Trailer paint recommendation

[WinterDeere]

I wonder what the value of the "rust converting" paints are over just treating with Ospho and priming. That's what I have done and it seems to work fine. A lot cheaper.

I've used them in places where getting the metal totally clean is impractical or not worth the effort, and they do seem to work reasonably well. But the trailer I'm renovating right now is getting needle scaled, then sanded, and primed in regular red oxide (high zinc) primer, before painting. It's a little more time consuming, but too easy to do on something like a trailer, to not just do it right.

That said, I may do the backing plates for the brakes and springs in rust-converting primer, as it's not worth trying to needle scale them clean.

 

[AnotherBueller]

I painted a trailer decades ago with Dupont Imron and looks like new...

A friend was moving and gave me the paint...

Imron is an aircraft paint that holds up very well, stays shiny and doesn't fade. Used to be the go to paint on airliners.
Been out of the trade for too many years, so I don't know whats in use now.

 

[JBF43]

I wonder what the value of the "rust converting" paints are over just treating with Ospho and priming. That's what I have done and it seems to work fine. A lot cheaper.

Agreed. I bought a 76 Chevy C60 back in 2017 for a work truck to tow my tractor. When I got it, there was no bed on it, just open frame and a lot of surface rust. I ran a wire wheel and cup brush over the frame every place I could get to and then Osphoed the whole thing. Primed with Rust-O-Leum rusty metal primer. Then sprayed with R-O-L gloss black. Present day, other than a little dirt from occasional driving in rain, it still looks like it was just painted. Did this same thing on a car hauler I bought back around 2000. The paint on this is just now showing its age, all these years later, and it sits out in the weather all the time.

 

[olenjohn]

Tnemec paint system. Two part epoxy that I had experience with building a sewage treatment facility. I painted my truck tool box with it. The stuff is bulletproof. Expensive but hard and durable like cement - cement backwards spells Tnemec.

 

[kenmbz]

I used POR on my old cars trunk after sanding and it still looked good 10 years later.

 

[JPRambo]

I had a tractor bucket built and it was coated with POR-15. The paint lasted a long time.

 

[LS Tractor Owner]

Rustoleum in the gal cans if you have a cheap sprayer.... Add hardener available at tractor supply. Will take a few days to a week to dry, but it will last!
I painted a finish mower about 6 years ago and it is still really good. The only area that has rubbed off is the leading "rolled" edge.... but only the 1/8" edge

 

[WinterDeere]

One problem I'm running into right now, as I scramble to get my trailer scaled, sanded, primed, and painted in the diminishing warm weather, is that the gloss paint will dry flat over colder nights. I'm not sure if it's due to the paint having a high freezing point (we're seeing upper-30's to 40F), or because of the condensation that's happening overnight, but I've been getting very random flat sheen areas in an otherwise glossy finish.

 

[JBF43]

One problem I'm running into right now, as I scramble to get my trailer scaled, sanded, primed, and painted in the diminishing warm weather, is that the gloss paint will dry flat over colder nights. I'm not sure if it's due to the paint having a high freezing point (we're seeing upper-30's to 40F), or because of the condensation that's happening overnight, but I've been getting very random flat sheen areas in an otherwise glossy finish.

If it is some place that dew or fog or other moisture sources can get to it before it's dry, it will definitely go flat.

 

[Jstpssng]

Time to unsubscribe from the lists that are setup for click bait harvesting....

I don't get those anymore for some reason. I must be living right... or clicked on the right button.
Often, they would be for threads which were resolved and dead.
Or in the case of this one, just looking for clicks to win tractor swag.

 

[CliffordK]

I had the frame of my old Land Cruiser media blasted to bare metal then applied three coats of two-part black epoxy primer with UV inhibitor.

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I need to start working on my old Land Rover.

Anything that's brown may head off to my local galvanizing shop. Hopefully it won't cost an arm and a leg, and they'll be able to deal with odd sizes and shapes.

 

[Paystar]

Same here. I tried some Valspar several years ago in a rattle can that looked like a good Kubota match to touch up the scratched and faded orange areas on my L3130. Unfortunately, even with proper prep, the Valspar faded and came off even faster than the original Kubota orange from 2006. This summer, I got some Rust-O-Leum Farm & Implement in Kubota Orange and sprayed my almost pink areas. Thinned just slightly for spraying, and the tractor looked like it just came out of the body shop. I was going to add some hardener to make it set up faster, but unfortunately, the hardener hardened in the can. So I had to wait for the paint to harden on it's own. Once hardened, just to help prolong the paint's life, I threw a coat of car wax on it and ran a buffer over it just for fun.
It looked like a showpiece when finished. Rustoleum does make this paint in other colors too. I bought some in 'John Deere' green(?), maybe to use on my work truck.

I'll have to look for the Rustoleum now since I no longer have a TSC in my town.

 

[Eaglesfate]

Agreed on the Rustoleum.

 

[bmaverick]

I used the Valspar black oil based for metal paint. It has lasted 12 years. No rust anywhere. the down side it, you literally get board watching paint dry. Took almost 48hrs in the hot summer. I bought a gallon and used a 4-inch roller and chip paint brush.

Taped off the electrical, the ID-vin plate, and any other decals.

Knowing how long this lasts, I would do it again, but having more patience knowing not to touch and test it every hour thinking its dry.

 

[Equatorial Malaise]

I've use Chassis Saver with good results. Easier to use than POR15 and less expensive.

 

[Mtsoxfan]

I've use Chassis Saver with good results. Easier to use than POR15 and less expensive.

Does it apply easier?

 

[Equatorial Malaise]

Does it apply easier?

Seemingly less meticulous surface prep. It still needs to be clean but I found it more forgiving than POR and it's holding up great.

Chemically they are similar in that they cure through moisture in the air. The chassis saver doesn't harden as much as the por which I think is why it did better on my truck frame. Been a while since I've used por but they're both pretty thin products.

 

[skramer360]

I used Rustoleum on my trailer.

 

[Spanner]

That's a good tip! I'd never have thought about preheating a spray paint can in hot water! I'm curious as to how long is "awhile" to you?

Yes, Good tip. I got that tip just last week when I'd purchased a can of 'High-Temperature' exhaust paint.
Nothing whatsoever came out of the nozzle. (Took a while to get the ball bearings inside to rattle.)
The supplier did admit they have a slow stock rotation on that paint and replaced it with a 'fresh' can. He did offer the hot water tip after as well.

 

[ultrarunner]

I used the Valspar black oil based for metal paint. It has lasted 12 years. No rust anywhere. the down side it, you literally get board watching paint dry. Took almost 48hrs in the hot summer. I bought a gallon and used a 4-inch roller and chip paint brush.

Taped off the electrical, the ID-vin plate, and any other decals.

Knowing how long this lasts, I would do it again, but having more patience knowing not to touch and test it every hour thinking its dry.

Oil isn’t really an option here due to VOC regs.