Best black paint for HF trailer?

[mikeschn]

I'm gonna use that red HF trailer on my next build. Cept I want to paint it black. So I have 2 questions...

1) What's the best way to rough up the red powder coating so that the black paint sticks.

2) What's the best black paint to use for this application?



Mike...

[Woodbutcher]

Mike ,I scuffed my trailer with 320 grit silicon carbide sandpaper. Then blew it off with compressed air, wiped it all down with Denatured alcohol and painted it with bed liner. Still looks good.

[jonw]

Mike ,I scuffed my trailer with 320 grit silicon carbide sandpaper. Then blew it off with compressed air, wiped it all down with Denatured alcohol and painted it with bed liner. Still looks good.

I'd prep it as above and use POR15 to paint it with...

[mikeschn]

Both sound good. Decisions decisions!!!

Mike...

[martymcfly]

I used Van Sickle gloss black tractor paint. It went on very nice with a roller. It is enamel and looks pretty good.

[bobhenry]

I used Van Sickle gloss black tractor paint. It went on very nice with a roller. It is enamel and looks pretty good.

This is great stuff !


I used Van Sicles on the parts that would show. I mopped on black fence post treatment on all the parts that simply needed rust protection.








Heck it even protects wood

[bobhenry]

p.s. A car wash mitt over a rubber gloved hand cuts application time to a very few minutes. When I said mopped I ment it, dip the car wash mitt in the black goo and go !

[ajliquidation]

All great suggestions, but I think some of us with these trailers might be looking for a shiny rattle can solution for frame sections that show. All I have done is my floor and some profile ideas so it's not too late for me to add some "hitch paint"... I extended my hitch sixteen inches with 2x2 square steel and still need to coat that with something myself, any suggestions from the pros on here are always appreciated! Thanks Adam in KC

[martymcfly]

I bought the tractor paint at a local farm and garden store. It was twenty bucks for a quart. I used about half a quart to paint my 5x9 made out of 2x2 including axle and tongue. I should have bought the pint instead. It also comes in a rattle can.

[KCStudly]

I am happy with the POR15 I used on my double axle flat bed. That one sat out in the raw for many years. It suffered from an even coat of rust with (surprisingly limited) pitting. When I finally got around to finishing the build I Power wire brushed, wiped with solvent, brushed on POR15, top coated with their recommended UV rated top coat and it has continued to sit outside in New England coastal weather (snow, rain, humidity, sun, fall leafs, mold, etc.) for many more years with no signs of degradation.

[39Ratrod]

I have had great luck with the ACE brand Appliance Epoxy. It's what I paint all my roll cages and bumpers with.

[dogscats]

Heavy duty steel frame with baked enamel finish .It would seem a good enamel paint with a heat lamp would work

[iregan]

I would think Por15 would be the most durable, and would definitely use it on an on/off road trailer frame. For a street frame I think any decent farm implement paint would work perfect and be much cheaper.
Regan

[javajaws]

I've actually been painting my frame all weekend. Because it is scratch built i started cleaning it with SPI 700 cleaner, then 710 cleaner, then two coats of SPI black epoxy primer sprayed 30-60 minutes apart (I had all this leftover from a previous project). Because the primer isn't uv proof i top coated it with Rustoleum satin black thinned with acetone and sprayed in an hvlp gun.

If your looking for a matte black kind of look I can say the satin black looks outstanding.

In your case I would suggest sanding with 250-320 grit to rough it up then spray what you want. I chose Rustoleum for the simple matter of being able to grab a rattle can of it anywhere for touch ups. I could have chosen a harder single stage urethane instead but touch ups later would be a big hassle.

[atomaker]

The Eastwood company, which I use for my welding stuff and other projects, has a kit for hot rod frames. It comes with two cans of black primer and two cans of gloss paint like older cars used to have on their frames. It tough, shiny and pretty fool proof, at least it works for this fool