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How do you prepare a tractor for paint?

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Al

12-20-2001 18:46:49




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I had a friend ask me yesterday about painting a tractor. She inherited her grandfather's tractor (Farmall Super A) and wants to preserve it. It's never been painted before and is what I call a "brown Farmall..." it has a coat of surface rust all over. I got to thinking, How much detail/work would one put into a project like this? It won't really be a full show-quality restoration as the tractor will continue to be used. Basically just want to stop the rust and preserve what's there. I'm no body man by any means so would be interested in how you all repaint tractors, what supplies you use, how much/what kind of surface prep, kind of paint, hardeners, etc. you use. In particular, I'd like to hear from those of you putting your tractor back into the field. Another angle of thought: WHat kind of prep/cleanup/body work would the IH dealer do if he was repainting a tractor in the '50's and 60's?

thanks, Al

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Curtis

12-21-2001 17:47:06




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 Re: How do you prepare a tractor for paint? in reply to Al, 12-20-2001 18:46:49  
I highly recommand sandblasting it. If the person sandblasting it is good he CAN do the sheet metal.
That is the best way! Thats how I did it. He didn't hurt the sheetmetal one bit.



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Old Hand

12-21-2001 15:16:32




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 Re: How do you prepare a tractor for paint? in reply to Al, 12-20-2001 18:46:49  
I have a M that belonged to my dad and was painted by IH dealer in late 1950s. The paint is about gone now but it is obvious that they didn't do much prep work painted over grease chipped paint etc. Probaly varied greatly from dealer to dealer I would guess.



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Bama Binder

12-21-2001 12:34:13




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 Re: How do you prepare a tractor for paint? in reply to Al, 12-20-2001 18:46:49  
Good info here. I would add a few things I learned the hard way. First, if it is greasy like just about every other tractor, I would save time and effort cleaning it by using a pressure washer on it to get the "big stuff" off it.

I further degreased by wiping down with laquer thinner. If it is completely rusty, I would brush off any scale and then I would get a dozen spray cans of "rust converter" from Wal-mart and use that on it. It is about $4 per can, but it converts rust to a black sandable primer and it works. I would propably spray with red oxide for good measure and then paint.

Best of luck...BB

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keith

12-21-2001 04:00:20




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 Re: How do you prepare a tractor for paint? in reply to Al, 12-20-2001 18:46:49  
I agree with dave & steve, just did a farmall A (41) body work is not my fortay but with time I got it, I did sand blast all the parts but make sure you get the sand off before paintng! Urathane paint was my choice and looks great. Take your time and do it right, you will feel better about what you see then if you just color it, so what if it is still working



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Dave_Id

12-20-2001 19:29:35




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 Re: How do you prepare a tractor for paint? in reply to Al, 12-20-2001 18:46:49  
I'll bet in the '50's, IH didn't do too much prep work except steam clean, tape off the mag and a few other items, remove the wheels and paint everything red. I'm sure you can do the same thing. I've restored 3 tractors, a Farmall M, an H, and a Massey Harris 101 Senior. On all 3, I completely disassembled, (I left the engine in the M & H.) I sandblasted everything, (miserable job), and you have to do some taping to be careful of not getting sand getting into places you don't want. Wire brushing the sheetmetal if you don't sandblast the sheetmetal. If you don't sandblast, it's tough getting into the nooks and crannys unless you don't care. One you have it prepped, you paint it. Since it's a working tractor, you may just paint it with regular enamel, and let it fade after a couple of years, but if you spend lots of time prepping, you may want to do it right and get urathane paint. It'll cost quite abit more, but you'll be alot more pleased with the results. If this sounds like alot of work, it is. You can pay your local body shop to paint it too, but once you get an estimate you may rethink....I hope this gives you an idea what's involved.

I almost forgot. Since you have it apart, it's a good time to change all the leakey gaskets and seals, tune it up, and if anything wrong with engine, fix it before painting.

dktheisen@earthlink.net if you have any questions

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Mary Mary

12-21-2001 17:42:19




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 Re: Re: How do you prepare a tractor for paint? in reply to Dave_Id, 12-20-2001 19:29:35  
Best advice I've seen on painting tractors or anything else comprised of metal in quite awhile. I would add this Al for what it's worth, though many would argue the point. Don't waste your time on any of the various red oxide or grey primers. Any chips to the red final coat will simply reveal a garish red oxide or incongrous grey below that is obviously not factory spec. In our experience you are far better off using any of the various rust converters that seem to be some sort of plastic overcoat that essentially dries black. It not only is a great rust protector/converter, but any chips on the red final coat will not stand out as some sort of dreadfully unsightful hack job.

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steve

12-20-2001 19:18:34




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 Re: How do you prepare a tractor for paint? in reply to Al, 12-20-2001 18:46:49  
Al, i had this same question about 5 years ago when i started to restore a couple old tractors. I had previously wire brushed the loose rust off car frames and used X-O-Rust which is a red oxide primer that you get at most hardware or farm stores. I used it on the last two tractors. I use an air powered wire brush and sand paper to get the loose stuff off. When i am down to clean or rusted metal, but no scale, i wash it off, i then brush or use a $50 spray gun to spray the red oxide primer on. It supposedly reacts with the base rust and forms a bond. It really stick good, i know that. I let it set about 10-15 days to dry real good and "bond". This paint only cost about $20 gallon and dries in 2 hours to the touch. If i brush it on i then sand it lightly with 180 grit paper to take out most of the brush marks. To finish off i want a long lasting paint so i buy Ditzler enamel from the local auto body shop for $150. gallon plus $50 for reducer and hardner. It looks great when finished. Really shines and last forever. Not quite what some would call show quality, but then again I have seen a lot of tractors at the shows that look sick compared to these. just my opinion.

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