# Sanding/repainting a trailer



## Joe4d

Id go with an 4.5" angle grinder with a screw on wire brush, bout $80 bucks at lowes, you can also use chemical panit strippers and heat guns but you will still need to wire wheel the rust spots, then you gotta use a rust killing chemical, then prime and paint.. Its a pretty big job, Id find a paint shop.


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## DancingArabian

The quotes I've gotten were all around $2000 to strip and refinish the trailer  that's why I'm trying to find a way to do it myself
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Joe4d

GO for the angle grinder and wire wheel, take you awhile but it will work, get a couple different shapes of wheels. Find a boating or marine type store to get the rust killer. Its a paint like stuff that kills the rust. You still need to wire wheel it good first,,, scrape a days worth then put the rust killer on it last, next day continue scraping till your done.


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## DancingArabian

Thanks, Joe. I'm actually going to print this out so I can take it with me when I head out. Now I just need a few days of clear weather!


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## gunslinger

Joe4d said:


> GO for the angle grinder and wire wheel, take you awhile but it will work, get a couple different shapes of wheels. Find a boating or marine type store to get the rust killer. Its a paint like stuff that kills the rust. You still need to wire wheel it good first,,, scrape a days worth then put the rust killer on it last, next day continue scraping till your done.


That's the way I'd do it.

DON'T forget safety glasses. An angle grinder is going to throw a lot of stuff at you. You may want to pick up a full face shield and dust masks too.


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## Joe4d

and good gloves, those wires do a number on skin, yeh dont even think about turning on a wire wheel without safety glasses, not even one second, with use some of those itty bitty wires sling out.


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## Joe4d

boaters world used to sell a paint called "trailer coat" it was for boat trailers launching in salt water. Worked well, kinda a rough finnish so you could top coat with a colored paint if you want to the trailer coated didnt need primer, Do not get it on your skin as it will not wash off with anything once dry. Kinda pricey and I would assume a decent zinc primer and paint would be fine for a trailer not getting submerged in saltwater.


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## Joe4d

http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?path=-1|10918|296162|11453|311507&id=12044

despite the description you still need to wire wheel any rust off, you just dont need to get insane about it.


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## DancingArabian

I could have sworn I made another post in here but I think the Internet ate it.

So....wire wheel the old paint and rust off, primer (how many coats?), then paint (I was thinking rustoleum? Any other suggestions? Am I stuck to spray cans?). Is that the right order?
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## Joe4d

click on that defender link above, that will serve as primer and rust protection, can paint over that with whatever color you want


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## Tessa7707

We painted our trailer about 2 years ago
Here's before








And after









I absolutely second the angle grinder. We tried sand blasting and it just was not powerful enough to remove all the rust, and it took a LONG time. Also tried a 'paint remover' - looks like a buffer but with a sander, also didn't do a very good job. In the end, our trusty angle grinder with a wire wheel did the best job. 

Here's a pic of me grinding









definitely wear gloves, eye pro, and ear protection as well- it's loud. My husband and I took turns because the vibration of the grinder kills after a while. 

Another trick we used was *Rust Converter.* It converts rust into this black substance, and gets rid of the rust. you still want to try to grind everything you can get to off FIRST but this stuff was awesome for getting in the nooks and crannies and ensuring all the rust got killed! ha. 

Here's the best pic I could find of the trailer after we applied the first coat of rust converter (had to use the trailer for a rodeo)










After grinding and 2 coats of rust converter we did 2 (we may have done 3?) coats of primer and 3 coats of paint. We used an air compressor and a paint gun attachment. Definitely get some masks for when your painting, a respirator would be best but we didn't use one. We were outside. 

We also got some Liquid Nails and caulked that into the seams between panels on the roof to waterproof it. It's still totally waterproof (unless it comes in the giant open windows on the sides of course) but the manger is safe for tack and hay.










It's perfectly functional, has resisted rust so far (it's been 2 years), and looks well enough for us 

The only other piece of advice I can offer is, however long you think it will take, triple it.  Good luck with your paint job! Make sure you take lots of pictures for us! haha


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## nvr2many

Nice!!


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## Dead Rabbit

just me, but id have someone else sandblast it. its alot of work doing it as suggested. and no way will it do as well as having it blasted.

a professional sandblasting takes it all off. then if money is an issue. you do the rest.


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## Tessa7707

Dead Rabbit said:


> just me, but id have someone else sandblast it. its alot of work doing it as suggested. and no way will it do as well as having it blasted.
> 
> a professional sandblasting takes it all off. then if money is an issue. you do the rest.


Yeah, it is a lot of work. If you don't want to do the work and you want to spend $2000, go for it.

We already had the grinder ($80 if you need to buy one)
$5 for the wire cup brush
$45 for a gallon of the rust converter
So, rust removal cost us $50 and about 3 or 4 days work. 

So, the $1950 savings was worth it for me.


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## DancingArabian

I'm going to have to plan this carefully since I can't take time off work (no more paid days off). Could I use the grinder to clear off an area then use the rust converter then prime it. I don't think I could do it all in one weekend and I would worry about leaving spots uncovered. Would that work? Once done I would do another all over coat with the defender stuff to make sure it's all even then paint.

I'm going to see if the shops have an angle grinder on special this weekend.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Dead Rabbit

Tessa7707 said:


> Yeah, it is a lot of work. If you don't want to do the work and you want to spend $2000, go for it.
> 
> We already had the grinder ($80 if you need to buy one)
> $5 for the wire cup brush
> $45 for a gallon of the rust converter
> So, rust removal cost us $50 and about 3 or 4 days work.
> 
> So, the $1950 savings was worth it for me.



just the actual sandblasting wouldnt cost that much and you wont get all the nooks and crannies with a wire wheel like a blaster will.

most the cost is the actuall refinishing.


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## Tessa7707

Not sure where you live, but you might want to wait til summer to do it, when it's dry and you have less chance of condensation, rain, precipitation in general. 

You absolutely can do it piece by piece, that's pretty much what we did. We didn't leave anything bare overnight so we'd guess how much we could get done that day, grind, rust converter, prime and call it good. We got through the whole trailer like this and then did the paint all at once (well, over a few days, one coat a day) once we were done with all the prep

The primer alone will protect against rust for about 2 months in my experience, depending on your moisture. We did the back door first and primed it and couldn't get back to it for, I believe, 2 months? a long time. It ended up rusting through the primer and we had to re-grind it. Then we really dug into it and got it done. 

How big of a trailer do you have? 

Sounds like you're on the right track. I love when people do things themselves! We have such a huge sense of satisfaction every time we see the trailer.


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## DancingArabian

You might be right - might be a project to put on the shelf until summer. 

I'm in Maryland. 

It's a 2H BP with dressing room. It's pretty old but structurally sound, which is why I bought it. I figured that all the ugly bits could be fixed and I could keep it on the road safely for a while. I'd like it to last me at least 6 years, so I'd have my truck paid off then I could consider if I wanted to upgrade to a newer model.


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## enzoleya

I painted mine myself with rattle cans and paint (both rust-o-lium paints). It cost me roughly $150 for everything start to finish. 

As for sanding I used those square sanding blocks that look like sponges almost. I used a medium and a course one, but I think it took two of each. 

It really wasn't hard, but it took a good week. I only clear coated the outside because I couldn't find the right color to match up. I might have some mixed next year when it gets warm to cover up the rust. I painted the entire inside white. 

Here's my trailer 

before 

















after


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