Protect the Wood on an enclosed trailer
If you have an enclosed trailer which is suffering from the abuse of heavy cargo this article will tell you exactly what you need to know to get it sorted.
Wearing Out Wood
Wood is a great material, not only is it cheap (literally grows on Trees) but it’s also strong, hard and easy to work with. Wood is really lots of cells that have dried and are now holding onto each other biologically and mechanically in the best way possible, the way Nature designed them. Now we have all seen trees snap and topple in high winds, but think of the abusive and harsh weather that wood goes through for tens or even hundreds of years!
Unlike the wood on a tree, the wood in your trailer isn’t protected with an ablative layer of bark. The bark is a brilliant design by nature to protect the wood underneath from abrasion and wear. As you surely noticed, bark is relatively easy to break off and is soft enough to cushion the tree from impacts. The plywood or chipboard in your enclosed trailer doesn’t benefit from this, what you are left with as a very hard material without the layer of protection it grew up with.
Different types of wood panels are made up of tens of thousands, even millions, of fibers, cells, splinters or chips. The chips, although held in strong with glue (natural or man-made) will eventually lift, chip off or fall off after repeated impact and abrasion. This will lead to worn out, scratchy, splinter giving, and all round nasty enclosed trailer floors and walls.
Protecting the Wood
The best way to protect the wood is to add a protective layer coating it in all areas where it will be hit, scratched, chipped or go through any abuse or abrasion. Ideally a protective layer will bond strongly to the wood, but also repel any and all chemicals and liquids from seeping through and weakening the wood’s structure.
Wood experts, namely woodworkers with decades of experience know all this and choose to protect wood they work with to avoid these issues. The very best way to protect wood is not with waxes, oils or varnishing, but to embellish them with a layer of rubbery polyurethane.
Durabak is recommended by woodworking veterans who recognize it’s unique array of features. Durabak will seep into the wood panels to embed in them a layer of rubber like protection, and layers on top will bond to form an impermeable membrane to protect the wood from any and all contaminants.
Durabak for the enclosed trailer
Durabak forms a substantive layer of protection over surfaces, and it’s hard wearing surface will keep the trailer in great condition for many years. Durabak is available both in textured and smooth variants. That means that if you want to add some grip inside your trailer to prevent cargo or equipment from sliding around too much you can go with Textured Durabak which has actual granules of rubber in it. If you just want a smooth and easy to clean surface that still offers plenty off grip for your boots you should go with Smooth Durabak.
Durabak is super easy to apply by yourself. On a wooded surface all you need to do is clean it thoroughly to remove any spills or contaminants, then sand it down with 60 grit and finally wipe it all down with Xylene or Solvide. As soon as that’s dry you can roll on the Durabak, and as soon as the first coat is tough dry you can roll on the second coat and likewise for further coats.
Durabak paint makes your life simple as it’s sold with texture, color, and hardener all in one can so no mixing or measuring required. It’s also available in 16 mixable colors, or you can save money and use the indoor product for your enclosed trailer available in 12 colors.
