On Friday, September 22, 2017 at 10:20:28 AM UTC-4, Papa3 wrote:
You'll see several threads on this topic on R.A.S. There's definitely a "reward curve" as far as how much effort and cost you really want to put into an aluminum tube trailer. I'd argue that it only needs about a 10 foot refinish (i.e. looks good from about 10 feet). In that case, using an aluminum boat refinishing process can get the job done for less than $500K in materials (self-etching primer and a rolled-on topcoat). We've had several jobs done at our field using this sort of process, and they really do look good. One of the nicest is an Eberle trailer (fiberglass but same general idea) that used rolled-on epoxy-based paint. Looks much better than factory original and has held up for 10+ years.

Whoops - reading comprehension issue. I was looking at the comment down thread about a Schreder trailer and didn't see that the original post was about a Cobra. It's definitely worth putting a bit more into a Cobra. I've sprayed one, and it's just a matter of doing the same prep work as any other metal refinish. I would definitely go with a good automotive urethane..

If you brought a completely stripped and etched top to an auto-body shop, I suspect you could get it painted for less than $2,000 including paint. Less if you can find someone "off the grid" to do it.

The below video gives you a sense of what's involved in the prep of an aluminum surface. FWIW, an aircraft-grade "eco stripper" really makes removing the old paint pretty easy. If you started on a Friday night masking and applying the stripper, you probably could be done by Sunday night as far as being ready to go to a paint shop.