Rustproofing Boat Trailer

[KawarthaGuy]

Gents,

 

My new trailer is a painted one and not galvanized. Anybody rustproof their boat trailer?

 

Kawartha Guy

[HTHM]

No a good idea, all that oil getting dipped into the watershed may not be the most environmentally sound. Spray it with bedliner.

[Roy]

Spraying it will look better from the exterior but it will still be rusting from the inside.

[irishfield]

As Roy said.

 

Use it for the summer and then spray the crap out of it with Fluid Film in the fall. Car wash the thing before first launch and repeat year after year. Will buy you a bit of time.. but galvanized is the real avenue and even there they don't last for ever.

[Old Ironmaker]

My vehicles get soaked every time it rains, it takes years to rust if not taken care of. Shouldn't a good automotive quality paint job and clear coat protect it as well if you want to pay for some good PPG paint? I ground and wire brushed all the rust 3 years ago, cleaned it with Spray 9, primed with automotive, applied a few good coats of Tremclad above and below, gave her a good coat of Mothers car wax, still looks pretty good. Even removed the fenders to do a thorough job. The only small spots that have popped up are on the welds that came off with some Spray 9 and a scrubbie.

 

Next time if there is a next time I think I'll save my back and sandblast it.

 

What about Rocker Guard?

Edited November 13, 2013 by Old Ironmaker

[tb4me]

Dont use rocker guard..for reasons mentioned above it rusts under..If it a good clean boat trailer (painted) wax the paint and keep it clean..you will get a good 20 years or more out of the finish if kept clean!

[Old Ironmaker]

I always hear steel rusts from the inside out, not true. The reaction is the iron (Fe) in the steel (80%) comes in contact with both air (O2) and moisture (H2O). Steel is monolithic, unless there is a crack, scab or occlusion penetrating the core all rust starts on the surface. Usually the portion unseen and therefor uncared for, so it would be more accurate to say from the underside out not the inside out.. Like the inside of a pipe, tube or underside of a sheet.

 

Fe+02+H20= fe0+fe0203 (nasty old rust)

 

Old Ironmaker

[irishfield]

Okay.. they don't paint inside the rails.. and on welds.. and spring attach bolts and such. Why I suggest Fluid film to at least creep in where the paint didn't cover. Look UNDER your vehicle... I bet it ain't pretty unless you oil it regularily.

[John Bacon]

My vehicles get soaked every time it rains, it takes years to rust if not taken care of.

 

Isn't your vehicle galvanized steel that has been painted?

[wormdunker]

My project for the winter is to wire brush, sand & paint my boat trailer. I was advised to use "plasti dip" paint from Home Hardware. It is a rubberized paint, flexible, won't crack, chip or become brittle. For me it's worth the effort. I have tried tremclad, armour coat & krylon in the past. The rust magically re appeared. Plasti dip is not cheap at $19.99 per 11 oz spray can. I'm going to remove the rust first by wire brushing the steel with a heavy duty wire brush mounted to my grinder, then spray several coats of "plasti dip". It also provides a non slip surface.

How many time have you slipped off your trailer tongue while retreiving your boat?

[leaf4]

My project for the winter is to wire brush, sand & paint my boat trailer. I was advised to use "plasti dip" paint from Home Hardware. It is a rubberized paint, flexible, won't crack, chip or become brittle. For me it's worth the effort. I have tried tremclad, armour coat & krylon in the past. The rust magically re appeared. Plasti dip is not cheap at $19.99 per 11 oz spray can. I'm going to remove the rust first by wire brushing the steel with a heavy duty wire brush mounted to my grinder, then spray several coats of "plasti dip". It also provides a non slip surface.

How many time have you slipped off your trailer tongue while retreiving your boat?

depending on where you're located this May be a better option for you www.dubzdip.com

 

my buddy has a business and he does full cars you'll get a nicer finish than with a spray can and save yourself some hassle he's located in hamilton

[Old Ironmaker]

Isn't your vehicle galvanized steel that has been painted?

Actually JB it's mostly plastic!

 

The underside of any vehicle isn't pretty, that's why I think it is important to take it through a car wash at least once a month and get as much salt off as possible, twice in the winter and give it an oil spray every fall. The touch free car wash in PT. Dover is 12 bucks, for me to hand spray the body only can be up to $22.00 of shrapnel.

 

I think the consensus here is take some time to take care of the trailer and it will last you many, many years. It all depends on how much sweat and money you want to put into it.

[KawarthaGuy]

Thanks for all the good info. At the very least I can keep the trailer clean and wax it.

[DanD]

For you guys wanting to clean up your rusty trailers; you got to have a look at the Pro-15 products.

 

http://www.por15canada.com/shop/

 

A lot of the guys restoring classic cars are using this stuff on the under body and frames and they swear by this stuff. Applied properly and the rust just doesn't come back.

 

Dan.

 

Just found this vid showing how to prep and paint the Pro-15 on.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUSXm4tMKuo

Edited November 13, 2013 by DanD