painting, mixtures and assembly

I am not a painter and do not own the equipment, so i am having someone else do this for me. He has done great body work on the grille/hood...the primer looks like a light off-grey color.

He planned on painting it with two coats of JD classic green, then two clear coats - jd yellow for rims. I have heard that sometimes the clearcoat can fade or cloud-up over time. I have seen numerous posts on hardeners and reducers. This seems to be the way to go, or is it not? If so, can you please provide me with the ratio's of mixtures and what type/brand of mixers do i buy to mix with the JD classic and JD yellow.

Lastly, how long should i let it dry/cure before:

1). I reassemble the parts [it is stripped]
2). I apply the decals
3). Are there any techniques for putting it back together and tightening it up w/out scratching the paint and all?

I really appreciate your help guys and thank you in advance. also, if there is a site that describes all of this in detail. It would be immensely appreciated.

You have all been great, and yes, this post is very informative!

When i hopefully see the painter this weekend, we will sit down and have our discussions. I will post back with you on what transpires and the next steps.

Yes, I have seen the painters work b4 and it has been over 3 yrs. He has painted an MT, H, G, B and some JD implements...these are all of this fathers. However, his dad keeps them inside and covered/tarped-up and only brings them out for their quarterly spin and the annual fair. Not much chance of heavy oxidation or UV in this instance, but they always look good at the fair.

I will also get the primer type too let you guys know...ultimately after it is painted. i'll post you a pic - decals and all.

Thanks again guys,
tstex

Your responses are much appreciated.

To put one issue to bed, i am not going to go cheap on this...the paint is a man's final signature...after 3+ yrs of renovating my JD MT, i will not let it be painted with anything less than the best. With that in mind, i know very little about paints, mixers, proportions, etc...but i can always spot a bad paint job.

Therefore, i will need to be very specific with the painter inorder to insure that he can not and would not want to tell me that the reason the job came out like it did is because he followed my recommendations, and they were not right. So, with that in mind, if either of you gentlemen could provide specific paint ID's and the accompanying products to mix and their respective proportions, i would be indebted to you. Then, in what general order to apply the paint/mixes/proportions. Or, if there is a website that you have or somewhere else, then that would be great. I just need to make sure i am specific enough to the painter that there is absolutely no confusion to pass blame.

To conclude, i will just cut and paste your recommnendations, processes, etc and forward them to my painter. An MT is not a large tractor, so any recommendations on quantities of paint and their respective ingredients would be great. I will never ask these questions again and when i see someone else that does, i will cut and paste your answers w/ your annotations/names...i have over 155 posts that i saved by topic on how to restore an MT, and yours will be the last two because this will be it.

Many thanks and i appreciate your time,
tstex

I'll add my 2¢. You may get more than one "opinion" as to what is "the best". What do you do then? Your post suggests that for you, cost is no object and you have little faith in your painter. May I suggest that application can be as important as brand, chemistry and cost of materials. If you tell your painter what to use and how to use it, you will have given him an excuse for a less than desirable outcome anyway. Besides, since he has apparently already done some priming work, possible incompatibility of materials could also be the basis for such an excuse. If you have enough faith in your painter to apply the paint in a proper manner, then I think you should have enough faith in him to select the materials and methods, given some basic direction from you. Tell him that you want the very best in performance, that cost is no object and that the materials should be from a single manufacturer and used in full conformance with that manufacturer's written instructions, subject to guaranteed compatibility with what has already been done. If you are paying the guy, you should put complete responsibility onto him for the end result. If you don't feel comfortable in doing that, you should find yourself another painter - preferably one in a local, high-end autobody shop. In any event, you are late with your post. It would have been far better to investigate such matters before any work, including preparation was even started.

Rod

You made some very good points. But let me also clarify a couple too.

I do have good faith in the painter and if i alluded to that otherwise, my apologies. I also have good faith in you guys, so i want to insure that when i go to the well, i have done my homework this time, "even though the assigment may be turned-in late". This means that when i talk and meet with the painter again, i have some credibility based on my now conducted research.

I thought my orignial research was okay, but apparently i learned of some diverting opinions on clear coats and their drawbacks...this is when i wanted to dive deeper. And, you are right, that is my fault, not the painters.

Finally, cost is always a consideration. But, there is a big difference between getting by, satisfactory and stepping-up to the plate...in this case, i believe in the latter, but it must come with merit. If $30/gallon gives a fair job, $75 a great job and $85 a superior, then $85 it is. But if $200/gallon was superior, then maybe $75 as a great job will work...i will just have to see the costs and verify the results.

Appreciate your feedback.

regards,
tstex

1. Single stage or basecoat/clearcoat (bc/cc). 2. Compatibility with what's already been applied.
3. Use of clearcoat if not required by bc/cc choice.
4. Precision of color shade.

I like (assuming non-metallic) a single stage paint where both the color and gloss are accomplished in a single step. Others will prefer a bc/cc two stage application where the color is first applied w/o gloss and the gloss is achieved as a separate application of a clear.

No matter how you or your painter proceed, the matter of compatibility with what's already been applied exists. I have nothing to add there other than I don't know. It sounds like a crapshoot.

Where decals are involved, especially the main hood decals, I much prefer the cut vinyl type of decals with a clear coat over them, even if the color is a single stage paint that doesn't require it. I just think that results in a better appearing decal that looks more like it was actually painted on. It also provides some limited physical protection to the decal. If you do use a clear coat, it should be the exact clear that is recommended by the manufacturer over the color, no matter if the color is single stage or basecoat. Plus, the other sheet metal should also be cleared so as not to provide any difference of appearance.

With any automotive paint, you may or may not get a good match with an original tractor color. Generally, you can expect something called "best match possible". If you are particular about the exact shade, then some sample applications may be necessary. There can be slight differences in old tractor colors between paint manufacturers, between lines from the same manufacturer and possibly even between chemistries in the same line. The mixing tints are different and the color quality control is not as refined as in a premium modern car/truck color. Unfortunately, probably the best color match to an original tractor color will come from a dealer paint, which generally is also less costly and significantly lower in performance. Perhaps someone who has been down the JD specific Classic Green route with an automotive equivalent can provide some input here as to possible code numbers and how close the match is to dealer paint. I am not familiar with the JD colors.

Assuming body work has been done on the sheet metal, a surfacer product should also be considered between the primer and color coats (sheet metal components only). That will be defined in the manufacturer's technical data sheet for the color as to what is recommended and is compatible. If a choice is available, a urethane surfacer, sometimes referred to as a "2K" product, using a hardener, would be preferable.

I don't mean to make this more complicated but I don't want you or your painter to go down a path and not be satisfied with the result, even a few years down the road. The biggest problem I see for you is the existing primer. It really is a shame to put a urethane over an inferior primer. And if it isn't epoxy, I think it's inferior, to be quite blunt about it.

Rod