After perusing all the posts here for a few months, I decided to to paint my Dad's last tractor purchase, a 45 AC B. It was metaflake red except for the yellow CA torque tube, at least where it could be seen under the dirt. I ordered a Hobbyair system to paint with, and started disassembly. I stripped it down and degreased it with lye (oven cleaner) and lots of scraping (I took over 10lbs of caked grease off!).After about a month of evenings I had all the grease and about half the old paint off. Most of the big dents were banged out (I still don't know how the seal frame could get that damaged) and bearings adjusted, new tubes in the leaking tires, etc. Some areas I sandblasted and coated with Jasco acid treatment to hold them until I could paint them. Finally, I thought I was ready to go. The acid treated areas primed with oil based primer, most of the rest with self-etching primer. Both were done with spray bombs. Then I shot it with synthetic enamel (TSC) with naptha thinner and isocyanate hardener. I used a Campbell-Hausfield turbine style HVLP gun. I did a dryish coat and then 2 wet ones. Lesson #1 - self etching primer will lift factory AC paint even though the lye didn't. This lift will occur about an hour after the primer is sprayed and will continue for 1-2 days. Lesson #2 - the tubine style paint system produces phenomenal orange peel. So every edge, no matter how carefully feathered, curled, and the rest was orange peeled. Back to the stripper, now with a Scotchbrite wheel. At least on the sheet metal. The cast could just fend for itself. In the meantime I painted the trim parts black with a rattle can. Looked good but a little thin in spots, needed a recoat. So I got to resand (red Scotchbrite) and reshoot the black.
I reprimed, scuffed, and reshot the orange. Lesson #3 - no matter how many times you paint it, #2 still applies. Lesson #4 - unless ALL the paint is removed, lesson #1 will continue to apply. Lesson #5 - any black parts less than 100" away will magnetically attract orange overspray. No matter how dry, this overspray will stick in the black paint. Another (2) scuff and paint on the black. Lesson #6 - all blacks are not created equal. In fact, Rustoleum flat black can have a glossy black cap. The smaller orange parts I had painted hanging from boards across the dog pen. This worked great. So after the second round, all the orange was orange, but with peel. That was fine with me, so I went to bed. Lesson #7 - Things left hanging will swing in the breeze. These will either fall or hit other items. So I awoke to chips, scratches, etc. Another (3rd) scuff and topcoat for the trim parts. Made sure of the gloss this time. Once dry these parts were removed to another part of the farm. Another (3rd) scuffing and painting of the orange. Lesson #8 - wet paint will attract air hoses and breathing system hoses. This attraction will result in marrs in the most visible portions of the paint, not under the rear end where no one cares. Another (4) scuff. Lesson #9 - The best painting day is the day the near neighbor will decide to hold the family gathering directly in the drift path of your isocyanate paint fumes, requiring the painting be delayed until the temperature drops from 70 to 50 and the clouds show up. Finally, the puff. I did the wheels at the same time, trimming the edges with brush work. Lesson #9 - Parts painted in the fall serve as magnets for the annual ladybug swarms. No less than 20 attacked the rims, and 5 on the sheet metal. Lesson #10 - parts painted in the evening of a fall day are susceptible to sudden weather changes resulting in a heavy dew, destroying the gloss. This will happen on only the most visible components. In this case, the hood and grille looked great. The gas tank, done 15 minutes later, was flat orange. Per the posts, there was no chance of color sanding and compounding. So another (5) scuff and puff. Glad I got 2 gallons paint. So now I have the hood and tank and grill drying in the garage, and the bugs picked out and retouched. My wife is rumbling about the tractor that's been disassembled on the lawn for 2 months and all the orange grass. And so I claim it's all your fault! But without the posts and answers this would be the same place as my other B, half painted, half peeled (didn't know that primer needed to be scuffed before paint if left to set 3 months), and stopped in disgust. Hopefully, my 3rd B will go better, and then I'll redo #1 (the first tractor I ever bought) correcty. Many thanks for all the voyeuristic help. Next time I'm going sandblasting, acid wash, epoxy primer, scuff, build a paint booth and buy a real paint gun, and use a modern paint compound.
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