Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

beezerboy wrote:I got my teardrop project from a guy that finished about 30% before he quit & bought a commercial unit. It came with some extra materials, among which is a 5 gal tub of Rodda Rural Manor II stain. I called the Rodda guy and asked for particulars since it is a superseded paint. He said its a high solids stain but closer to paint than what you think of as stain. It's an oil base & thinned with mineral spirits, so I'm thinking its similar to old school enamel but without the lead. The guy I got it from was convinced this was the way to go back when (2011)....

• Though I used my alkyd-resin based paints over plywood already thoroughly coated with the "mix", and pure polyurethane, similar alkyd paint (or stain) would probably work well for you. After a lot of research into coatings prior to my build, I arrived at using Valspar alkyd paints (re-branded as Tractor Supply) as my best choice at the time (yes, in 2011 I thought it was the way to go, also). Locally available anytime, inexpensive enough for my low budget, and trusted by me and my grandfather (who always used Valspar products for many years). As it turned out, after five years since painted, my trailer has held up well (though garaged 95% of the time, it's still exposed to heat and cold and pervasive dust). It's been in many heavy rain storms, and exposed to blistering sun (I get the blisters, not the paint on the trailer!), so I'm very pleased with it. I fully expected to over-coat it later, with bedliner-type material, if it failed, but so far it has been flawless.
• I used two types of the Valspar-TSC paints: tractor and implement, and silo paint, and still have a liitle left (bought two gallons of each; though, since they have been stored in the un-sealed garage so long, I probably wouldn't use them now). Tractor Supply has switched to Majic paints, so I can't attest to their formulation, but the Valspar alkyd formulation is a good one.

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  valspar-TSC re-branded alkyd-urethane paint.PNG (248.96 KiB) Viewed 1988 times

  I used the "Massey Ferguson Grey" color

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  valspar alum silo paint.PNG (207.98 KiB) Viewed 1988 times

  this reflective paint is on all upward-angled surfaces (even the hatch points up when opened)