Stabilizer color

[Fungus]

I’m repainting the slightly rusted stabilizers on our 2017 International.

I’ve been trying to talk my wife into letting me paint them fire-engine red. I’m thinking that maybe we’re less likely to drive off with them extended if they are hard to overlook.

Thoughts?

[rmkrum]

I’d do international orange and reflective tape to make them even more visible. That said, mine pretty much vanish under the Airstream when fully retracted.

[brokeboater]

Painting mine, along with a general R&R of them, is on my short list. I was thinking of going neon yellow or orange for the same reason. But then I don't have a wife to talk sense into me.

[Fungus]

I finally got around to finishing this project. The DW agreed to trying one stabilizer in red before painting all four. It looked great. So I got a pass to paint the other three.

I used the complete POR-15 process.

1. Remove the stabilizers from the AS
2. Take a bunch of pictures so that reassembly will be possible
3. Completely dismantle the stabilizers. All painted parts will be repainted. Set the other parts to the side
4. Remove flaked rust and paint with a putty knife, wire brush, and sandpaper
5. Pressure wash to remove some grease and dirt
6. Apply POR-15 degreaser according to the instructions. Best to order the three-part kit. There is plenty of degreaser for all four stabilizers, but barely enough metal prep. Rinse.
7. Apply POR-15 metal prep according to the instructions. I don’t think this is necessary for anything but the bare metal but I applied it to all the surfaces. Rinse.
8. Apply POR-15 rust preventative coating according to the instructions. There is not nearly enough of this stuff for all four stabilizers. Best to buy this in the smallest cans because it will thicken fairly easily after exposure to air. I found that the disposable sponge “brushes” work best for reaching all the surfaces. Nothing I tried would clean a paint brush: acetone, mineral spirits, paint thinner, denatured alcohol, isopropyl alcohol, etc.
9. Apply second coat of rust preventative coating according to the instructions. Mine took about three hours for the first coat to dry enough for the second coat.
10. Apply POR-15 top coat according to the instructions. I used the spray. Super easy to use. The first top coat needs to be applied in the same day as the rust preventative coats, otherwise you’ll be scoring the base coat so the top coat will stick.
11. Apply another top coat. This can wait a while (day or so) after the first top coat but can all be done in one day if you have enough time.
12. Let it cure for at least four days before reassembling

I placed a 2x4 between two trees (actually two eight-foot 2x4s spliced together). I cut 24-inch long wires from a roll of 12-gauge Romex to hang the six pieces of each stabilizer from the 2x4: bent the wire to form a hook for the stabilizer part on one end, loop around the 2x4 with another bent-wire hook to secure it at the other end. I alternated the hole from which the stabilizer hung on the wire between each coat to get good coverage on the stabilizer part.

Three cans of POR-15 paint was just barely enough for two top coats. I wanted to paint them international (safety) orange but POR-15 didn’t produce that color when I ordered the paint. I sent them a nice little email suggesting that orange would be a good addition to their line-up. Now orange is available. Lot’s of other folks must have made the same suggestion. We prefer the red, anyway.

I had previously painted one of the stabilizers black using Rustoleum primer and top coat. It didn’t hold and created a bit of a challenge to remove: flaking paint, etc. The pressure washer did most of the work removing the Rustoleum, then some sandpaper. In comparison, the POR-15 red trial stabilizer still looks great. Some of the difference my have been due to the prep. I followed the POR-15 instructions to the letter. I think the degreaser step is particularly important. However, my data set is too small to draw any conclusions.

While I was at it, I painted the sides of the ProPride stinger receiver silver to make it easier to see in the truck’s backup camera. I used the same process of degreaser, etc. The tricky part was the potential for overspray, and I did not want to dismantle the ProPride. So I created a miniature paint booth:

1. Tape off the center part of the stinger receptacle
2. Cut a hole in the bottom of a clear plastic trash bag
3. Tape the bag to the hitch with the hole of the stinger receptacle accessible
4. Place hand and paint can inside the bag
5. Seal the bag around arm
6. Spray the paint on
7. Do it again in one hour or so

I also used the rust preventative coating to touch up the a-frame and an area under the belly of the trailer where the stairs stow. The RPC works fine as a top coat if you don’t mind the black semi-gloss finish.

[majorairhead]

Pictures my friend. If wives are to be convinced red is the color, we need pictures!

[Fungus]

Photos…





The photos don’t do it justice. From a distance when you can see a couple of them the stabilizers really pop. Too much ambient light here to get realistic photos.

It is a lot of work. I wouldn’t do it unless the stabilizers needed to be painted. Mine were rusting.

Part of my process…





And the stinger target I mentioned…



I tested red vs silver. The silver is much easier to see in the truck’s backup camera.