# Best Paint for trailer?



## 4horses

I'm trying to decide on a paint for my trailer.

I can special order Valspar Tractor and Implement Paint and have it shipped to me. Only the color choices are limited. 

I could pick up Valspar Anti-rust at Lowes and have it mixed to make any color I want.

Or I could go with Rustoleum but again the color choices are limited.

I've heard that tractor paint will last the longest. Any thoughts? Does Tractor paint have much gloss to it? 

The paint will be sprayed on.


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## horselovinguy

You are painting a horse trailer...probably made of steel if you are spray painting it?
Why would you use paint not intended for vehicles like cars, truck or trailers...automobile paint.
Today many auto parts stores can mix auto paint, or a body supply store, even the car dealerships have paint in their color line available...

Acrylic enamel is pretty easy to spray not needing a paint booth truthfully and a "general use" paint mask. Has a wonderful shine when done properly.
or
Lacquer is probably easiest to spray and very forgiving to a novice painter but it is a soft finish and won't last as long as acrylic enamel 

Urethane is_ very _special paint, you need to know what you are doing and need proper breathing masks...it also requires that top-coat that most new cars have today or it just doesn't look as nice or last very well. This is* not *a paint to use unless you truly know how and have a paint booth with ventilation system...inhaled it_ can _kill you, period or make you wish you were dead!!

You can get acrylic enamels in spray paint cans or if you have a sprayer, ability to mix and have a gun...I would just buy "car paint" and do your vehicle with vehicle paint...the cost will be darn near the same as purchasing so many cans and the finished product will be so much nicer.
Seriously, Rustoleum looks like Rustoleum...so do other paints applied to something they were not intended to be used on, not so nice.

Good luck.

_jmo..._


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## 4horses

This is a steel trailer and it has some rust spots. I'm paying someone to sand, repair the rust spots and re-paint it . All I have to do is supply the materials. Since this is an older trailer, I'm trying to keep it budget friendly. 

What brand of auto-paint would you suggest?


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## Darrin

I'm not a painter and have no clue what type of paint to get but I do suggest the color ends up being white. Yeah it will look like every other white trailer out there but there's a reason they are mostly painted white. The reason? Temperature. White keeps it not only a little cooler inside the trailer but a lot cooler. Go to a trailer lot on a sunny day and step into a silver, red, black, whatever trailer then step into a white on and you can feel the difference.


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## waresbear

The trailer dealer recommended Rustoleum for touch ups. Repainted a horse trailer with Rustoleum, great results.


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## horselovinguy

4HORSES...

Centauri brand is a name that I have dealt with with great results.
Most places though have their own "brand/line" of paint.
DuPont most have heard of too...

It isn't so much the name as the quality of the finished product.

I agree inside color of a trailer if you are painting it should be very light in color.
Outside...my trailer is silver gray, light in color.
I have never noticed a difference in mine or a white trailer honestly, but then I wasn't paying attention either.
I wouldn't do black for the sun baking reasons and being a slave to dirt and dust dirtying the paint look.

I just would _not _do Rustoleum myself.
Touch-ups are far different than a full new paint job.
You are having a lot of work done to improve the trailer in safety, looks and such...why you would cut corners when it came to what kind of paint to have sprayed...

When you realize how many cans you will need and hope they are all the same lot number so shade _{white can be different shades}_ when applied is the same... a 1/2 gallon of paint and the thinner and such probably are so close in $ ....

Why don't you just ask the person doing the body work what he would prefer to spray...
Let him be the one to guide you if you trust him to do the trailer restoration work....

You know pictures are required when you finish the project regardless of how you do the finish paint job...:wink:


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## Darrin

Silver and white are close in temperature but if you walk from one to the other you can tell the difference.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## waresbear

This a trailer painted with Rustoleum, about 3 years ago. Sold it, however seen it last summer, still looked great and it was being used to haul sheep back & forth to mountain grazing.


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## JCnGrace

Years ago bought an old trailer and repainted with Rustoleum. I was just going to paint it by hand but my mechanic told me to bring him the paint because he had a sprayer. He had to thin it down for it to work with the sprayer but that paint job was still good years later when I sold the trailer. Hmmm... I'm trying to think how long it was...11 or 12 years to the best of my recollection maybe a year or two longer.


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## JCnGrace

Guess I should add first layer was full strength Rustoleum primer then the top coat which was blue Rustoleum was what was thinned before spraying.


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## Saddlebag

We have Trem-clad in Canada. It is a fish oil based paint which is why it's good on rust. It does not require a primer. I lightly sanded the metal, wiped it with turpentine, then used a small roller. I worked on it as weather permitted.


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## rmax

Trem-clad is Rustoleum south of the border.


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## Chasin Ponies

Darrin;4864554 suggest the color ends up being white. Yeah it will look like every other white trailer out there but there's a reason they are mostly painted white. The reason? Temperature. White keeps it not only a little cooler inside the trailer but a lot cooler. Go to a trailer lot on a sunny day and step into a silver said:


> I agree completely with this comment although you could also go with a high gloss reflective silver. The dark colored trailers usually have air conditioning for the animal area and when they don't you really can feel the heat!!
> 
> Rustoleum is a good brand especially since trailers are mostly stored outside in all kind of weather. It's not like the old days when Rustoleum was only rust colored-now they have a large selection of colors.


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## 4horses

I think we are going to try the Valspar anti-rust just because I can pick it up without special ordering. I looked at the ingredient list and it is almost identical to the old Valspar Tractor paint that used to be sold at tractor supply.

We're going to paint it a light grey. I love the maroon color it is currently in, but it is too hot!


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