Painting pickup trailer

I got lucky and bought a pickup trailer with a bed that is in good rust free dent free condition. The only problem is the color looks like its "Safety Yellow". For
practice I thought I might try my hand in painting it and paint it the color of the pickup that will be pulling it. A friend is telling me to just scuff the current
paint and shoot it with the new color. Can you do that with decent results?

What is the detailed process? I figured you need sand off the clear coat - wet sand with 400 or 600 grit sand paper - wash it down. Spot primer anything that went to
bare metal (and resand the primer). Do you need to put on a coat of sealer over the sanded paint or just shoot with the paint and clear?

I am working with a 1996 Ford bed that I plan on painting with Oxford white.

I am doing this as a practice run for other projects I might try in the future. If this works we have an old grain truck that painting the cab would make it look
great.

Anyone have a video that shows this?

This is what I was thinking of using for paint:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Oxford-White-Ford-YZ-Z1-Basecoat-Clear-Coat-Quart-Kit-Auto-Car-Truck-Paint-Kit/263904135076?hash=item3d71e987a4:g:utYAAOSw9N1VuVkN

IF the old finish is sound, like original, no crazing, etc., and you scuff it well, the new paint should adhere well. If it has a buildup of old paint, maybe you will need to do more. It sounds like your goal is a presentable finish, not a museum grade car show winner.

Anytime you paint anything start by washing the dirt off. Then clean it with a wax and grease remover. It could have had wax put on it years ago and cause problems with adhesion or the wax may have contained silicone. Then since the desired color is a solid color you could sand it with 400 grit paper and spray two or three coats of a single stage automotive paint on and if everything went well you would be done. Sometimes you get dirt in the paint which you might have to rubbed out and buffed but it should polish out. More than likely the yellow paint is also a single stage paint without any clear on it. A clear is normally used on metallic paints where you apply the color coat and then put a clear over the top. This makes the metallic look stand out more. Even if there is clear over the yellow you don't have to sand it off, just scuff it with sandpaper so it can bond well.

Of course if there is any nicks in the paint or bare metal showing clean those spots and bondo and prime first. If you wanted to use a sealer it would help a little. It helps with the adhesion of the new paint and help cover the yellow. It also will do a little filling if there is minor scratches you didn't know where there.

I would do a test spot first. Some modern paints will attack some older paints, and cause them to lift.

your autobahn paint is a urethane base clear. it uses a hardener. you need proper safety gear to spray it. for a first timer, i would not recommend it. you are spraying a high solid white, no metallic. go with a single stage acrylic enamel. to prep it down and dirty, pressure wash it clean. scrub it with comet cleanser and a red scotchbrite pad. re wash with a wax free car wash soap. rinse well. do any bodywork and spot prime with a 2k powerfill primer. d/a the bed down with 320. blow dust off, wipe surface down with a wax and grease remover, ie pre cleano, final wash, rm900 ect. spray two coats of sealer, tack rag it, then shoot it. you should wear a tyvek paint suit with hood, nitrile gloves, non vented safety goggles and a fresh air supplied respirator. the chemicals are very toxic. i own collision and restoration auto body shop. i been around the block a little

What is d/a ?

(quoted from post at 22:53:26 10/24/20) What is d/a ?

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Dual Action rotating sander. It rotates and wobbles at the same time.