Waxing a Trailer

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Wind Chime
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Waxing a Trailer

Post by Wind Chime »

I recently read some where about it being a good idea to wax your trailer, to get longer life out of it I guess.
... does anybody do this?

We use a spray on product called "Salt-Away" that leaves a salt resistant coating, but never tried waxing it. We also flush our outboards with salt-away.
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Don T
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Re: Waxing a Trailer

Post by Don T »

Hello,
I did not wax my entire trailer nor did I wax it regularly. I just finished a complete refurb of my trailer and I can tell you the parts I waxed occasionally had way less rust on them.

Anecdotal evidence which I acted on by waxing the entire trailer just today.

Don
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mastreb
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Re: Waxing a Trailer

Post by mastreb »

No reason why waxing would hurt that I can think of.

You would want a spray formulation however because it's all the parts of your trailer that you can't see that rust out. On these boats its the interior of the steel draw tubes on the aluminum trailers that are the really troublesome areas, and the interior of all the tubes on the steel trailers.
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dlandersson
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Re: Waxing a Trailer

Post by dlandersson »

Interesting. I have never waxed my trailer in 10+ years. I do go over it with brush and rustoleum 8)
Wind Chime wrote: Tue Aug 26, 2014 2:34 pm I recently read some where about it being a good idea to wax your trailer, to get longer life out of it I guess.
... does anybody do this?

We use a spray on product called "Salt-Away" that leaves a salt resistant coating, but never tried waxing it. We also flush our outboards with salt-away.
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kmclemore
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Re: Waxing a Trailer

Post by kmclemore »

Well, wax repels water, and water creates rust, so, yeah, waxing could theoretically prevent rust on a trailer. However, the really serious rust on our trailers occurs where you can't wax... inside the tongue, where it joins the 'Y' section going back to the axle. So... a waxed trailer could potentially look lovely... as it snaps in half. :wink:

Proper rinsing after use in salt water, and a good coat of POR-15, including into the boxed sections, it the way to go, IMHO.
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Russ
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Re: Waxing a Trailer

Post by Russ »

I don't know how to wax the aluminum trailer. But it does make sense to clean and perhaps that salt-away product probably makes sense.
--Russ
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Wyb2
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Re: Waxing a Trailer

Post by Wyb2 »

I’ve started spraying fluid film under my vehicles. It’s only been a couple years, but many people in the DIY auto repair world swear by it for northern states where the roads get salted in the winter. It’s the same idea, something that will stay between the metal and the water/salt/oxygen that doesn’t harden like paint. One of the similar products is called wool wax.

I wouldn’t use it all over a trailer, the stuff is slimy and sticky and gets on anything that touches it. But it could work for the parts you don’t touch, inside the tongue and around the axle and suspension. Then maybe a typical wax for the more accessible areas? Seems like it could work.

The problem with any paint is, since it cures hard, rust will travel laterally underneath it (rust bubbles). Since rust is a pretty effective sponge, the trapped rust also traps water, which causes more rust. The theoretical upside to a film/oil/wax is that it shouldn’t create this positive feedback loop.
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Russ
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Re: Waxing a Trailer

Post by Russ »

That " fluid film " product looks very interesting. I'm thinking it would be ideal to spray INSIDE the trailer tubing. The aluminum trailer still has a steel tongue that would benefit from having this stuff sprayed inside where they typically rust.

Interesting product. I may have to pick some up.

Image
--Russ
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