish on a trailer would be a worth while investment, I'd wash it up real good with some degreaser and spray paint it with canned stuff for like 50-100 bucks, what I would do. Now it might not look its best but then neither does my 6-year old even if I wash it the factory paint is still all faded but I just don't care, because age does that to a unit so I sure wouldn't be for throwing even a thousand bucks after an older trailer like that.

Now I'm not saying you shouldn't consider buying or using it, but if you're going to throw 2 thousand dollars after a trailer then at least get one that's all ready to go for that kind of money, if it is used that's fine but rather than fool around with one you have to fix and play around with I would just get one that is worth 2 thousand dollars and be done, that's another idea...

[ALC-GregH]

HeII, I can get a brand new 7x14 dual axle for way under 2K. Why spend the time and money on a trailer thats old and needing work?

[Integritylawncare]

4" inch grinder with a wire wheel and then black tractor paint from tsc and a brush or roller. from the street or curb the trailer loks fine, it's just a trailer made of angle iron. just cover the rust and keep it clean.

[stevenf]

I have all of the all of the supplies to apply automotive paint. Wont be costly for me.

[iseegreen]

Painted mine with 1 qt. of oil based rust-oleum from home depot. cost me less than $20.00 for paint. You will need a spray gun and compressor though. as for sanding just use a scotch brite pad. Not the highest quality but hey its a work trailer. Like topsites said dont put a high end paint job on it. Wont last.

[Grits]

A lot of trailer manufacturers just use direct-to-metal Rustoleum sprayed with a spray gun. I don't think you should overboard with it. Degrease it, dry it, scotch brite it and spray it.

[dura to the max]

i did mine w/ several cans of spray paint. no sanding, and it lasted as long as the original paint.

[mnglocker]

Sand it down using an angle grinder and a wire wheel, THEN look into a product called POR15 this stuff chemically convers rust and bonds with metal. You can beat it with a hammer and it won't chip off or peel.

[Greenleaf Lawns]

I did mine in 2007, I think I bought it in 1997.

I had touched it up over the years with spray cans, any how...

I just power washed it really good,

then let it sit for a few days to let the water dry off,

then I sprayed with tractor paint, did this at a buddies house out in the country as I sprayed it outside

anyway probably used 3/4 of a gallon and some mineral spirits

[Gerry Barr]

I have painted trailers, campers and boats in my back yard. For 60-70$ you can get a decent gravity feed HVLP spray gun that you hook up to your compressor. I like to use heavy equipment paint, cost about 50-60$ a gallon. Easy to shoot and dries within an hour. The process is simple.

Scrub with abrasive pad and water and let dry
Wipe down with a good automotive surface prep cleaner and lint free towels
Tape it
Prime any bare spots
Shoot the paint

I would not paint any classic cars but this works fine to trailers, campers and old fishing boats metal patio furniture etc…