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Preping trailor for paint

Redfish-Joe

Senior Member
I built a tow behind for long trips. We have put about 5k on it and seems to do a good job. Now I would like to paint it. (have it painted) What prep work needs to be done to insure the paint adhears to the plastic properly. The box is a sears x-cargo box.
 

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Scratch it up good with 400 wet & dry, clean it really really well with wax remover, mask off what you don't want painted, spray a couple of coats of good primer on it. I think it would be ready..
 
Scratch it up good with 400 wet & dry, clean it really really well with wax remover, mask off what you don't want painted, spray a couple of coats of good primer on it. I think it would be ready..

Think regular primer would work? The top flexes pretty easy. Would the paint need a flex agent in it to keep from cracking? Thanks Hoople!:57:
 
It certainly would not hurt to mix a universal flexibilizer in with the primer. In the past I have sprayed rubber bumpers with OUT the added flexibilizer and had not any problems to date. But it would not hurt to mix it in.

I don't know what what brand of paint your using so it's hard to say but you can't go wrong if you add it since your also exposing the panels to a lot of vibration.
 
Steve and WhatYardWork are the paint guys...Steve...what is a spray bomb? Kinda sounds scary...:57:
 
I have found that most good painters would rather do the prep and prime them self.

I got a friend that restores custom/class/hotrod cars. He can lay down some paint but is not sure about the plastic stuff. Not a lot of plastic in those old cars! If I prep it he will paint it. Can't beat that.:s
 
If the Trailer is clean,meaning no surface imperfections you dont need to prime it.A couple of coats of sealer used wet on wet with your base coat will work just fine and save you hours of sanding.How you prep raw plastic is very important.DO NOT sand it with 400.Plastic is not the same as a primed part and anything courser than 600 wet will cause fine burrs to rise leaving you with a hairy mess.

Bulldog does make a paste designed to be used with a grey scuff pad{equal to about an 800 grit scratch} on raw plastic that will work quite well for this project.Plastic relies more on a chemical bond rather than a mechanical bond {sand scratch}.Which is why a paste or other plastic preping agent is so important.

Once you have propperly prepped the surface, clean it with soap and water.At this point your friend is ready to spray.

1.Apply 1 medium wet coat of plastic adhesion promoter and allow it to flash..usualy 15 minutes.
2.Apply 2 medium wet coats of sealer with flex additive and allow to flash.
3.He's now ready to paint and clear your parts as he would any other car providing he adds the flex additive to his product.

Id stick with whatever products he's using.If he prefers Dupont, simply pick up a pint of sprayable adhesion promoter from his rep.Same for the sealer,flex additive.
 
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