# Rebuilding my trailer. Couple of questions



## foxmulder (Apr 24, 2012)

I have a 1982 Shorelander trailer that is in desperate need of a rebuild. I am going to put on LED lights and markers as well as adding the ladder bar guide ons. 

Question I have for you guys is, I am planing on sanding the hell out of it and painting it with POR-15 to seal up all the rust, then rolling on the duplicolor bed armor. 

Anyone have any experience with the POR-15? Looks like a roll on product, but was wondering if I could put it through my HVLP paint gun as I have to get into some nooks and crannies.


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## Gramps50 (Apr 25, 2012)

I used POR15 on the frame of my truck, I applied it with a brush and I am not sure how well it will spray it's pretty thick. You will get the best results if you use the full 3 step process. You have to get all the loose rust off, in my case I sandblasted the frame, then you wash it with their wash, you then spray on the rust encapsulation, then paint it with POR15.

Eastwood has a product that does the same thing https://www.eastwood.com/rust-solutions/treatment.html haven't used this but it is suppose to work good.

Eastwood also sells POR15 products https://www.eastwood.com/rust-solutions/por-15.html

A friend of mine swears by Enamel with hardner that is what he paints all the frames on all his cars with and it can be sprayed.


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## Frogman Ladue (Apr 26, 2012)

Quite a bit of POR15 products are UV reactant. The color will change with exposure to the sun. Other paints will not stick to POR15. If your looking to use POR15 as a base coat, there is a promoter available in a rattle can that will allow you to top coat. You really, really, don't want to get this stuff on anything you don't intend to paint. Drips on the drive way are permanent. If you get it on yer skin, it's gonna be there a long time. 

I've sprayed it, thinned it, played with it, and I've found that a regular old brush is the best. The stuff takes so stinking long to dry, any brush strokes bleed out into the paint. 

POR's enamel products are great. The hold up to the harshest of solvents, and provide rock hard coating. Expect 1 week dry time...no joke.


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## foxmulder (Apr 26, 2012)

One week dry time! That's nuts! Good to know about the spray gun, maybe I will look at the enamel with hardner. I'm just looking for something to keep the rust at pay after a good sanding and grinding session.


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## foxmulder (Apr 26, 2012)

Anyone use rust check?


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## Frogman Ladue (Apr 26, 2012)

foxmulder said:


> One week dry time! That's nuts! Good to know about the spray gun, maybe I will look at the enamel with hardner. I'm just looking for something to keep the rust at pay after a good sanding and grinding session.



The enamel is really strong stuff...It's just that dry time, and added time for second coats kills the project. It's great for something like an engine block or a set of calipers on a resto-rod, that have all the time in the world to dry. 


If yer dead set to use the POR, get a quart, (one quart _should_ do on that trailer) of the regular ole' POR15 Black (non enamel), 





....and a can of POR promoter.




Put the black on in one heavy coat, let it sit for a day to get tacky, hit it with the promoter while tacky on the second day, third day hit it yer choice of top coat if everything is dry. It will be "workable" on the third day. I wouldn't put it in the water yet, or drive down a gravel road but you could put it all back together. POR15 enamel....touching it at anytime in a 5-6 day period will transfer paint to yer finger.


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## foxmulder (Apr 27, 2012)

I don't think I'm going to go with the POR. I've been reading a lot online and a lot of the hot rod guys swear by using a converter like Ospho and then a rustolieum type primer. I think I am going to go this route, I will be sealing the trailer afterwards with a spray on bed liner, so that should keep the oxygen off the metal. I will post some pictures tonight. 


On an unrelated mater, anyone use Fulton Fold-Away coupler hinge kits? My boat takes up almost the whole trailer, I need to extend the tongue, but still want to fit it in my garage for winter storage.


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## foxmulder (Apr 28, 2012)

Sorry, no progress pics tonight... Spent all night with the wire brush. Got the tongue al,it's down to bare metal. I did however make a wonderful discovery, my trailer is adjustable and can be extended another 18 inches. No need to get the breakaway tongue... Yet


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## lckstckn2smknbrls (Apr 28, 2012)

foxmulder said:


> Sorry, no progress pics tonight... Spent all night with the wire brush. Got the tongue al,it's down to bare metal. I did however make a wonderful discovery, my trailer is adjustable and can be extended another 18 inches. No need to get the breakaway tongue... Yet


Can you post a few pictures of this feature?


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## foxmulder (Apr 28, 2012)

It's not so much a feature, it was a kit trailer that my dad bought back in the day. There are 2 bolt positions for the tongue, it was set as far back as it can go. 

I will take a picture tonight and throw it up. I have the tongue off right now for grinding though so it won't really show much.


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## wcbond4 (Apr 28, 2012)

If you use a bed liner on your trailer...it should seal up the rust. At least what I've used (Herculiner and U-Pol Raptor)


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## foxmulder (May 8, 2012)

Alright, been doing as much on this trailer as I can when I can.

I have it completely apart, all the loose paint and rust stripped, and as of tonight fully primed with Rustoleum Rust Performer. 

It says it needs a full 24h to dry and it's pretty cool and humid here today so gonna let it sit till Wednesday to put on the bed liner.

I am wondering if I should wire it up pre bedliner though in order to make sure I have good grounds. Only problem I see with pre wiring is the wires will become permanent fixtures and I would have to reassemble the trailer. 

Thoughts?


Here are some befores








Here is after a good wire brushing




Here she is all primed up


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## DaveInGA (May 9, 2012)

foxmulder said:


> Alright, been doing as much on this trailer as I can when I can.
> You'll not regret using the Ospho on your trailer. It has phosphoric (?) acid as one of it's ingredients and that does a great job of neutralizing rust. If you painted it on after wire brushing, then allowed it to dry and wiped the excess and didn't let dew get on your prepped surface before priming, you're good to go.
> 
> 
> ...


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## lckstckn2smknbrls (May 9, 2012)

Run a white ground wire to each light.


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## Frogman Ladue (May 9, 2012)

I ended up putting a tack of weld at the tube/plate seams on mine...this insures a good, *permanent* ground through the entire trailer.


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## foxmulder (May 9, 2012)

Well I got my wiring figured out. I am going to run a wire full length of the trailer back towards the tongue and ground it all at the coupler. I will solder and shrink tube each connection at the lights. 

I got the bed liner done on all the tops today, it takes 72 hours to fully cure, so I am going to wait till Saturday afternoon to flip the trailer over and do the bottoms. That stuff is not fun to work with let me tell you. It's messy and a PITA to get off. I am super happy with how it looks though and should make for one solid rust free trailer!

Here are so end result pics, kinda excited to see how it looks once dried.


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