Trailer restoration - paint recommendations?

floatything

floatything

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I'm restoring the trailer - new suspension units, a bit of welding, tyres etc. It has suffered because of the inevitable immersion in salty water. I do hose it off as soon as possible but it has still rusted badly.

What paint / undercoat / surface treatment do you suggest to give the newly restored trailer the best chance of surviving?

Hammerite? Galvafroid (expensive!)? Multiple layers of primer, undercoat, gloss? Suggestions please!
 
Trailers certainly are a consumable. Look out for areas where you can not see the condition of the metal and where it does not dry. Square tubular sections are the worst for rusting from the inside. My draw bar of square box section failed unexpectedly when the trailer was onl;y 3 years old. I replaced the box section and regularly fill it as far as possible with old sump oil. Very messy but certainly helps. The replacement draw bar has lasted another 23 years. Take the trailer to a place where making a mess doesn't matter and splash lots of old or new oil and grease in all the crevases. ie between the spring leaves and where metal parts sit on other parts.
If you want to paint then use a rust stopping type paint. ie with a lot of fish oil or similar. Repaint often and do the oil splash as well. All this will extend the life of the structure but in the end you will have to replace the structure especially if it left out in the rain.
Don't try to do a pretty job just redo it often. A really good multi coated paint job will still just flake off with rust from unnderneath. Unless you really clean the metal well even then it woill probably flake off olewill
 
If the trailer was not galvanized when new there is little point in doing it at this stage, I agree with Will's approach. I have a cradle, mainly RHS and I just keep slapping paint on it, I use cheap 'farm oxide' from 'Decorators Direct' as I am not over bothered about appearance, it a bit softer than Galvafroid but you get an awful lot more for your money and I use any old oil where I can get it inside the tubes.
 
If the trailer was not galvanized when new there is little point in doing it at this stage, I agree with Will's approach. I have a cradle, mainly RHS and I just keep slapping paint on it, I use cheap 'farm oxide' from 'Decorators Direct' as I am not over bothered about appearance it a bit softer than Galvafroid but you get an awful lot more for your money but and use any old oil where I can get it inside the tubes.
 
I bought ten year old boat which came with a ten year old unpainted trailer.

After a few years I replaced the drawbar end of the backbone which was rusting around the jockey wheel attachment. Then, like WIll I sealed the end and filled it with oil.

Every year I treated any rust and all the UBolts with heavy grease (can't get any more and local commercial motor factor responds to requests for 5th wheel grease with regular middle weight stuff). Every 5 years I attacked the whole trailer with a rotary wire brush (the type you use on an angle grinder) and repainted with red oxide primer followed by 2 or 3 very heavy coats of Hammerite. (Painting over the grease). The springs I treated with bitumin paint (Would have probably been better but more messy to do the whole trailer with that)

The wheels I had to replace quite early on but then maintained the new ones with a twice a year spray with WD40.

Twenty two years later (Trailer now 32 years old) I sold the boat and trailer - which was in fine fettle.

All not very scientific but when that boat and trailer was sold the trailer was in fine fettle. Five years and two owners after that it was being used by a broker as his yard trailer as the next owner of the boat had insisted on a galvanised one.
 
Oh go on then - such as... (you can't count anything with a thread because it will move at some time)...?

I can't think of anything else
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