Trailer restoration - rust removal help needed

[roche]

Hi,

I'm selling my trailer to a friend and I want to try and restore it before. It has a lot of surface rust that I would like to remove and then paint as new.

Here is a quick pic :

How would you remove the rust? I've tried with a wire brush on an angle grinder but its a lot of work. I've been thinking about trying a flap pad maybe? Or some rust removal chemical?

I don't have access to sandblasting. Any other idea? Thanks

 

[theoldwizard1]

Don't worry about getting down to bare metal !

Use a cup brush (cheap at HF) on a 4" angle grinder. Concentrate on get the loose stuff off. Wife down with solvent or surface prep and the brush paint with a "rust converter" like POR-15. There are many others to chose from.

Ed, does Duplicolor make a brush on rust converter ?

 

[willyp]

See if you can find a place that will come to you to blast it. That would be the best bet. Any would be way better than you could do with a Grinder...or flap disk.

 

[460Rustang]

I'd go the cheap route and and just get my wire wheel out and get busy!!

 

[Zeke]

A cup brush on a 4" angle grinder can get away from you way too easily on all those contours and tight spots. I'd be careful in selecting what power tool to use.

Anyway, the goal is to knock off most of the loose stuff and get all the dirt cleaned off. POR 15 makes a "Metal Ready" product that is basically phosphoric acid to treat the remaining rust. I prefer The Must For Rust by Krud Kutter because it doesn't have to be washed and rinsed after the final application. You go directly to painting.

Using a rust converter paint is still a good idea. There are many brands and many a lot more easy to use than POR 15.

 

[jwith68]

Are you certain you don't have access to sandblasting? That's by far your best bet from what I see in that photo. Ask around, somebody might know somebody who knows somebody. I have a close-by neighbor that does it, but does no advertising at all. Strictly word-of-mouth, and he stays busy as he wants to be and them some.

You'll spend many hard, dirty, cramped hours and use up a lot of consumables (discs, cup brushes, etc.) A decent blaster will have that to clean, bare metal, ready for primer in a small fraction of the time it will take you to do half as good a job, for less money (if you count your time worth anything at all.)

 

[donthelegend]

Chassis Saver is another option (similar to Por 15). Knock the loose stuff off with a wire wheel, and then apply the Chassis Saver.

 

[slopdog]

air scaler http://static.gedore.net/module/objproduct_data/uploaddata/normal/3250_100.jpg I bought the attachment from princess auto for I think around 20 bucks on sale . wear ear plugs .

 

[roche]

Wow that was quick. Thanks for opinions.

I will have a look around for sandblasting first and then work my way up from there if not.

 

[yucholian]

Wow that was quick. Thanks for opinions.

I will have a look around for sandblasting first and then work my way up from there if not.

Based on your photo, you can't be selling it to your friend for enough money to justify spending that kind of money sandblasting. Might as well just give it to him.
Knock off the loose stuff, rust converter and paint, but that's if he's a real good friend.

 

[roche]

Based on your photo, you can't be selling it to your friend for enough money to justify spending that kind of money sandblasting. Might as well just give it to him.
Knock off the loose stuff, rust converter and paint, but that's if he's a real good friend.

You are probably right. He is a good friend tough so I have no problem spending some time making it acceptable.

 

[Jack Burton]

Over the past 18 years, I've tried all sorts of things including everything mentioned so far. The cheapest way I'd personally do it is use an impregnated stripper wheel in a drill, like

and then a rust converter and paint, or just POR-15 after stripping. You have more than surface rust there, so you'll need something to seal those pits off once the loose orange **** comes off. If you want to get into the pits, the braided wire wheels are good for that but as far as time, effort, and money, the stripper wheels followed by a primer that seals (whether it be converter or 2K epoxy) is hard to beat.

 

[theoldwizard1]

A cup brush on a 4" angle grinder can get away from you way too easily on all those contours and tight spots. I'd be careful in selecting what power tool to use.

You are correct, especially the part about "tight spots". Cup brush works best on large flat surfaces.

 

[Antique Engine]

In my area, a rusty two axle trailer runs about 250 to have sandblasted. That gets you a nice clean, rust free, bare metal surface to work with. Its hard to imagine there isn't a blasting place in your area.

 

[pepi]

Over the past 18 years, I've tried all sorts of things including everything mentioned so far. The cheapest way I'd personally do it is use an impregnated stripper wheel in a drill, like

and then a rust converter and paint, or just POR-15 after stripping. You have more than surface rust there, so you'll need something to seal those pits off once the loose orange **** comes off. If you want to get into the pits, the braided wire wheels are good for that but as far as time, effort, and money, the stripper wheels followed by a primer that seals (whether it be converter or 2K epoxy) is hard to beat.

No way that thing will not last 10 min on that rust, those are JUNK, don't that personally, wire cup is the way to go.

 

[Jack Burton]

No way that thing will not last 10 min on that rust, those are JUNK, don't that personally, wire cup is the way to go.

I have no reason to take it personally, perhaps we just have different experiences. I've found wire drill cups, wire wheels for grinders, and needle scalers remove rust but leave a a glazed over oxidation layer. Needle scalers also beat the hell out of steel.

Perhaps you've dealt with with crappy stripper wheels in the past. I've found they knock rust right off without removing good steel. Also great for getting rid of the hot rolled mill finish.

Rust is not part of a material just as paint is not. The idea is to knock it off without harming the steel. Those stripper discs turn rust and paint into dust because they don't get hot. Try removing paint with a wire cup.

 

[pepi]

I have tried those because I do like the design, they just seem to disintegrate in no time. Could be me, maybe to aggressive with the pressure, sometime down the road I'll give it another shot for grins. As to harming the metal, think you are talking about sheet. I have removed paint with a knotted wire wheel, but that was on an 32 era vehicle, that sheet metal is thicker and will take some heat.

Mill finish I am using a flap disk 60-80 grit to scuff and clean. I have tried those disk there also, was not all that happy with the results. Seemed to polish the metal, 3M is a quality product and use lots of the brand.

 

[DekeT]

I have done the grinder and wire wheel option many times on similar looking metal projects. I would take the axle and springs off first. It will not take long to strip that rust off with a grinder and wire wheel if you do a little more disassembly.

 

[roche]

Here is some update.

Sand blasting is a bit pricey for my taste (around 250$) and I want to spend some time in my new garage. Time is not that big of an issue.

It's actually not that bad with a cup brush. I have around 1/3 done in an hour. I will do some disassembling for the rest.

That being said, it's a LOT of work to go from "ok, most rust is removed" to "bare metal, looks new". I'm thinking about stopping at the first step, rust convert and paint. Does this makes sense?

Maybe I could try the stripper wheel before.

Thanks for your input.

 

[brucer]

I would just take a wire brush and go over it by hand and paint it with Implement/tractor chassis paint.

 

[Kevin54]

Are you certain you don't have access to sandblasting? That's by far your best bet from what I see in that photo. Ask around, somebody might know somebody who knows somebody. I have a close-by neighbor that does it, but does no advertising at all. Strictly word-of-mouth, and he stays busy as he wants to be and them some.

You'll spend many hard, dirty, cramped hours and use up a lot of consumables (discs, cup brushes, etc.) A decent blaster will have that to clean, bare metal, ready for primer in a small fraction of the time it will take you to do half as good a job, for less money (if you count your time worth anything at all.)

^^^^This right here^^^^

Look in your yellow pages, or ask some of your buddies. A lot of people have the pot style sandblasters, and that is about the only way that you'll get things clean enough to paint.

 

[Jim51]

No way that thing will not last 10 min on that rust, those are JUNK, don't that personally, wire cup is the way to go.

Ditto that .... those scuff pad thingys don't last long and they are expensive. If you try a wire cup, don't be cheap ... Buy a good knotted one. If time isn't an issue, I would dismantle as much as I could and start from there. It's a great outdoor project.