Thanks. Well the paint will be JD Yellow, but it's not coming from Deere. I'm sick to death of overpaying for stuff simply because JD put their label or part number on it. Whenever I can source something elsewhere, I compare prices and go the most economical route. Sometimes Deere wins out.... sometimes they don't.
I'm using Van Sickle Tractor & Implement oil-based enamel paint with the catalyst/hardner additive. I had to go a local autobody paint supplier to get the correct respirator for the nasty isocyanates in the hardner.
The Goodyear's are 35.5" tall. Michelin does make two R1's that could work... an 11LR16 which is 11.5" wide and 33.5" tall, and a 320/65R16 which is 12.2" wide and 33.2" tall. The Goodyear's also appear to have a more tread depth than either of the Michelin. Since I was able to find a pair of the Goodyears, I went with those... but they are getting quite difficult to find. Hopefully, this new set will last for a long time.
Wheels are painted. I was very happy with the Van Sickle paint... very easy to shoot. I just followed the directions... Mix in the hardner (8:1 ratio of paint to hardner) and let it sweat in for 15 minutes. Then reduce with VM&P naptha (8:1 ratio of paint to reducer). Pour it in the paint cup on the spray gun and spray away. It sprayed very easily and covered very well.
I will say that wheels are not the easiest thing to spray... with the deep dish and all the little nooks and crannies, it was a bit of a challenge. I decided to hang the wheels so I could paint both sides at the same time.
EDIT: I just went out and checked on the wheels. They are dry to the touch in just 3 hours after spraying. That surprised me since it's kind of chilly here... about 60° for a high today... and usually, paint takes a while longer to dry at those temps. This is my first time spraying enamel with hardner. Did a little more reading and found out that the catalyst/hardner is actually a urathane additive. I guess that would make it a urathane-enamel paint.
Since it is kind of cool, I think I will give the paint a couple of days to thoroughly cure before I take the wheels in to have the tires mounted.
Finally got around to taking the wheels and tires down to the tire shop to get them mounted and filled with RimGuard. Took 16 gallons per tire... a total of 350 lbs of ballast. I got both tires mounted with air/water valve stems installed and filled with RimGuard for $96. RimGuard is usually up around $3.00/gallon from this dealer, but for some reason he was feeling nice today and only charged me $2.25/gallon installed.
