Welcome to TheOhioOutdoors
Wanting to join the rest of our members? Login or sign up today!
Login / Join

Rusty Trailer - Need Painting Advice

jagermeister

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
18,060
223
Ohio
say it with me, "preparation is paramount". at a minimum, you are foolish to not clean that metal thoroughly like I described above. nothing, and I mean NOTHING will reduce the life of a paint job more than putting paint (yes, even badass catalyzed epoxy or industrial enamel) on top of dirt, mildew, algae, grease, etc. I'd bet that all of that and more can be found on your trailer right now. at a minimum, clean it, address the loose rust and paint it by hand from a lidded can. if you want to spray it, use real paint and an adequate sprayer for the material. I would not bother spraying as you will do a better job by hand.

aerosol cans of paint have their place, but are diluted with solvents and propellants considerably. you need to apply 6 coats from a rattle can to achieve the mil thickness you get with one coat applied with a brush or roller. I bet you I can paint that whole trailer with a 4" roller and a brush twice in 3-4 hours once the prep work is done. you don't have to break the bank or spend a week to make that trailer look good and stay that way for a while. maybe converting the rust is going overboard, but it is meaningful step that will keep the rust you treat from returning. use a garden sprayer for this if you bother. makes coating that expanded metal pretty fast and easy.

if minimum effort is desirable, get a couple of cans of Rustoleum and shoot the rusty parts a couple of times. it will look better from across the street and will slow the rust down a little bit.

This is the approach I'm going to go with I think. It's a $700 utility trailer... I knew what it was when I bought it. But I'm not going to go through the hassle of painting it just to watch it rust again in 6 months. Just because it's a cheap trailer doesn't mean I shouldn't invest some time and money to help it last longer.
 
say it with me, "preparation is paramount". at a minimum, you are foolish to not clean that metal thoroughly like I described above. nothing, and I mean NOTHING will reduce the life of a paint job more than putting paint (yes, even badass catalyzed epoxy or industrial enamel) on top of dirt, mildew, algae, grease, etc. I'd bet that all of that and more can be found on your trailer right now. at a minimum, clean it, address the loose rust and paint it by hand from a lidded can. if you want to spray it, use real paint and an adequate sprayer for the material. I would not bother spraying as you will do a better job by hand.

aerosol cans of paint have their place, but are diluted with solvents and propellants considerably. you need to apply 6 coats from a rattle can to achieve the mil thickness you get with one coat applied with a brush or roller. I bet you I can paint that whole trailer with a 4" roller and a brush twice in 3-4 hours once the prep work is done. you don't have to break the bank or spend a week to make that trailer look good and stay that way for a while. maybe converting the rust is going overboard, but it is meaningful step that will keep the rust you treat from returning. use a garden sprayer for this if you bother. makes coating that expanded metal pretty fast and easy.

if minimum effort is desirable, get a couple of cans of Rustoleum and shoot the rusty parts a couple of times. it will look better from across the street and will slow the rust down a little bit.


I agree. Brush it on and be done with it.
 

Jackalope

Dignitary Member
Staff member
38,841
260
This is the approach I'm going to go with I think. It's a $700 utility trailer... I knew what it was when I bought it. But I'm not going to go through the hassle of painting it just to watch it rust again in 6 months. Just because it's a cheap trailer doesn't mean I shouldn't invest some time and money to help it last longer.

I agree. The question becomes how much time and money do you invest to make it last longer than spending less time and money. For example is 4 hours and 50 bucks to last 6 years better than spending one hour and 20 bucks to last 5. Are you going to be throwing firewood and hauling brush in it that will damage that more expensive and time consuming paint job? Take it down gravel roads that's gonna gouge the paint no matter what you use to paint it? Gonna haul a load of scrap? Put a bunch of weight on the mesh grating hailing mulch? All depends on usage. If you're going to baby it and only haul a quad around then sure do it up right and it'll last a lifetime. If you're going to work that sucker then why bother just get it good enough to stop and prevent heavy rustic g and once a year touch up any problem areas. Are you restoring an antique over under to be a twice a year trap gun or a season long brush beater. That's all I'm saying.
 

jagermeister

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
18,060
223
Ohio
This is the approach I'm going to go with I think. It's a $700 utility trailer... I knew what it was when I bought it. But I'm not going to go through the hassle of painting it just to watch it rust again in 6 months. Just because it's a cheap trailer doesn't mean I shouldn't invest some time and money to help it last longer.

I agree. The question becomes how much time and money do you invest to make it last longer than spending less time and money. For example is 4 hours and 50 bucks to last 6 years better than spending one hour and 20 bucks to last 5. Are you going to be throwing firewood and hauling brush in it that will damage that more expensive and time consuming paint job? Take it down gravel roads that's gonna gouge the paint no matter what you use to paint it? Gonna haul a load of scrap? Put a bunch of weight on the mesh grating hailing mulch? All depends on usage. If you're going to baby it and only haul a quad around then sure do it up right and it'll last a lifetime. If you're going to work that sucker then why bother just get it good enough to stop and prevent heavy rustic g and once a year touch up any problem areas. Are you restoring an antique over under to be a twice a year trap gun or a season long brush beater. That's all I'm saying.

That makes sense to me Joe. I totally get what you're saying.
 
For me an old saying always comes to mind.
If a job is worth doing it is worth doing right.
Done right means you may not have to do it again.
Obviously it was not done right at the factory.
I remember a thread you had where you rebuilt a bow. It was obvious you very meticulous and did not take short cuts.
Someone else brought up another old saying pay once cry once, I think that is appropriate also.
Finally if properly maintained that trailer will last a lifetime.

Sorry for the long post I am recovering from surgery and I am bored

Normally I am more of a lurker


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 

Jackalope

Dignitary Member
Staff member
38,841
260
For me an old saying always comes to mind.
If a job is worth doing it is worth doing right.
Done right means you may not have to do it again.
Obviously it was not done right at the factory.
I remember a thread you had where you rebuilt a bow. It was obvious you very meticulous and did not take short cuts.
Someone else brought up another old saying pay once cry once, I think that is appropriate also.
Finally if properly maintained that trailer will last a lifetime.

Sorry for the long post I am recovering from surgery and I am bored

Normally I am more of a lurker


Sent from my iPhone Admin note: Please go in to your app settings and disable signatures. Pro

No need for apologies. I hope your surgery went as good as expected.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Dustinb80

bowhunter1023

Owner/Operator
Staff member
48,879
274
Appalachia
I agree. The question becomes how much time and money do you invest to make it last longer than spending less time and money. For example is 4 hours and 50 bucks to last 6 years better than spending one hour and 20 bucks to last 5. Are you going to be throwing firewood and hauling brush in it that will damage that more expensive and time consuming paint job? Take it down gravel roads that's gonna gouge the paint no matter what you use to paint it? Gonna haul a load of scrap? Put a bunch of weight on the mesh grating hailing mulch? All depends on usage. If you're going to baby it and only haul a quad around then sure do it up right and it'll last a lifetime. If you're going to work that sucker then why bother just get it good enough to stop and prevent heavy rustic g and once a year touch up any problem areas. Are you restoring an antique over under to be a twice a year trap gun or a season long brush beater. That's all I'm saying.

"Time value of money" of concept as my dad always put it in scenarios like this. It's how I make nearly every decision of this nature.
 

jagermeister

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
18,060
223
Ohio
For me an old saying always comes to mind.
If a job is worth doing it is worth doing right.
Done right means you may not have to do it again.
Obviously it was not done right at the factory.
I remember a thread you had where you rebuilt a bow. It was obvious you very meticulous and did not take short cuts.
Someone else brought up another old saying pay once cry once, I think that is appropriate also.
Finally if properly maintained that trailer will last a lifetime.

Sorry for the long post I am recovering from surgery and I am bored

Normally I am more of a lurker


Sent from my iPhone Admin note: Please go in to your app settings and disable signatures. Pro

You're dead on. I generally don't half-ass any DIY projects that I commit myself to. This one is not likely to be any different.
 

Buckmaster

Senior Member
14,362
191
Portage
FWIW...I'm a POR15 advocate. Many of my projects have a couple coats of that paint on them.
I've been spraying it lately in my auto paint gun.
 
  • Like
Reactions: "J"