New trailer for $3.00

[flying tomato]

A friend told me that you could bring an aluminum trailer's looks back to almost new with nothing more than a box of brillo pads (steel wool) and some elbow grease. I was skeptical. Here are photos of an 25 yr old trailer. The photos look good, but it looks even better in person. I put some wax on the metal afterwards to give it some more protection.

[MOP]

A suggestion, raise your winch stand up so the roller is above the eye with the cable under to secure it. The way it is now the boat in a panic stop can climb up and over the stand, I am sure you have seen the pictures of boats parked in the back of a pickup truck!

[superhatz]

Love those Hornet IIIs....:)

[VetteLT193]

If you want to speed up the process get scotch-brite pads, not the ones with the sponges on them just the straight up pad, and put one under a quarter sheet sander. You don't have to attach the pad to the sander just use pressure to keep it on. Power up the sander and move it back and forth...

[Cuda]

If you want to find out how to make a trailer shine, talk to Catch 22. One year at the Hometown Rally, it looked like stainless steel. The next year, it look chrome dipped.

You need to watch using a brillo pad. Bits of the pad will be in the aluminum, and then the brillo pad WILL rust.

[maddad]

Bronze wool stops the steel dust from messing up your trailer.

[MOP]

The best is S/S wool it has absolutely no effect on the stainless, it is also very tough it lasts a very long time.

[brwn234]

Good stuff, I've got my focus on working on my trailer this spring. Searching the net I found a good way to clean up diamond plate aluminum using your choice of aluminum polish and 4"x4" pieces of carpet. In theory it sounds like the perfect solution but I've not tried it yet.

I was thinking about polishing the outside vertical section of my I beam with my rotary buffer and scotch brighting the top and inside. I'm sure once I do one side I'll realize it's alot of work and quit.

[VetteLT193]

Good stuff, I've got my focus on working on my trailer this spring. Searching the net I found a good way to clean up diamond plate aluminum using your choice of aluminum polish and 4"x4" pieces of carpet. In theory it sounds like the perfect solution but I've not tried it yet.

I was thinking about polishing the outside vertical section of my I beam with my rotary buffer and scotch brighting the top and inside. I'm sure once I do one side I'll realize it's alot of work and quit.

only use a rotary if you plan on going full polish. if you just want to shine up what is there use a reciprocating palm sander with the scotch-brite pad and go in the direction of the grain of the aluminum.

If you want to test the waters to see how much work it is, start on the frame member behind the wheel wells. worst case is you decide it is too much work but you really never see that part of the trailer anyway.

[brwn234]

only use a rotary if you plan on going full polish. if you just want to shine up what is there use a reciprocating palm sander with the scotch-brite pad and go in the direction of the grain of the aluminum.

If you want to test the waters to see how much work it is, start on the frame member behind the wheel wells. worst case is you decide it is too much work but you really never see that part of the trailer anyway.

I wanted to fully polish just the vertical section thinking that it was a bit more protected then the top. I think keeping up on it is the trick.

[Cuda]

Talk to Jimmy (Catch 22). He gets some kind of polish at a truckstop.

[gero1]

its called jewelers ruge(sorry bout the spelling) comes in brick or liquid, 3-4 different grits. different grits are different colors

[Just Say N20]

MOP, good catch on the trailer bow set up. I had that very thing happen to me on the local test run of my Donzi. The guy in front of me decided to pull an illegal, panic U-Turn without warning.

And the issue was compounded by not having rear tie downs, and it being a roller trailer. The boat rolled forward to within about a foot of the tailgate on my Magnum. A pucker moment for sure.

You definitely want the bow eye BELOW the roller.

[Cuda]

its called jewelers ruge(sorry bout the spelling) comes in brick or liquid, 3-4 different grits. different grits are different colors
I think he said it was California something or other. Gina had her work cut out for her. :)
She enjoys Donzi events as much as Jimmy does. :)

[brwn234]

And a strap from the bow eye to the trailer. I never used to strap the front down. Rides much nicer and gives me piece of mind.

[BUIZILLA]

why are you polishing something that gets intentionally submerged...

kinda like mowing asphalt..

[flying tomato]

Yeah,
I don't have enough time on my hands to polish it. The results that I got only took about 30 minutes. I was suprised how easy it was to clean up.

Thanks for the catch on the bow stop. That was a rookie mistake. (not a rookie, though)

[Cuda]

Catch shamed me into washing a trailer I've owned since 1988.

It was used in almost exclusively salt water. I painted the entire under carriage with under coating before I ever was dunked once.

Rust never sleeps.