Rust primer/paint

dnme

Dear friends

I have an old iron trailer (it's a boat trailer). It's rusty so I'm going to wire brush it down and then I want to treat it with primer and paint.

Can you recommend a "reasonable" product? I don't want to spend a fortune. Will a Halfords rust primer / hammerite do the job? It'll be dipping in and out of water when done.

Also I was wondering, the trailer superstructure is hollow so is there anything I can do with the inside? Maybe just seal up the ends?

Many thanks

Henry Ford III

Rust remedy on the bare metal would help. Hammerite is good and tough as a top coat.

I'd be inclined to brim waxoil into the cavities, and then seal them.

Mr.Boots

I wouldnt seal the cavities, if you do they are bound to leak sooner or later and then will take longer to dry out and cause more rust from within.
Waxol the cavities and wash them out with a hose every so often.

dnme

Mr.Boots wrote: »

Waxol the cavities

Is this a wax / thick grease?
How do I get it into the cavities particularly say - mid beam?

Ferris

I would use either red oxide or a zinc primer once you're down to bare metal as it bonds with the metal and a compatible paint.

Epoxy based paint is best for boat trailers but can be expensive.

The Bishop Basher

I would recommend rust bullet

peasant

This looks like an ideal project for an Owatrol treatment, inside and out

http://www.igoe.ie/Rustremover-Carrust-Rustproofer

dnme

Like I said, dont want to spend too much on this. I ended up doing the following.

Wire brush by hand and with drill
Used up the last of my Dilunett paint stripper
Got a litre of "Hammerite Direct to rust, Metal Paint" from Homebase at special offer plus they have 15% off this w/e

Dilunett is special stuff for plastic and grp, so it's slow. But at least I get to use up the last of it and am in no hurry. It's eating up the old paint as we speak.

Hammerite Direct to rust, Metal Paint is a primer, undercoat and overcoat all in one. A litre will easily do 2 maybe 3 coats.

Total cost, about 15 quid.

EDIT: Forgot to say, I also had a look at Waxoyl in Halfords. Its bloody expensive stuff. They had big containers of it along with pressure sprayer kits and extension tubes etc. If I had gone down that route, I would have spent 50 odd quid, as it is I bought a spray can of the stuff, still cost 13 quid. :cool: Either way, applying this stuff to the trailer cavities mid-beam is going to be tricky. I might drill a series of air holes in the frame.