# what to use to paint car trailer floor that's oil stained?



## IHI (Dec 25, 2004)

Picked up a new car hauler for my race car and want to spruce up interior. Existing floor is 3/4" CDX, and has all kinds of motor oil and other automotive oil stains throughout and i want to paint the floor so it looks nicer, will be easier to keep clean, so what's the best stuff to use that will adhere for the long haul and steps to prep? what type of primer? etc....

Then i want to mask off two tire track areas on the ramp and up into the trailer so if we get rained out I'm not doing smoeky burnouts to get inside the trailer, what type of grit would you recommend to add to the paint for the tire track area? it does'nt need to be huge chunks of sand, just tiny frit that will allow a bit more traction than a painted wet floor. 

Here's what i'm dealing with:


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## ibsocal (Feb 24, 2007)

One option is to take it to some one who does truck bed spray on liners. polyurea.some will even come to u like a vortex system dealer look in craigslist.
btw nice toyz.


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## IHI (Dec 25, 2004)

ibsocal said:


> One option is to take it to some one who does truck bed spray on liners. polyurea.some will even come to u like a vortex system dealer look in craigslist.
> btw nice toyz.


My buddy had that done to his 28' like mine and it cost him $1K for the trailer part and $1K for the underside and added almost 1200lbs total to the trailer dry weight....not an option IMO and he wished he would've know how heavy that crap was cuz he'd a never done it either. This will be heavy enough once i get all my necessities in there, so picking up an extra 1000lbs+ is not an option at all.


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## ibsocal (Feb 24, 2007)

That's some heavy stuff :tank:.but it's not that heavy now:laughing:.you might add 2-400 lbs xtra due to the size of your hauler @ 1/8" thickness which is typical dft for a bed.it has non slip built in as u like.more power to u.:scooter:


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## Dustball (Jul 7, 2006)

You could consider the DIY bedliner paint such as Herculiner. You're only looking at adding the weight of 2-3 gallons of the stuff. It's not as bulletproof as the professional spray-in's but it's plenty durable enough to be used for enclosed trailer floors such as yours.


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## toddcla2002 (Apr 25, 2005)

Use Sherwin Williams Treadplex ArmorSeal. I have it on my trailer and have used it on industrial floors. Easy to use and does a great job! Doesn't weight half a ton either!

~todd


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## IHI (Dec 25, 2004)

I dont want the entire floor in a gripey material, i want it smooth as glass (per say) with the only grit being the tire path tracks i will mask off the trlr floor and do just those stripes with grit...alot easier to clean up oil drips, mud, dust, etc...from a smooth surface than a bedliner type surface. I tried herculiner on a few trucks in the past, it might hold up fine for the tire path deal, but i would'nt want it for the floor, the chucks are very big and it does'nt go very far, so trying to do 224sqft roughly would be spendy not to mention not what i want anyways.

That sherwin williams treadplex, can a guy just run a floor sander over the entire thing to "clean it up a bit" and then paint right over the plywood even though it's oil soaked in spots, or should i stick to an oil based paint? How does that Sherwin Williams stuff hold up to toxic stuff like brake clean, pwr steering fluid, etc...if it reacts and bubbles with any touch of chemical, then that's not good either since I'm sure at some point this trlr will be an emergency repair at some race, and brake clean will be sprayed wildly and that's pretty toxic stuff.

So yeah, i agree for wear and tear, it's impossible to beat the spray on bedliner, but like i said, I dont want the texture, and esspecially do not want the expense, I have everything else to buy for this and $1K could go to quite a few other things other than a floor covering that would be hard to keep clean.


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## slickshift (Jun 14, 2005)

*Announcer Voice On*
THIS looks like a job for...
(cue trumpets)
...Eric and his Wolverine Coatings

I've not tried it on wood, but I wouldn't be surprised if it worked just fine
Talk to him and all, but you probably won't need to do hardly any prep (if any) and you can land jets on it with no hot tire pick-up


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## Jonesey (Jul 7, 2006)

I'd recommend the Rustoleum or the Insulux Garageguard epoxy. It's available in semigloss or satin I think. Prep is just pressure wash with TSP. Might have to scrub a little bit at the oil stains. 

The Rustoleum is guaranteed against hot tire pickup. The Insulux I know from experience won't lift. I'd add sand to the wet coat on the ramp with a sifter (like a flour sifter) by hand. It's what we do around pools and whatnot. Works very well. 

You can figure on 2 to 3 coats depending on absorption. Each coat has to dry for at least four hours, and both material and suface must be above 50 degrees for 24 hours to cure. In lower temps it can take up to a week to cure, but it will eventually cure.

Only bad part is it's a 2 part epoxy. Starts setting as soon as you mix it, so only mix what you need. Runs about 50 a gallon. I don't think you'd need more than 4 at the outside.

I'd lay down 2 light coats with a 1/2" roller, then one good wet coat and spread your sand into your wet product on the ramp immediately after you roll the ramp. We just use playsand in our stuff. Seems to work well.


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## Leo G (May 12, 2005)

This question looks familiar. I thought I heard it before. Put a new 1/4" 5 ply underlayment on it and paint it with an exterior porch paint/epoxy. :blink:


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## IHI (Dec 25, 2004)

Leo G said:


> This question looks familiar. I thought I heard it before. Put a new 1/4" 5 ply underlayment on it and paint it with an exterior porch paint/epoxy. :blink:


LOL, ahhhh i see the wave now:w00t: the underlayment will not work, too much time vested stapling the stuff down as needed for it to lay perfectly flat and then going back over it and filling all the joints/staple holes, and i dont think the luan will hold upto jack/jack stands if i need to use them..least the 3/4" stuff is a bit tougher in that regard.

I have no shame when investigating:no:


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## IHI (Dec 25, 2004)

Jonesey said:


> I'd recommend the Rustoleum or the Insulux Garageguard epoxy. It's available in semigloss or satin I think. Prep is just pressure wash with TSP. Might have to scrub a little bit at the oil stains.
> 
> The Rustoleum is guaranteed against hot tire pickup. The Insulux I know from experience won't lift. I'd add sand to the wet coat on the ramp with a sifter (like a flour sifter) by hand. It's what we do around pools and whatnot. Works very well.
> 
> ...



Steve, thanks for the input:thumbup: so beings how this stuff has motor oil soaked into it, say i took a day, mixed up some Castrol super clean (best degreaser i've found other than the harsh stuff we use in our parts washer) and do a little pwr washing initally to the wood deck, then go back through it with a hard bristle broom/wand and scrub the deck, and finish with a last pwr washing to blast out the crude and a final rinse...then obviously let that dry out.

Would that be enough clean to go back through with either of the products you mentioned so they will adhere? or should a guy go so far as to run a floor sander (orb type) over it real quick to put a scuff down and then paint it? Floor is only 228sqft and trailer ramp/fold down approach another 50sqft so we'll just say 300sqft total. The $50/gallon seems cheap if it hold up, how far does a typical gallon go? as far as the epoxy, i've heard quite a few racers say they tried the epoxy and after about a half season of traveling it started cracking on the floor joints from the torsional/twisting of the trailer going down the road/pulling into/out of pit spots, etc...what's your thoughts on that and the durability of these products you mentioned.

If it passes the binding test/torsional effect, then which of the two listed is THE BEST for durability to high foot traffic with dirt/sand stuck in their shoes, and resistance to chemicals (like brake clean-which seems more potentent than laquer thinner, napatha, xylene) since that is also important. I wont be in there using a deck sprayer for brake cleaner, but if i'm spraying and it drips, the last thing i want is the floor to start wrinkling/fisheyeing and eventually peeling up.

give me more info:thumbsup: as for the sand, i was perosnally thinking silica sand since it's all uniform, small grained, clean. I only want to put traction down on the ramp since that entire surface will be exposed to rain should it start, and then in the trailer part just where my tires will go only. So if i put two-three coats of the paint on the entire floor, and then mask off where my tire lines will be, will the tape pull up easily after i put the wet coat down for the tire tracks and sprinkle with sand? or will i want to pull the tape immediately after sprinkling the sand so the paint wont bond to it and make life ugly?


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## ibsocal (Feb 24, 2007)

Tap Tap is this thing on :bangin:.you want some thing to last for little money as possible,so do I.consider laying a 1/4" plywood skin over the oil stained deck that way u will be less likely to have a coating adhesion failure down the road:tank:.u will have expansion/contractions and torsional twisting and dont want cracked seams but want a :nuke: coating to be shinney and tough.check out vortex bedliners first coat then top coat with granitex best of both worlds same co. totaly customized coatigs for trailors and anything else.that should do it for the long road :scooter:.:detective: im sure eric the dude has something better to meet your requirements .


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## Cole (Aug 27, 2004)

Josh, where you been?

Good to see you back on the board posting!


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## IHI (Dec 25, 2004)

I swung by our Sherwin Williams store to talk with their head guy, told him what i had, what i wanted, current state of affairs, etc...

He told me to:
1. put some oil dry type material down to draw up as much oil as possible
2. mix up some heavy duty degreaser and scrub da floor and let it dry.
3. he showed me some sort of filler that he said was baddazz to put in the ply to ply joints to help it tie together and prevent a crack point supposedly between the sheets of ply..it was'nt that much so WTF.
4. After that stuff has set up, they have some sort of primer they use to cover graffiti and he tells me it'll stick to water, so prime the whole floor with this stuff...cant remember exact name, primer block, or something like that? i dunno.
5. Once the primer has dried, then mix up the epoxy and paint that on. He showed me the bathroom in the store where they used it and put in the sharkskin grit, and after seeingit firsthand, I'll do the entire floor with it..i could'nt see it like a sand texture, but there was no slippery spots, and both the guys helping me said it sweeps up just as easily as a normal floor. 

The two other brands that Jonsey recommended, they said would not hold upto solvents-like brake fluid, brake cleaner, anti-freeze, etc...and told me epoxy is the only stuff that will hold upto the chemical aspect...wear and tear the other stuff would be fine, but they said it bubbles with chemicals, so i guess that's out.

So unless there's something better i think this will be the route i will try, this store supplies most of the larger contractors in town with their product, and i've heard good things about'em and that's the only reason i even stopped by the actual supply store, they gave me a warm and fuzzy feeling, but we'll see.


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## mrpaintguy (Feb 19, 2008)

I would reccommend (after proper prep) painting the floor with 100% SOLIDS 
2 PART epoxy floor coating spread 3/16" to 1/8" thick with v notched squeegee.-No worries after that!


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## perfect (Jan 29, 2008)

*What From Home Depot?*

:whistling


mrpaintguy said:


> I would reccommend (after proper prep) painting the floor with 100% SOLIDS
> 2 PART epoxy floor coating spread 3/16" to 1/8" thick with v notched squeegee.-No worries after that!


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## slickshift (Jun 14, 2005)

Don't buy anything w/o talking to Eric
http://www.contractortalk.com/member.php?find=lastposter&t=24160
You'll never get all the oil out
Super Clean only goes so far
For that reason, the Rustoleum is out...it'll never hold
The procedure and products SW recommended _should_ work
But this stuff kicks butt:
www.wolverinecoatings.com


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## IHI (Dec 25, 2004)

Well, i emailed him, so we'll see what he sayd or if he gets back to me.


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## Jonesey (Jul 7, 2006)

Both of the products I mentioned are 2 part epoxies designed for garage floors. The Kelly-Moore store here local carries the Rustoleum. The BM store carries the Insulux. I know from experience the Insulux will hold up to diesel spills (don't ask) after it's cured. It's basically the same product that SW has, just $20 a gallon cheaper. 

As long as this stuff has dry, clean wood fibers at least 5 mils deep I don't think adhesion will be a problem. 

The SW stuff is good stuff mind you. We used to do elevators in the acrylic epoxy (the 2 part stuff) at the university. Super-solid finish. I just don't like paying for a name, that's all.

Just make sure whatever you use is guaranteed against hot tire pickup. You can't use a regular epoxy. It'll lift right onto your tires if you run that car into the trailer right off the track. 

If you do tire tracks with silica, I'd just tape the final coat off after it's cured, run another coat only on the tracks and add the silica. Shouldn't be a problem.

I've never done the SW with the sharkskin grit so I can't really say if that'll be a pita or not. Either way, I'd get it in writing before I ruined a grand or two worth of tires.


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