Re-Painting a m101 trailer questions

[Cook4794]

My M101 is in great condition, the paint is another story. Its chipping and showing the steel in a few spots. I'm wanting to repaint the whole trailer. The frame and springs/axle are in great shape.

My question is, Is sand blasting the best way to strip the trailer? If so, what media have you all used to do this. I've heard that sand blasting will ruin the "anti rust" coating on the trailer.

Also My father mentioned that when he sand blasted his regular flat bed trailer, it caused a bit of pitting which required alot more work than he realized. Is this due to him using the wrong type of media?

I have a friend who professionally paints, he is going to take care of painting after it is prepped.

He said that sand blasting should be fine, but he wasn't a expert with galvanized steel.

What have you guys done in the past? I'm hoping to remove the bed and have it prepped in a few days. I do have a garage it can sit in once its stripped to prevent any weathering/dust.


Am I putting to much thought into this? Or will the coating be lost once I sand blast the trailer?

 

[bikeman]

You need to worry about the paint itself. Depending when it was painted last, if it has CARC paint on it, that is a bad juju paint, as in, cancerous if you end up breathing it. Look through the forum for other threads regarding it.

there's a ton of threads about prepping and painting. what paint to use, what FSN to get colored to, and similar.

 

[Cook4794]

I did some reading on the CARC paint, I have no way of knowing what paint is on the trailer. I'm going to be cautions and assume it is CARC. The paint is thick and I don't/can't see any other shades underneath the chipping paint. I've decided on a flat green color. I'm not so worried about it being "exact match" and so forth.

I'm leaning towards not worrying about the coating, and just sandblasting the trailer. Then doing a good paint/seal job. From what i understand CARC is bad from it dust/painting and drying. But poses no threat when dried? I would definitely wear appropriate gear/well ventilated area when I did blast it.

 

[Cook4794]

bikeman, After doing some more research. I may feather the spots that are chipping and paint over everything. The spots that are chipping are only in the box, it looks like something scrapped it and well, just started to chip.


I may just keep the CARC for the chemical resistance. I think my best bet is carefully feathering it and then re priming/painting.

If that doesn't turn out, Ill just have to blast away!

Thanks for the info.

 

[harleyhouse]

I feathered the bad spots and sanded the rust then spot primed the tub.
I shot the tub in the yard with a Harbor Freight HVLP gun and three gallon compressor.
The red paint was mixed with the solvents and I shot it on a low humidity day The paint dried as fast as it hit the surface.
It was left to dry in the sun for a few days then mounted back on the frame.

 

[SteveKuhn]

Cook, I like your plan. SRJeeper used to say that the best primer is existing paint that sticking tight. Unnecessary blasting might leave you with some areas stripped of galvanized and others with it remaining. If you're going with flat, it'll tend to hide a lot of flaws and will be friendly to the normally sorta rough surface of CARC.

Steve

 

[Cook4794]

Cook, I like your plan. SRJeeper used to say that the best primer is existing paint that sticking tight. Unnecessary blasting might leave you with some areas stripped of galvanized and others with it remaining. If you're going with flat, it'll tend to hide a lot of flaws and will be friendly to the normally sorta rough surface of CARC.

Steve

Roger that. After inspecting it more, the only rust, is some surface rust from where the paint was initially chipped. I chipped it off in a larger area and no rust what so ever. I got lucky with this m101 I think. The paint looks original with all the original "sort of faded" lift points and so on. I'm going with the flat OD Green color again. I'll feather the bad spots. And spray this baby down.

I pressure washed the frame with the trailer in the dump position. The frame looks brand new! Had a little grime on it, but other than that the paint is flawless. The only thing wrong with the trailer is it now has civilian wheels on it rather than the bead locks I believe it should have came with.

Even dumping the trailer everything seems very tight. To my untrained eye it seems like it has never been dumped possibly. The locking points are super tight. I replaced the bolts with some pins and they are even extremely snug! I'll start a build thread once I get all my ducks in a row. The CARC seems great to just leave it on the trailer, more of a headache to remove it, especially when I probably only have 12 square inches I need to feather.

 

[SteveKuhn]

Search for the threads on 'dump' and you'll find that the right word is 'fold' - for transport, and photos of the reason why.

Steve

 

[Cook4794]

Search for the threads on 'dump' and you'll find that the right word is 'fold' - for transport, and photos of the reason why.

Steve

Roger that. Thanks for the info.