Advice: Painting a Horse Trailer......

M

Midwest Farms

New Member
So I was wrangled into helping a friend paint a steel horse trailer that's been converted to a concessions trailer for horse shows. It actually VERY NICE with fit and finish and wanted a nice paint finish to match. It's going to be base/clear in WHITE and I'm using SPI white epoxy, a white base and SPI Euro Clear.

MAIN CONCERN:
  1. It has been blasted with some steel banding and tubing welded in where the steel is lapped. Any suggestions for how to approach these to avoid/limit rust staining in the future?
  2. With it being white, I'm especially concerned with longevity. I am spraying it with the roof off to ensure all the joints are coated in epoxy and clear but there are some areas that cannot be removed. This is outside my wheelhouse! Any suggestions welcomed!

Thanks for entertaining the unusual question!
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what ever you do dont warranty any of it . horse trailers are built with low grade steel and rust continuously . especially if they have been used . i run backwards from them .
 
I would recommend seam sealing the gaps and lapped area after epoxy and before paint, and also I would recommend SPI 4200 single stage white instead of base/clear, it will be much fewer trips around the trailer and also be tougher because basecoat is a weak link in the system.

Nothing you do is going to prevent rust from weeping out of somewhere, it is a consequnce of how things like that are manufactured.
 
When I painted my horse trailer, I tried to remove as much rust as possible. Cleaned it real good and then shot epoxy primer on all the seams and joints first. Let that cure and applied the seam sealer. Waited the required time and then shot my full coats. (White is tough because you can go snow blind and apply it too heavy, thus runs and fish eyes.)

Again multiple light coats are better than laying it on too heavy.
 
crashtech said:
I would recommend seam sealing the gaps and lapped area after epoxy and before paint, and also I would recommend SPI 4200 single stage white instead of base/clear, it will be much fewer trips around the trailer and also be tougher because basecoat is a weak link in the system.

Nothing you do is going to prevent rust from weeping out of somewhere, it is a consequnce of how things like that are manufactured.
Click to expand...
Yep Shine, NO WARRANTY! I'm helping a friend out so no pay either-I've had them help me out with other projects and I'm willing to do the same!

The SS White is a great option however it isn't a pure white, more of a cream color that they are looking for unfortunately. Crash that's good advice-would you recommend a high quality Urethane SS over BC/CC? (If base/clear I will be using SPI clear.)

I appreciate the seam sealer rec's also.
 
When I painted my dad's horse trailer for him, I used an aluminum pigmented moisture cured urethane (like Mastercoat silver) primer, 2-3 coats (everyone's favorite here) and then did 2-3 coats of an industrial top coat (Mastercoat AG111). I did this after blasting it and then treating with metal prep. Then he drove the trailer back home to Iowa from Michigan at 70 mph and let it sit outside for 7 years until I finally cleared a spot and moved it in the barn.

But in all that time, it never rusted or failed. This is my protocol for tractors, implements, gates, etc. For these kind of industrial purposes, it works exceptionally well and holds up to the elements.
 
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