Paint for my car trailer

[purplepickup]

I've painted my car trailer with Rust Bullet to seal it and want to topcoat it with something cheap and durable.  I know cheap and durable don't necessarily go together. :?   While I'm on the subject of "cheap and durable", I want to say how easy Rust Bullet is to use and when it's cured, it's hard as a rock.  Considering the money I saved by not needing sand blasting, it's dirt-cheap too.  I'm impressed.

I think a matte black finish would work for me and thought I might try some John Deere Blitz Black.  I like the way it looks and might paint a car with it someday so this could be a good time to get familiar with it.  I think it's about $23/gal and they sell a hardener for it but the guy at the John Deere dealer said that hardened paint chips bigger than non hardened when it chips.  This trailer will see lots of chains and abuse so maybe just non-hardened, easy to touch up paint might be better.  Opinions?  

I've been following this 10 page thread on Hotrodders bulletin board: http://www.hotrodders.com/t31993.html and kind of sorted thru the opinions but there are a couple of things I'm not real clear on and wondered if anyone here has had experience.   Some people say it dries almost too fast and it's easy to get "striping" (dry spots).   Is it acrylic enamel?  Can I use any brand acrylic enamel reducer and if so, would a slower reducer help?  I know it's made by Valspar who also makes BPS paints for Tractor Supply.  I wonder how good the BPS Truck and Trailer paint is and whether or not a hardener can be used with that.  It seems like enjenjo mentioned something about that a while back.

This trailer will be setting outside for the rest of it's life and I don't want to have to mess with it for another 30 years except for touch ups.  Does anybody have any suggestions or comments?

Maybe I should be looking at a 2-part epoxy industrial paint.  I can do that for around $100.

[Rochie]

Hi George,  
I haven't talked to you in a while.  My son inherited my wifes 95 Taurus this past winter and really didn't like the color. He asked if we could do something with it.  He doesn't have big bucks so when I mentioed JD Blitz black he jumped on it.  You can't use just any reducer according to JD because it will cause separation of pigment from carrier and yes it is an acrylic enamel.  The $$$ total for the paint products was $43 Can. 2 quarts of Blitz and a quart of reducer.  You're goin got love it on the trailer.  Think about how many JD tractors and implements sit outside all year long then take a look at the black.  It really holds up well.
Rochie

[Rochie]

Sorry Bud,  
you can use a hardener with Blitz, but JD advises against it because it is more easily chipped.
Rochie

[1FATGMC]

I've always been impressed with DP90 (or what ever color you want).  You can't use it as a top coat as the sun will finally do it in, but I've done the frame on the truck and teardrop with it.  I coverd it with spray paint (can) Hot Rod/Flat black to give it some UV protection.  

I redid the frame by the engine and under the tilt front end once just to freshen it up.  I just took a couple spran of flat black and sprayed over the old flat black and DP.

On the teardrop bottom and frame I used some cheap Dupont black enamel over the DP.

In your case I would probably tint some K-36 a shade of black and spray over the DP for the topcoat and something that could be touched up at any time.

I know you see dollar signs wth this approach, but in the long run I'll bet it would be less expensive.  The DP seems about impossible to chip.  I have rock chips all over the front of the truck, but they seem to just chip the base/clear and don't go to bare metal.

You asked for opinions, this is mine.

c ya, Sum

[Crosley.In.AZ]

purple pickup guy,

In 5.5 years when you retire to AZ you will not need to worry about the winters as much.

[enjenjo]

The BBQ trailer is painted with hardened TSC Blitz black, but I believe it is alkyd enamel.

If you are not dead set on black, hit the local paint store, and buy a "mistake". I have done this in the past for a cheap source of paint.

[47wood]

Yes, the "mistake" idea is good ...and while you're at it ask if they have any in High Gloss.  Having painted lots of metal railing that bakes outside in the sun year round ...I can tell you the high gloss holds up the best by far!    

[C9]

Whenever the factory gloss black paint would peel or show rust on my wood deck tandem axle flatbed I'd hit it with a 4" grinder/sanding disc, knock it back to bare metal and brush Rustoleum gloss black on the bare metal - no primer.

Worked pretty good and didn't peel.


I built an 8' wide by 6' high wrought iron gate, shot it with leftover DP90 - couple of years old - then shot it with Rustoleum gloss black thinned with turpentine.
That was about 7 years ago and it's hanging in there pretty good.
There's a few thin spots where the DP90 shows through, but it's hanging in there and no real rust problems except where the latch mechanism wore the paint away.
If you use it often enough the rust gets polished away so no big deal.

[purplepickup]

Thanks for the info guys.  

Since sandblasting the trailer would have cost around $500 to do top and bottom, I figured this would be a good piece to experiment with Rust Bullet.  They claim that it can be used right over rust and somehow uses the rust to harden and stick to the steel.  I'm not real quick to believe in miracle cure-alls but I figured this would be a perfect place to try it and it came highly recommended.   After all, it is just a car trailer that will probably outlast me even if I did nothing to it at all.

I like DP90 and agree it is tuff but you shouldn't put it over rust so I ruled that out.  After using the Rust Bullet I'm real impressed with how it sticks and how hard it gets.  I think it will provide the tuff barrier I was looking for to keep chips from going to bare metal.  I guess time will tell.

I decided to topcoat it with JD Blitz Black.  Like I said earlier, I like the way it looks and the trailer is a good place to practice.  It only cost $38 for a gallon of paint and a gallon of reducer.  That I can squeeze into my budget.

Here's a before and after Rust Bullet pic.



And here's a bike called "Trailer Trash" that was painted with Blitz Black.  I really like the look.

[Mac]

The trailer looks real good so far.
Did you spray the Rust Bullet? I brushed and rolled some as a spot primer on a galvanized steel shed roof that was beginning to rust and it worked great.
I thought it was a fairly heavy bodied paint and I'm curious as to what equipt. you used to spray -if you did. Their directions say DO NOT THIN.
I'm thinking of using it on my Jag frame and top coating with Eastwood's Chassis Black.
Mac

[purplepickup]

I'm curious as to what equipt. you used to spray -if you did. Their directions say DO NOT THIN.

I used the HF siphon touchup gun in the upper right of the pic below.  I adjusted the pattern to almost completely no fan.  I tried to use the purple HVLP touchup gun next to it but it didn't put out enough paint.  Rust Bullet sprays good unthinned but being the cheap kinda guy that I am I dumped a little lacquer thinner in the empty can and shook it up to get what stuck to the can and when I sprayed that I didn't notice any difference in the finish after the thinner flashed off.  You do need two coats to seal it and I put the second coat on pretty wet but not running.

[C9]

decided to topcoat it with JD Blitz Black. Like I said earlier, I like the way it looks

Blitz Black eh?
Gonna paint the wheels red?

If - you use Rustoleum it'll look flat in a couple of years anyway....

[purplepickup]

Gonna paint the wheels red?

If - you use Rustoleum it'll look flat in a couple of years anyway....

I'll prolly throw some Buick wheelcovers on it.  It's got narrow WW's on it so I guess it won't be a traditional trailer anyway

You're right about Rustoleum turning flat.  I've got a 6 x 12 utility trailer that I disassembled when it was new 10 yrs ago and sprayed it with black rustoleum.  It did turn flat but it's still in good shape and isn't rusting.  I like Rustoleum and considered using it again but the JD is just a few $$ more and I thought I'd try something different....plus I've got uses for the leftovers.

[Mac]

Thanks!

There were 2 or 3 other purple things distracting me in that pic

Mac

[58 Yeoman]

Hey Tony, here's how I found them. Take your right hand, and put it on the right side of the screen, with your little finger running along the edge. Then, all you have to do is look to the left of your hand, and there they are.