detailing an enclosed trailer

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dvc61

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This is one that has been bugging me for a long time...Why is the paint on enclosed trailers so stinking thin? I'm talking about the regular work trailers we use for detailing, or landscaping, carpentry etc.
I have polished them lightly in the past to decent results, but the other day a potential client asked me to clean up his company trailer and this one is really bad. Totally chalky and flat paint. It only measures .02 in spots, nowhere more than .9 I don't think I want to touch this one! What do you think?
 
That sounds like a risky job, that thin of paint is just one slip from being cut through. I don't personally like to turn anything down when it comes to detailing so maybe you can offer a wash, clay and non-abrasive AIO to the customer just to be safe. You may be able to bring back some level of gloss with Klasse AIO without removing any of the "live" paint.

If you work on it, just remember how thin the paint is and use good judgement. Going at it with the least aggressive pads possible, maybe an LC black multiple times rather than white or orange for a single pass. Also, you should have the customer sign an agreement before beginning work that acknowledges that it is his fault for the level of chalkiness and any method that is used may cause further damage due to the owner's neglect. Make sure it clearly states that you are not responsible for any problems that may occur due to the thinness of the paint.
 
That's kind of what I was thinking too! I appreciate the advice Jon. I think having them sign off is an excellent idea. I have checked two other trailers and they both showed the same lack of paint. Odd, isn't it?
 
I work on a lot of wheelchair access buses that have the same type of painted sheet metal and have done many of these trailers too. Forget about paint correction and just use something like Poorboy's Polish with Sealant (non abrasive) and go for clean and shiny with polishing pads. (blue Cyclo Pads).
 
dvc61 said:
That's kind of what I was thinking too! I appreciate the advice Jon. I think having them sign off is an excellent idea. I have checked two other trailers and they both showed the same lack of paint. Odd, isn't it?
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Not odd at all, most trailers are very very thin. I thought my Jeep was thin paint then I took readings on my friend's trailer and was astonished. We actually took the trailer to a paint shop and had is resprayed with ppg black and ceramiclear to make it better. Now it is the shiniest trailer in town. US cargo and Homesteader trailers seem to be the worst I've seen with paint (went to a trailer shop and took readings just for fun)
 
Ok, so there's a void that needs to be filled. Maybe some smart guy or gal out there will hear about this and start a new trailer company that specializes in "real" paint jobs. Somewhere, somebody realized they could get away with this minimal paint technique and the rest of the companies jumped in. If there is no technical reason that it is done that way, which we haven't really ascertained just yet, then it's just morally wrong!

I guess the whole wrap business was just one more reason not to worry about the paint any way.
 
I have never worked on any trailers so this bit of information would save my butt in the future if the job ever presented itself. Who knew trail paint was so thin? :dunno:
 
dvc61 said:
Ok, so there's a void that needs to be filled. Maybe some smart guy or gal out there will hear about this and start a new trailer company that specializes in "real" paint jobs. Somewhere, somebody realized they could get away with this minimal paint technique and the rest of the companies jumped in. If there is no technical reason that it is done that way, which we haven't really ascertained just yet, then it's just morally wrong!

I guess the whole wrap business was just one more reason not to worry about the paint any way.
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They (trailer manufacturers) get the sheet metal, 4'x8' in bundles already painted or vinyl coated. They just order up the color they want.
 
I have two Wells cargo trailers and they both have paint that is so thin it must be just overspray from another paint job.

It's so thin that I polished through a spot just using a soft foam pad and Meguiars Cleaner wax. And that was using one of those crummy PepBoys $14.99 10 inch polishers/waxers.
 
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