Trailer Repaint/Sanding question

[jstiene]

Hello

So I am taking my trailer to have it repainted. It is a 20yr old bass tracker trailer. So I have called two places to get quotes,etc. One place (who does trailers as a standard business) states that they will sand blast the trailer. The other guy does car repairs for me, and will rather just sand it down rather than sandblast. He did say he would use a very hard paint. The trailer place said sandblasting basically allows them to do a much fast job, rather than sanding.

My question is does it matter which way it is done in terms of outcome once it is done? I actually might get it done cheaper from the guy who would be sanding it, as it is his own private shop and may charge less labor than the trailer repair place. I am hoping someone with more knowledge can provide some input...

Lastly, there is mainly surface rust. there are two spots where the side orange lights mount to the trailer has a little deeper rust problem;

any advise is very much appreciated.

Happy New Year!
Joe

[Lewzer]

Sandblast all the way. You have to remove that surface rust and the deeper rust before painting or it will continue to rust from under the paint. A good epoxy primer would be recommended too before painting but that will get expensive.
You don't need to sandblast the whole thing. Just spotblast where the rust is and sand the rest to allow the paint or primer to grip.

[sherman51]

i say go with the sandblasting. years ago i worked as a sandblaster. it removes all rust so you get a good rust preventive primer on clean metal, it will last for many years. you just cant get all the rust by sanding. so you basicly do a por which is paint over rust,LOL. it wont be but a few short years until the paint starts to bubble from the deep rust that was left.

if your going to this much trouble, you might as well have it done right. and if the sandblaster knows what he,s doing he can clean any rust out of the little nooks and crannies that sanding just cant get to. just my opinion from years of sandblasting.
sherman

[wave warrior]

do it yourself and save the extra $$$ for gas/bait!!;)

if that is not an option,ask the car guy to blast the bad areas and sand the rest, should be alot less than a total sandblast and you might be helping a friend instead of the trailer store!

[Workdog]

Sandblast or sand, make sure they (or you) use Ospho, Extend, or some other medium to chemically alter the rust into an inert surface before you have the trailer painted. It will stay rust free for a lot longer.

[wave warrior]

Sandblast or sand, make sure they (or you) use Ospho, Extend, or some other medium to chemically alter the rust into an inert surface before you have the trailer painted. It will stay rust free for a lot longer.

i agree 100%! Ospho is great stuff. will turn any residual rust into a paintable surface and stops the spreading of rust,somewhat...( turns the rust black basically)
available at most bodyshop suppliers

[crappiedude]

One point I would like to make is to inspect that trailer very good before putting too much money into it.
I HAVE A 94 TRACKER PRO-V 17 and I replaced the trailer last year. Yeah it had some rust but worsre than that structurally it was not in good shape.
My expierence was the trailer was rusting from the inside-out. It really didn't look too bad. I had both cross members rust completle apart a 6 or 7 years ago. Believe me its a lonely feeling to have a trailer just fold inwardly at the ramp when you load the boat on. Fortunate for me I knew some guys in the area and the could help me get a tempory fix till I could take it to work for a better repair.
This past spring I saw a little more rust and upon further investigation the rails running the length of the trailer were in pretty bad shape. I made a tempory fix and just welding to the tubes was a challenge due to how thin the metal was because of the rust. I don't know how much you plan on spending but I bought a new galvanised trailer for under $2000.
Look at the trailer closely and if you see any blistered areas in the paint, it's probably rust going completely through the metal. Also look at the underside of the rails for any rust through. Inspect the area around the drain hole on the cross braces.
I'm not trying to scare you or ruin your day but sometimes just painting it isn't enough.

If the metal is sound, I agree with the one guy....just paint it yourself. Wire brush the rust use some of the rustinhibitors and a decent coat of paint.
Good luck with it.

[rcjohnson]

I have gone through this. Have it blasted and get rid of any remnants of rust. Spray it with white vinegar. Let it dry. Spray paint it with Hammerite paint and forget it. 10 years later, my trailer looks like new. The vinegar pickles the metal and sets it up for paint.

[Marshall]

I would look into painting it with a rhino liner type of paint. Saw a few done on bassboat central and they look good and should hold up for years.

[roger23]

Hello

So I am taking my trailer to have it repainted. It is a 20yr old bass tracker trailer. So I have called two places to get quotes,etc. One place (who does trailers as a standard business) states that they will sand blast the trailer. The other guy does car repairs for me, and will rather just sand it down rather than sandblast. He did say he would use a very hard paint. The trailer place said sandblasting basically allows them to do a much fast job, rather than sanding.

My question is does it matter which way it is done in terms of outcome once it is done? I actually might get it done cheaper from the guy who would be sanding it, as it is his own private shop and may charge less labor than the trailer repair place. I am hoping someone with more knowledge can provide some input...

Lastly, there is mainly surface rust. there are two spots where the side orange lights mount to the trailer has a little deeper rust problem;

any advise is very much appreciated.

Happy New Year!
Joe

There was a guy in Curtice Ohio,,can't remember his name but they did a really good job sand blasting my trailer and I had them paint it as they will paint it with what ever paint you want.they were between 579 and Curtice the road where Genoa Clay center Rd ends ,,I think they are still there ..I would look them up and get a price

[5Cent]

Sandblast all the way for the reasons stated above, plus less time equals less labor pay.