You might find this agreeable..

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m3a1
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You might find this agreeable..

Unread post by m3a1 » October 22nd, 2018, 11:01 am

I'm a fan of Rust-oleum products. Not a rabid fan mind you but, I find they have nice selection of coatings and if used properly with reasonable preparation of the surface to be coated, it usually holds up very well. Not to mention that you can get it just about anywhere so, for those times when you need 'just one more can' there is almost always one on some store's shelves.

I'm prepping my Bantam for use in this year's local Christmas Parade for use behind the MUTT. That means making it all one color which, naturally, ended up being green and applied with a rattle can. Rust-oleum's most readily available shade (that being closest to a proper military color) was their camouflage green and while I would never put that on a real military vehicle, it's A-OK on the old civvy Bantam (which retailed for something like $125 brand new) and particularly OK for use in a night parade where one drab green looks exactly like the next. I'm not trying to turn this sow's ear into a silk purse.

So, while I was making the Bantam green in my rather slap-dash manner, I decided to have a go at the floorpan which had probably last been painted in 1950. Yup, I have the usual rust pitting and the floor pan has been hammered down over the lateral supports over the years. So after a good pressure wash and a generous drying time, I got a quart of rust-oleum and brushed on a generous coat of paint on the floorpan...which finally brings me to the point of this article.

Recently I had been experimenting with Rust-oleum's LeakSeal product which claims to be a flexible, paintable rubber coating. I find it to be rather unyielding (not soft, like undercoating). It is also a high-build coating that fills gaps and low spots and it dries rather quickly. It's a bit like Rhino Coat at a fraction of the price (about $8/can). Well, gents, three cans coats the bed of a Bantam trailer rather nicely and because it flows well into the low spots, it does a good job where the pits and seams are. What I cannot say at the present time is how well it will hold up with all sorts of loads rattling around on it but this trailer will only see light use while I have it. But, at the moment, the LeakSeal looks pretty promising as a quick, easy way to turn a marginal floorpan around without a lot of fuss and bother.

Buy a can, and try it. I think you'll like it.

Cheers,
TJ

SturmTyger380
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Re: You might find this agreeable..

Unread post by SturmTyger380 » October 23rd, 2018, 9:27 am

I found a post war Bantam Jeep trailer that was in good shape. Not much rust but the floor was dented and wavy from hard use. Since we were going to use it behind my wife's SUV to haul things I let her pick the color. She chose Rustoleum's Maui Blue. :shock:

At first I was thinking no way! But then again this was from the 1950's when they had all the bright colors on cars, two tone etc. It might go behind the CJ2A someday when it's done. But what the heck it makes people look. And I have had a number of comments from folks on how they like that trailer. 8)
45' MB, ??' MBT, 47' CJ2A, 48' CJ2A,
51' M38 #1, 51' M38 #2, 51' M100,
52' M37, ??' M101A1 (1st Gulf War Vet),
53' M38A1, 53' M211, 65' M151A1, 67' M416,
MVPA #31724

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m3a1
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Re: You might find this agreeable..

Unread post by m3a1 » October 24th, 2018, 12:07 pm

My Bantam was originally a green very much like Rust-oleum's Hunter Green color. You might just find your original color beneath one of the spring hangers.

The problem with Rust-oleum's "camouflage" paint coatings is they are rather soft....i.e. they scratch very easily. They will harden a bit over time (slow to cure fully) but I suppose it's the formulation of that particular coating. However, with the camp colors, touch-ups are a breeze and as I mentioned, their paints can be found just about everywhere so there is that...

Cheers,
TJ

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