how do I paint properly?

[hit_em]

I built a trailer about 4 months ago and all the paint is starting to flaking off. ho do you guys normally paint yur projects? I used tremclad and I didn't think you needed to prep the metal but it donst seem to stick too good for me. how do you guys prep you projects for paint?

[yorkiepap]

Painting prep...

Hey hit-em,
You are only going to get good painting results if you prep the metal properly. Metal has to be clean, chemically clean, to have optimum results. The best method is to sand any residual paint, rust, or grime from the metal, or use a nasty wire wheel. By scoring the surface of the metal, sanding or wire wheel, you leave a texture that the base primer will adhere to very effectively. After that, you must chemically clean with a thinner, toluene, acetone, or any good solvent. A day in direct sunlight, preferably 75+ deg., low humidity, will warm the metal and dissipate most moisture. Now you will be ready to prime, 2 coats for the best results. Then, you are ready to paint if the temp. and sunlight are still present. Hope that helps a bit....Denny

[dabar39]

paint prep

I have built a few hundred trailers over the years and the best thing I have found so far is plain ol' Rustoleum. After cleaning up and grinding any thing that needs it, I wipe all the metal with paint thinner on a rag. I use the Rustoleum rusty metal primer and let it dry for a few hours. I thin the rustoleum about 20% with thinner and spray the trailer frame. Depending on the color most times you can get away with one or two coats. The rustoleum seems to resist fading and chips for quite some time. I am attaching a picture of a trailer I built about three years ago for my neighbor,( he's a carpenter and uses it about 3 times a week), I took the picture this afternoon. By the way rustoleum is pretty darn cheap as well, about 20.00 bucks a gallon. Dave

[Pitalplace]

I have used expensive and I have used Rustoleum. I think it last just as good as the expensive paint. Always prep like the guys say and temperature is very important.

[JHCHOPPERS]

Painting is the easy part, its prep work that makes a difference.

If you want to learn more about about painting, click the link:

http://www.jhchoppers.com/projects/paint/paint.htm

[Justin00Stang]

The last two dyno trailers I have built were washed with PPG metal prep, sprayed with epoxy primer, then topcoated in PPG's industrial line of enamel. Seems to hold up fine so far (1.5yrs old). I wish there was an easier way than PPG's metal prep, it's way too time consuming to clean off all the white powder it creates.