I have my old LQ trailer that is currently painted with Oliver Green tractor paint sold at TSC (by previous owner). My online name is Green Machine..that's what everyone calls our trailer (Daze is shortened from Daisy my horse). Anyway, Yucky color, I must say. A guy told us that his horse was scared of it and wouldn't walk past our trailer because of the color. ha. 

Wife and I are going to be upgrading the paint this year along with several other things (roof a/c, full bathroom and tanks, etc.). A little info on the trailer: All Steel, 28 ft box GN.

For the roof, we will be going with a white reflective elastomeric paint and matching primer as suggested on here. Afterall, the trailer is all steel and is like being in an oven when the sun hits it. Hope this will help cool it and seal it (it doesn't leak now, but the extra protection helps).

For the sides, she wants to go with a burgundy, I don't care. My initial thought was a tan. I just don't want it to look like a goofy submarine. I'm really not sure what kind of paint to use. Could I use an exterior paint for metal? We painted our barn in this type of paint and it has held up well. Would I need to clear coat it?

I guess I could put polka dots on it and call it a caterpillar?

How do I prep it? The current paint is only about 3 years old, but it is flaking off in many places already. Sand/media blast it? sand it? I'm really clueless...

What kind of primer would be good to stop/prohibit rust?

If I decide to paint "high traffic" areas and under the neck-over with bed liner, can it be painted over?

Please keep in mind this trailer is ginormous (to me) and any work will take forever. Budget is limited (~500-600 tops).

Thanks so much!

 trying to attach photo..

silly newbie question here, but since cars are all steel doesnt it make sense to paint a horse trailer like a car? good clean grippy surface, primer baked on, then good quality car enamel paint, baked on?

a car doesnt rust just sitting there, and the paint doesnt flake off normally (as long as you treat any dings). seems like a properly painted steel trailer would be at least as long lasting as a properly painted car?

Painting a steel trailer is an involved process, if you want a quality product that will look attractive and be long lasting. You have to decide what your goals will include. Do you plan on keeping the trailer for any length of time? Do your concerns include an overall quality appearance? Is your trailer suffering from rust issues? Do you want a 20 footer or a trailer that will look new?

The least involved way, money and time wise, is to buy enamel paint at TSC, scrape off the loose paint and perform a quick roller derby application. It will look reasonably good from 20 feet, and in three years or less, you will have the same paint peeling and rust problems you have now.

The best and longest lasting application is to strip the paint, apply the necessary primers, and spray on a quality automotive paint.

Your present budget will be inadequate. For instance, the elastomeric coating for the roof costs ~$100 for a five gal bucket. You will need at least three of them for the recommended two coats. If you decide on automotive paint products, they will cost in excess of $1000. You will need additional materials, thinners, hardners, tapes and masking materials. You will need a good sander and many sanding items.

To properly prepare the surface, all of the present improperly applied paint should be removed. This will involve chemical strippers or media blasting. Several years ago, I had our 18' stock trailer media cleaned inside and out, at a cost of $950. The surface will then have to be immediately treated with a rust converter. ( I use Ospho) Then an acid etched, high build primer is applied, followed with urethane paint.

Light colours are the best for trailers if you have the need to reduce heat. Dark colours, especially red are more prone to UV damage, and are the quickest to fade and show wear. It would be better to trim the trailer with darker stripes or a two tone application, and leave the main areas a lighter shade.

Bed liner materials are very durable. However, you cannot paint over them and expect proper paint adhesion. The two part, hot applied commercial applications, are available in most colours to match the big three automotive offerings.

Properly painting a steel trailer is an involved process, and expensive. The total cost of a restoration, inside and out of an 18' stock combo was ~$3000. This was with me spending two weeks of full time labour, and only paying a body shop to apply the final paint coats inside of his shop. If he had done all the work, the costs would have doubled.

One thing you should consider before you repaint: Each outside vertical wall stud should be caulked on both sides, top to bottom. This will prevent water from entering and rusting the seams. The same holds true for the fender to wall joints, etc etc. Use a paintable caulking, preferably a marine grade polyurethane.

Most older steel trailers have little in common with the present automotive industry. They were built using mild steel stock, and many were not even primed before the final paint was applied. Indeed, many trailers were rusting on the lots before they were sold.

Today there are many steel applications, galvanneal, galvalume, alclad and other proprietary names offering steel parts that resist rusting. These are commonly used in the construction of modern automobiles, and have reduced some rusting issues. It was uncommon to have these materials included in the fabrication of older steel trailers. They are now featured by some of the steel trailer manufacturers. The new two and single part automotive paints, far exceed the older enamels in durability, colour retention and chemical resistance.

BOL  Gard

Gard, Thank you for the in depth reply. Obviously, I want the trailer to look better than green and stay cooler than it is now. A 20 footer would suffice for me. Seeing as I only paid a whopping 2k for the trailer, I just couldn't justify 3k+ in exterior refinishing. This trailer serves as our camper that gets used about 10-12 times a year. I am proud to say we have just as much fun and go everywhere that all of our friends do at 1/10 the cost, albeit a little more ugly.

Fortunately, the rust for the most part has been removed and repatched with welded panels, then smoothed with body filler, and painted. The paint that is chipping off is mostly in high traffic areas (entry to the camper and where water drips onto the step up). That tractor paint is some tough stuff, but can't handle being walked on constantly.

My wife and I do plan on keeping the trailer (we actually really like it and its paid off). I have no interest in going 20k in debt for something we use an average of 1 time a month to look prettier going down the road.

The elastomeric paint is my main priority. If the budget is used up with it, than it's used up. We'll camp with a green and white trailer. I just thought that for maybe a couple hundred bucks more, we could have an "easier on the eyes" color sprayed on. I have a nice industrial sprayer, compressor, sand blaster, and time, just not much know how when it comes to this process.

The nearest place that does body color bed liner to me is Indianapolis. I'm 40 miles east of Cincinnati. (checked for my truck)...I'll live with the black. It can be "accents."

Thanks for the advice and the time you took to share!

Alex

If the roof isn't leaking and isn't rusted, purchase a couple of gallons of white TSC paint, some thinner and hardner and spray two coats onto your trailer's roof. It will offer greater reflectivity than the elastomeric coating, will be easier to apply, and will save a significant amount of money.

You should first sand the old paint, spot priming and using a rust converter wherever you have bare metal.

The need to thin paint is determined by the viscosity of the material you are shooting and the equipment you are using to apply it. An HVLP system shooting enamels, uses more thinners than a high pressure air set up. An HP airless system may use no thinners at all.

If you're running a pressure gun off a compresser at 35-50 PSI or so and shooting enamels, thin the material 10% to start. If it's not laying down and orange peeling, thin it another 5-10%. Most paint containers will advise what thinners to use, and the average amount of them with which to dilute the paint. You can also purchase viscosity cups that will accurately measure the paint's ability to drain through a given sized orifice. This will exactly determine the necessary amount of thinners you will need.

Using a wire wheel to provide a smooth painted surface to overcoat, is counter productive. You will end up with thousands of groves per inch, that will have to be filled before a smooth final surface can be obtained. It will also result in an unevenly removed paint thickness. that will effect the overall smoothness of the final coat. A wire brush should only be used in preparation, when you want to completely remove all the paint from a surface. This will be an impractical goal in your situation, because of the large surface area with which you are working.

If you have a right angle sander / polisher, you might consider using flap sanding wheels. They are available in 120 grit and will sand and smooth large areas rather quickly:

 http://cgi.ebay.com/7-FLAP-WHEELS-DISCS-DISKS-GRINDING-SANDING-BOX-5-/120667894645?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1c185df375

Great. I'm learning a lot! I'm sure glad I asked here before deciding to jump into it on my own.

After some thought, I concluded the same about the wire wheel. Sanding makes infinitely more sense.

Thanks again.