Blackie

At our big bird event this past week end we had several RCU members with trailers wanting to take a look at the trailer I had built, My Trailer . One member can't remember his RCU handle but his name was Steve, one the hill brothers (thanks steve). Steve, gave me a great idea of using fiberglass risen to seal the wood on the trailer with, then coming back over it with automotive acrylic paint. My question is now that the wood is vertical how will the resin go on? will it be thick? will it be lumpy? will I need to sand and prep the already painted wood before application and will I need to sand afterwards?



Any help would be appreciated

Thanks
Randy

Geistware

My Feedback: (16)

Randy,
I have a home built trailer and I am interested in this answer as well. Let me know how the fiberglass resin works. I was thinking about using Kilns as a primer then going over it with exterior paint. I think I will cover the inside with Thompson water seal. Do you have a lot of heat build up in the summer?

Blackie

Yes, but I park the trailer under a large Sycamore tree. The trailer is also vented with a fan that draws air through the trailer. I am in the process of building a cover as well in order to curve the bird mess. Geistware, please keep in mind if you option to water seal with thompson, then you will not be able to paint as the paint will not stick to the seal. I prefer to prim and paint rather then seal, Becides I heard that thompson's is not all that great. Its best to purchase already treated wood over thompson, I heard this from a rep at Lowes.

If you are going to seal the inside then that might be a different story.

Randy

Geistware

My Feedback: (16)

The Thompson is for the inside. I am going to paint the outside

bolar-RCU

Isn't the Thompson's kind of oily when it dries or does is completely dry? I don't know. Also you have to consider the smell. Your trailer sitting out in the sun, then open the door to go in. It may be some time before the fumes of the Thompson's go away.

Blackie

Between Thompson and oil based primer/paint which is really the best as far as sealing goes? As I stated I'm really not sure if Thompson's is all that great. *shrugs*

Randy

bolar-RCU

I would go with a oil base paint.

Blackie

After research I have found that applying resin would be labor intensive, since I only have $450 rapped up in the trailer not including labor, I believe although resin would be a great idea its just not worth it. As it is, I would be doing good to get $800 for the trailer now.

Randy

mstroh3961

My Feedback: (4)

Hi guys, Have you thought of going to a trailer supply outfit and getting prepainted aluminum panels to cover the sides and top with? They can be applied with pan-head screws on an Evan spacing.

Regards
Mark

Geistware

My Feedback: (16)

Unless you can seal out the moisture, I think you will cause more problems that good. Just painted the wood on my trailer and will probably apply a second coat this weekend. Then we will paint the metal parts.

Blackie

Well there is one other option that would most certainly seal the wood and that would be to use Kool Seal on the entire trailer. I used it on the roof and am thinking of using it on the walls. It now comes in a white color. Although it may be sprayed, even though its kinda of think I believe I would prefer just brushing/rolling in on.

For those of you that know nothing about Kool Seal, its the stuff that is used for sealing the roofs of mobile home trailers, but wait! one more thing comes to mind. If you are not picticular of how the trailer looks on the outside you could also have bed liner spray, sprayed on the trailer, then coming back with white paint.

Blackie

One more thing comes to mind and that would be to use epoxy paint. Maybe even adding a hardner to it as well.

Randy

Geistware

My Feedback: (16)

Now that is not a bad idea.
Bedliner sprayed on the trailer.
Good IDEA!

Volfy

My Feedback: (23)

Randy, epoxy resin is a very good wood sealer, but it is also very expensive for a job like this. Invariably you're gonna have to shoot primer over the epoxy to be able to sand to a smooth finish before top coating. Also, unless you sand off the old paint completely down to bare wood, epoxy resin won't do much good.

I would recommend laying on several coats of high solids primer, sanding between each coat. How much elbow grease you need to invest depends on how good a paint job you can live with in the end. You can shoot the primer directly onto the old paint if you scratch sand the old paint first for better adhesion. Unless the old paint is lacquer based, you shouldn't need a primer/sealer coat. Lacquer paint is notorious for bleeding through the primer and discoloring the new top coat.

The top coat, whatever you choose, is really the part that "seals" the substrate from the elements anyway, the primer or unercoat is only there to provide good adhesion and a smooth surface for the the top coat. There are several different families of automotive acrylics - acrylic enamel (with or without hardener), and acrylic urethane are probably the two most popular. None are cheap, but most will give that automotive shiney "wet-look" if done properly. Auto paints are typically much more expensive because the color pigments are ground much finer than industrial or house paints, plus the formulations are much more advanced than other types. Fortunately, your trailer shouldn't need but 1/2 gal at most.

If you're thinking about the automotive spray can variety - don't. You'll likely get better looking results painting an exterior grade oil-based house paint with a good paint brush.

BTW, when I finally get around to building my trailer similar to your, I will use Techshield plywood decking. Techshield makes OSB and plywood with a foil backing that does an incredible job of reflecting radiant heat. I specified the OSB variety for the roof underlayment for the house we live in now, after I saw a demo at a homebuilder's trade show in Dallas a couple of years back. With a 60w lightbulb on one side of both Techshield and regular plywood, the temp difference on the otherside was something like 40-50deg F.

You might try foil-backed foam boards for insulating the inside of your trailer. You'll end up with less hanger rash on your planes, too.

Blackie

Thanks Volfy, I believe what I am going to do is head to one of the major paint stores like Sharmin Williams and check into their epoxy paint. I really don't want to spend to much time on this trailer. The insulation on the inside is a great idea thanks.

Randy