# Has anyone ever had their horse trailers re-painted?



## iridehorses (Oct 22, 2007)

Years ago - and I mean YEARS ago - I painted a 2 horse Hartman trailer myself and it came out pretty nice. 

Today I don't have the inclination to do it myself so if I had to do it again, I would call one of those national paint shops like "Maako". I remember using Earl Shibe when I was in college but I think those shops are long gone.

Prices always depend on how much prep they need to do, such as rust removal etc.. I would think that if they didn't have to mask off a lot of areas and all they needed to do is to prep, prime, and spray, it should be fairly reasonable.


----------



## BackInTheSaddleAgain (Apr 20, 2009)

Hmmm. My husband does have a paint gun and he paints jets in the military. Do you think maybe taking it to someone to get it sand-blasted would work for the prep-work? Not sure what exactly is involved in getting paint/minimal rust off.


iridehorses said:


> Years ago - and I mean YEARS ago - I painted a 2 horse Hartman trailer myself and it came out pretty nice.
> 
> Today I don't have the inclination to do it myself so if I had to do it again, I would call one of those national paint shops like "Maako". I remember using Earl Shibe when I was in college but I think those shops are long gone.
> 
> Prices always depend on how much prep they need to do, such as rust removal etc.. I would think that if they didn't have to mask off a lot of areas and all they needed to do is to prep, prime, and spray, it should be fairly reasonable.


----------



## iridehorses (Oct 22, 2007)

Sand blasting is a great way to get rid of a lot of surface rust and old paint but it can be expensive. It will save a LOT of work.

To prep a trailer that hasn't been blasted, what you need to do is to use a wire brush and a lot of elbow grease (wear old cloths and eye protection). then you will need a sander or grinder to even out any places that you removed paint so that the edges of that area is even. Next you will need to fill in any imperfections with bondo (if it is deep) or just red primer filler if it is not. Sand, sand, sand, When you are finished sanding - sand again.

Then spray on primer, then sand, then several coats of paint, sanding in between coats.

It's a lot of work to get it looking professional.


----------



## Midwest Paint (Oct 21, 2008)

You know what else does wonderful in getting that old paint off? Aircraft stripper.. Your husband should have truck loads on that on hand! Use a 3m scratch disk to take anything else off.. If he shoots aircraft, he will easily do a trailer!


----------



## Trissacar (Apr 19, 2009)

I've hear it can be done. But never seen it myself.


----------



## BackInTheSaddleAgain (Apr 20, 2009)

Woah. Elbow grease is RIGHT.... that and multiples beers. lol
I invested in a sander today and had my first 'go' at the trailer. It's work, that's no lie. It's a slow, but fortunately steady process. Trailer Restoration officially added to the list of hobbies. =D


----------



## morganshow11 (Dec 19, 2008)

I painted my trailer by myself, and all i had to do was pay $15 for the paint.


----------



## Qtswede (Apr 16, 2009)

general rule of thumb is that if you can see rust on the surface, it runs a bit deeper. Sandblast off what you can, then use a rust to primer prep. It's formulated so that when you spray it on a rusty surface (light rust, not heavy) it will turn the rust into primer. Use it a lot up here in MI. As far as cost of paint, it depends on the color you choose, brand, etc and if you can get hubby to shoot it for you.


----------



## BackInTheSaddleAgain (Apr 20, 2009)

I've been able to get down to bare metal with the sander... and we're priming it as we go with that primer you suggested =) He got it from work (don't tell anyone. lol)


----------



## NicoleS11 (Nov 21, 2008)

I had my stock trailer sandblasted and painted last summer. I took it to my grandpa who does that stuff so all i had to do was pay for the paint which was dirt cheap. But i do recoment sandblasting it...it looks like a brand new trailer...and i got the same paint color as our truck so it matches really nice and i hand painted out brand on the front of it...so it looks good for a stock trailer...lol

good luck!


----------



## BlingQueen (May 28, 2009)

Ive painted 3 trailers in my life.. The first one was a small one horse that I hand sanded and did all the bondo work on - The next two I had sandblasted and we rented an airless sprayer and sprayed them. Saved THOUSANDS.. Good paint jobs are not CHEAP.. If you are not looking for a top notch finish you may try getting in touch with an ag or auto body program at a high school. You can usually get one done there for a few hundred bucks.. But they are really not that hard to paint.. If you sandblast one be prepared for big holes where ever you had rust on your trailer. You will have to patch, maybe weld and fix those spots..


----------

