Posted 2005-07-22 8:46 PM (#28468) Subject: Ramp is wrong color.
Regular
Posts: 98 Location: Baldwin City, KS 66006
I had a used ramp put on my trailer....however, the ramp is the "Sundowner" white skinned and my trailer is the "Sundowner" aluminum color. If I use paint remover..will it take the white off and leave the aluminum color or should I repaint it or use something else to remove the color?
Posted 2005-07-22 11:03 PM (#28474 - in reply to #28468) Subject: RE: Ramp is wrong color.
Veteran
Posts: 140 Location: Colorado
Can you test the paint remover somewhere inconspicuous?
Could you rivet on aluminum diamond plate or the like to come up with a nice looking solution? I am eventually going to cover some of my trailers cosmetic uglies with diamond plate.
Hmmm, my friend riveted a brushed aluminum sheet on the front of her trailer for a gravel guard (it looks nice), maybe you could do something with a matching aluminum sheet if you don't want to spend the $$ to have it re-skinned by a welder.
Posted 2005-08-09 4:44 PM (#29056 - in reply to #28468) Subject: RE: Ramp is wrong color.
Member
Posts: 7
Location: Oklahoma
It will be tough to take the paint off and make it match the rest of the trailer. I might try painting it a silver color or leave it for a while and see if it really bothers you that much. You see a lot of white skin on doors and the goosenecks of trailers with extruded sides, etc.
Posted 2005-08-09 9:18 PM (#29068 - in reply to #28468) Subject: RE: Ramp is wrong color.
Expert
Posts: 2689
Originally written by ISHOM on 2005-07-22 8:46 PM
I had a used ramp put on my trailer....however, the ramp is the "Sundowner" white skinned and my trailer is the "Sundowner" aluminum color. If I use paint remover..will it take the white off and leave the aluminum color or should I repaint it or use something else to remove the color?
MOST mill finish aluminum has some sort of a pattern stamped into it, e.g. waves, ripples, diamond plate, etc. If you strip the paint from a white skin you will have a plain sheet of aluminum, perhaps shinney, perhaps dull, almost certainly looking worse than the white paint you have now.
If I wanted to do it I would be sure to find a paint stripper that won't eat aluminum, failing that I'd use "mechanical means", most probably a wire brush and then an orbital sander to polish out the deep scratches and leave a pseudo random mill finish.
BTW, if it is only held on with a few rivets you might find that the back is "milled" and just flipping it over will produce the appearance you want - or convince you that the white is OK afterall.
I wouldn't bother, following drivers probably won't complain and it faces the ground when the trailer is stopped and you actually USE it.
Ramp is wrong color.
