Painting a Horse Trailer...

I have recently purchased a used horse trailer that has quite a bit of surface rust. I want to treat the rust before it becomes a structural problem. However, I am not totally sure how to proceed with this. I have NEVER done any body work before, but am not afraid of hard work. I have taken the trailer to MAACO, and they quoted me 1300$ for a paint job and rust repair, and it that is the best way to go, that is fine.

However, I have not heard wonderful things about MAACO, and am not sure that what they do will keep rust from coming back very quickly.

So, I am considering doing it myself, but do not want a "homemade" appearence, and am not sure if I could do it without it looking terrible. However, it IS just a horse trailer, and I do not expect it to look brand new.

There are no places where the rust has eaten through the trailer. There are a few places that I have sanded down with a drill and metal brush, and the metal has been pitted a bit, so I would need some sort of product to even out the surface a bit.

Is it worthwhile for me to try to do this on my own, or should i just take it to MAACO. I took it to another body shop, but their quote was 3500$, MUCH more than the trailer is worth. The trailer is an 89 model, so I am NOT trying to make it look brand new, just prolong its life. It is in excellent structural and mechanical condition. Obviously, I have A LOT of research to do before I would begin, but want to know if something like this is even feasible before I begin.

Thanks in advance!!!

First thing to do would be to remove all the rust and seal it with an epoxy primer right away. From there you can apply fillers. Or you could opt for leading...which is a hard skill to learn.

It would cost you about $1500. Thats for materials and you arent having to pay for labor. So its not as high as what the body shop quoted.

First thing to do would be to remove all the rust and seal it with an epoxy primer right away. From there you can apply fillers. Or you could opt for leading...which is a hard skill to learn.

It would cost you about $1500. Thats for materials and you arent having to pay for labor. So its not as high as what the body shop quoted.


So, am I better off doing it myself than taking it to MAACO for the 1300$ repair - which I am sure would probably be lousy at best? I have no idea what leading is, and if it is a hard skill to learn, the I certainly will not be attempting it..lol. So, I have been removing the rust as I can with a wire brush and a big drill. Is that the best way to do it, or are their better methods? It is possible, then, for me to repaint it myself and not have it look like someone with a can of spray paint and half a clue did it?!

I think if you are new to this, that you will probably get about the same results as Macco. Choose how you want to spend your money.

I used to work at a trailer shop, You can do it yourself for less money. You didnt say what size trailer it was. I would take a grinder with a wire brush and hit the entire thing, with a good grinder it wont take but a few hours for a 2 horse trailer, longer for a bigger one. Any major pitting could be filled with a good quality body filler if you so desire. All of our trailers we painted with tractor paint, and it worked very well. If you have an air compressor then you could purchase a cheep spray gun and have have it painted in no time. I wouldnt expect it to cost more than $150 to do it yourself (assuming its a two horse).