3 Tips for Preparing a Rusted Trailer for Repainting

For most people, a rusted trailer is past its useful life. However, nothing could be further from the truth because repainting can give such a trailer a new lease of life. Experts agree that repainting a rusted trailer extends its useful life by a couple of years. However, the key to a successful paint job is removing as much rust as possible. This article highlights top rust removal tricks in preparation for paintwork.

Use a Wire Brush First

When removing rust from a trailer, the first thing you should do is determine how much corrosion is available and how loose it is. It is particularly the case if much of a trailer is covered in superficial rust. It helps you to plan how to remove rust before paintwork can begin. Therefore, you should first use a wire brush to scrape off big, loose rust flakes. It makes work easier for you and ensures that the surface is clean as bare-bones. Once you are done with a wire brush, you can clean the rest of the rust with steel wool. The processes leave a surface smooth and ready for painting.

Clean with Auto Soap Water

When you use steel wool to remove the remaining rust from a trailer, you are left with rust powder upon completion. You might be tempted to use compressed air to blow away the dust, but remnants will remain. It is the reason you must use auto soap with a water solution rather than compressed air. Cleaning rust powder with soapy water leaves a trailer's metal surface spotless. Therefore, you do not have to paint over rust powder since it affects the quality of paintwork. Most importantly, you must use a manufacturer-recommended auto soap.

Air Dry

Clients need their trailers worked on as fast as possible to put them to use. However, hastening the process might lead to shortcuts, which might impact the quality of paintwork upon completion. For instance, some people dry a trailer with a rag so that they can begin painting immediately. Unfortunately, doing so encourages skipping of hard-to-reach spots, leading to painting over wet and cold surfaces. The best thing to do is to allow a trainer to air dry for a couple of hours before painting. Air-drying allows the metal temperature to rise and ensures that hard-to-reach spots are dry before you start a paint job. Besides, it is cheaper to wait a few hours than deliver substandard work.

For more insight addressing rust, contact local trailer repair services. 

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