Stripping/sanding paint off an old trailer

I've got an old trailer that has rust showing through a bad paint job. I want to remove the paint, prime and repaint. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how's the best way to remove the old paint? I don't know if it's latex, oil, or something else and I don't know if it matters. My instincts tell me to sand off the old paint and rust. Would a paint stripper yield better, faster results? If sanding is the best way to go, do you guys have any opinions as to what type of sander and paper to use?

Thanks,

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Mark Van Doren
H16 Seabreeze #112205 (Richard Petty Signature Edition)
H14T Fantasia #47787
San Juan 28

mark,
I did a trailer last spring. I used a HEAVY duty wire brush on a 4" angle grinder and it worked very well. Look in the welding area of any box store (Home Depot). Its kind of a handful but it took all the loose stuff off REAL QUICK. Then primed and painted (rolled on) with a good oil based paint. it turned out great. Rolling on the paint added just enough texture to cover up any imperfections!

Make sure you wear goggles and heavy gloves.

My family are back yard car restorers. If we do an off frame restoration we always send the frame out for sand blasting. If you sand blast it you will clean off all the paint easily and find any spots that might have been more rusted than you thought. Around me there are alot of Amish that sand blast for dirt cheap.

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'73 hobie 16 restored 2011
'00 Seaswirl fishin boat

Add to that a good dust mask - not one of the fabric kind, but a rubber one that covers your mouth and nose completely.

Old paint can contain some nasty stuff (lead) that you really don't want to inhale.

Sandblasting is the "industry approved" way to prepare steel for painting. You want to take the steel down to "white metal" and prime immediately before it has a chance to flash rust.

A combination of chemical stripper and an angle grinder w/ a variety of attachments (80 grit disks, wire brushes) is probably best. Use the chemicals to get rid of the bulk of the material, then mechanically remove the rest.

i second MBounds mask comment, dust gets everywhere and none of it is good for you

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'73 hobie 16 restored 2011
'00 Seaswirl fishin boat

Thanks to you all. I know a lot more about this than I did before. Now if I can just find the time to start . . .

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Mark Van Doren
H16 Seabreeze #112205 (Richard Petty Signature Edition)
H14T Fantasia #47787
San Juan 28

A friend of mine restored his (really) old boat trailer last year and opted to use a truck bedliner kit. From what I understand, he stripped the old paint off using a power grinder with a brush attachment, as mentioned above, then primed, and then used a store bought bedliner kit to create a rubberized finish that is super resistant to rocks and gravel.

It also looks pretty sweet! The bedliner stuff is a bit tough to work with but if done right will make your trailer seem indestructible.

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Justin (Lafayette, CO)
'81 Hobie 14T "Two Hull and Back"
'78 Hobie 16 "Two Hull and Back Again"

Greeting,
I restored two catamaran trailers this year.On my large trailer(Hobie 21SE),I use paint stripper to remove 3 layers of paint.I could not find a sandblasting outfit with a room large enough to blast it.Stripping that old paint was something that I will never do again,way too much work.Don't make this mistake!
I dismantled each trailer completely,painted each part inside and out and reassembled them with all new grade 8 bolts.On my 21 trailer,I moved the axle forward 24" to reduce the tongue weight.I added some steel and covered the entire trailer with 1/8"aluminum tread plate,added two aluminum tool boxes (that you see in the back of some pickup),built a aluminum frame to hold my 100 qt. cooler and added a 14' round X 10' 2'' long aluminum tube for my sails and rudders.Over the years this trailer grew heavier and heavier so the tongue weight was way too much and moving the axle was a good fix.
I cleaned all tubular steel on the inside and then used Permatex Rust Treatment on the insides of all tubular steel before priming with white.I used a rather expense xylene based primer on the outside followed by it's matching top coat.Way too expensive.I did use bed liner on everything under the trailer before topcoating.
On my 16 trailer,I used Rust-oleum paint with equal or even better results then my 21 trailer.I would only recommend Rust-oleum, It dries fast and looks great.I did change out the tongue tubular steel for a longer piece that added another 18" in the front and ran that new steel all the way back to above the axle(as opposed to just a 24" pass that "Y" part of the trailer) .The trailer was too short and this improved road handling also.My 16 trailer has a custom built aluminum thread plate sailbox that holds two sets of sails and a redwood tray for my rudder assemble.You could dance on top of this sailbox and not damage anything but your reputation... Bill 404 21SE

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Bill 404 21SE

I bought a H-16 on a rusty trailer late this summer. My first goal was to fix the trailer (make sure it was road worthy and make it pretty), then sail the Hobie until Fall and fix it over the Winter

Well, I've accomplished the trailer repair/repaint and have sailed the Hobie, and am now working on the boat.

Use good leather gloves, dust mask and a heavy grade wire brush - and get at it. My goal was to remove all rust and any loose paint - the few areas that had good paint on I wasn't too worried about, as it provided a solid base for the primer and final paint. After wire brushing (yes, I tried drill-mounted brushes, but honestly the wire brush was faster), I washed off all of the dust (water hose), and let it dry in the sun for a day. Then I used a Rustoleum spray-on "reformer" that was supposed to cure any bad metal. Final coat was brushed-on Rustoleum oil based paint. It looks nice and should last for many years.

The owner of the St. Louis hobie dealership gave me nice backhanded compliment, raving about how nice the trailer looked...while ignoring the old beat-up Hobie that was sitting on it. Now I'm working to make the Hobie look better than the trailer.

Here's the trailer pre-paint:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/scottdflicr/5171158134/

...and post-paint:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/scottdflicr/5171159612/

Thanks again for the advice. Scott, great job on your trailer!

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Mark Van Doren
H16 Seabreeze #112205 (Richard Petty Signature Edition)
H14T Fantasia #47787
San Juan 28