Repainted tractors

[Rebeldad1]

I got a can of John Deere green and a can of John Deere yellow paint and painted it with paint brushes. New seat assembly, and all new tires. Looks pretty good from a distance...and good enough for me.

When I got into Chevelles and did my own painting I met a old guy who showed me how to brush paint. I have brush painted a fair amount of implements and its really hard to tell from spray paint.

In the old days I used to buy old tractors (which were plentiful) pressure wash and spray paint them. New fluids and tuneup. Tires if needed. Were never called restored just cleaned and painted. Didnt cost a lot of money to do, just labor.

 

[5030]

Like I said, around here (from what I've seen" pressure washing is optional. they (sellers) just lay on the enamel right over the grease.

Probably call it 'rough castings'....lol.

 

[rgr33]

I would brush paint an implement in a New York minute, but not a tractor I intended to use. Wouldn’t look down my nose at those who did though, do what you gotta do.

I repainted my first tractor, a Ford 8n, it was my first time painting anything serious, and it didn’t turn out too well, but my neighbor up the road saw it and made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.

Next tractor, a JD 950, far superior for my needs, and I still have it 20 years later. Needs some new paint now, but that Is at the bottom of my to do list.
Spring is coming.

 

[can do]

I would brush paint an implement in a New York minute, but not a tractor I intended to use. Wouldn’t look down my nose at those who did though, do what you gotta do.

I repainted my first tractor, a Ford 8n, it was my first time painting anything serious, and it didn’t turn out too well, but my neighbor up the road saw it and made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.

Next tractor, a JD 950, far superior for my needs, and I still have it 20 years later. Needs some new paint now, but that Is at the bottom of my to do list.
Spring is coming.

I totally understand it being at the bottom of the list ! If it's a working tractor it hard to find a shut down time to do it yourself or shop it out & I have 95% of everything I need to do a working restoration on my 1959 M-F 50 & I call it a working restoration because I don't plan on retiring this tractor even though I bought a brand new one in 2018 & the M-F 50 I've done most of the major things that needed to be done to her & even though it's a new year I don't see it happening this year , But I will get some things done to her.

 

[airbiscuit]

What I like about repainting a tractor, is that during the prep, I'm forecd to look at every square inch. It familiarizes me with all the working parts, and is a sort of an inspection.

 

[KennyG]

With care, good oil based paint, and good brushes, you can get excellent results by brush painting. And there is a select group of skilled painters that can make it look as good as a spray job. I'm in awe of those people.

 

[5030]

This is a resto and you can eat off the motor too (if you want a hot lunch that is)... 2002 with 6000+ meter hours and it farms, it ain't a barn queen.

 

[Torvy]

I know I am in the minority here, but I only understand this if you plan to sell. I get the classic stuff, but if I was going to pay for a paint job on my tractor, I would be more inclined to get a custom job. Maybe black with a ZZ top sort of look or a red, white and blue patriotic look. for NASCAR fans, maybe an homage to your favorite driver. Imagine a Candy Apple red 1466., If not something fun, then just touch up paint to protect the metal. Whatever makes people happy, I guess.

 

[two_bit_score]

With care, good oil based paint, and good brushes, you can get excellent results by brush painting. And there is a select group of skilled painters that can make it look as good as a spray job. I'm in awe of those people.

Between plastic and powder coating on so many things nowadays how much longer before paint - either brushed or sprayed on will still be around?

 

[CADplans]

This tractor was 20 years old when I got it, and it had spent most of its life on a Canadian dairy farm,,

I cleaned the manure out of the grill shell, (and prepped the rest of it)
then, I painted it with NAPA equivalent of Valspar and hardener
(There was no TSC to sell Valspar,, 25 years ago when I painted it)

I think it looks pretty good, for a 25 year old paint job, on a 45 year old tractor,,

 

[PILOON]

I once bought a tracked dozer and specified that I wanted it steam cleaned B4 delivery.
(they also had to do some repairs)
1st thing I did when it arrived was to brush paint the whole thing to make it presentable.
Well I worked it for 3 years and earned 3X my purchase price.
I then sold it and recuperated my original cost (plus a bit) since it still looked good.
Naturally that bit of dirt/dust hid any paint flaws.
I also had matched the color so that any chips, scratches etc did not stand out.

 

[jaxs]

Naturally that bit of dirt/dust hid any paint flaws.
I also had matched the color so that any chips, scratches etc did not stand out.

That's why imo people ruin the old Ns painting them blue. After noticing workers aboard cruise ships touching up paint,I started doing the same for things around my place. The best investment I made was buying an inexpensive HVLP rig.

 

[LouNY]

Well heck none of my tractors have been repainted, but.
On the farm many of them have over the years.
The first one was the Farmall 400 a 56 model I believe that got a repaint
in 68 or 69 when I was in Ag mechanics class in High School.
Then one of my nephews repainted the 560 when he was in school.
The Ford 8000 has been repainted and the Magnums have been repainted a 7110, 7220 and 7130.
Also the JD 4020, and one of the 4430's has been also the IH 1066.
I don't believe that any of the 656's have been and the Farmall H hasn't been.

I need to go through my pics and organize them some day.
But here is the 560 and the 4020

 

[Cougsfan]

When I was a teenager my Dad bought an old 1951 Studebaker (The car that looked the same coming or going). He took a torch and cut the back half off and made a flat bed out of plywood and 2X6's. My Dad was a wizard of making neat stuff out of wood. He got some Caterpillar yellow paint and painted the car (truck?) with a paint brush. My brothers and I were astonished that he was actually going to paint it with a paint brush. We were even more astonished when, other than the bizarre color choice, the paint job came out with unexpectedly good quality.

That vehicle was amazing. It was like the Energizer Bunny. It would take a beating and keep on ticking. I wasn't 16 yet but drove it all over the local back roads. We'd throw sand bags on the flatbed to get traction on the dirt roads out in the woods. My older brother had a really cool custom '55 Oldsmobile, but he oddly found that the local girls seemed to be far more more impressed with that old bright yellow Studebaker home-made pick-up.

 

[bmaverick]

When I got into Chevelles and did my own painting I met a old guy who showed me how to brush paint. I have brush painted a fair amount of implements and its really hard to tell from spray paint.

In the old days I used to buy old tractors (which were plentiful) pressure wash and spray paint them. New fluids and tuneup. Tires if needed. Were never called restored just cleaned and painted. Didnt cost a lot of money to do, just labor.

Nice work. Your work is called a refurbished machine and not a restore. Yes, power washing is way better now than the paint over all rust and grease for the $49 special.

Sounds like you enjoyed the work. A refurb tractor isn't too bad either with fluids and a tune-up.

 

[bmaverick]

With care, good oil based paint, and good brushes, you can get excellent results by brush painting. And there is a select group of skilled painters that can make it look as good as a spray job. I'm in awe of those people.

i did that with my utility trailer. Valspar implement black semi-gloss. The foam brushes made the task very easy and the look came out like a paint booth beauty. I could never of gotten that thickness nor look with rattle cans. It took 18 hours to fully dry hard.

 

[PILOON]

Another paint tale:
I once purchased a Jeep Wagoneer that was blue.
For some reason only the roof was mostly rusty, probably due to chemical exposure.
The color was an exact match to Tremclad med blue so I grabbed a 3 inch brush and promptly did what I termed a camouflage job.
Nobody ever noticed that it was a brush job, OK, I was well versed on painting techniques and knew how to mix for best results.

At one time they brush/roller painted a Viscount aircraft to make it more presentable.
You could never tell it was a brush job until U were 3-4 feet away.

 

[bmaverick]

I know I am in the minority here, but I only understand this if you plan to sell. I get the classic stuff, but if I was going to pay for a paint job on my tractor, I would be more inclined to get a custom job. Maybe black with a ZZ top sort of look or a red, white and blue patriotic look. for NASCAR fans, maybe an homage to your favorite driver. Imagine a Candy Apple red 1466., If not something fun, then just touch up paint to protect the metal. Whatever makes people happy, I guess.

Because Yanmar has made John Deere compact tractors for 40+ years, the people with the equal model machines like a JD850 = YM2500 or the JD1050 = YM4300, etc, they would repaint the machine JD green. We have a funny term for that, these are called, YanDeere's

There is an entire thread on TBN just about this topic and all of the REPAINTING to make a Yanmar look so much like a real John Deere. Some are shabby and others are mint perfect.

It's now open YanDeere season

An example of a Yanmar FX335D (35Hp) machine

 

[CADplans]

As far as getting a very level and shiny paint job,, brush or spray,,
I think the "trick" is the hardener that is added,, and
WAITING the full amount of time for the hardener to react.

Every time I use enamel, with hardener, and wait, wait,, wait,,
I am amazed how nice the paint turns out.

This steel door was painted with a mix of three cans of TSC VALSPAR type enamel tractor paint,,
50% Allis Chalmers ORANGE,, 35% International Harvester RED,, and 15% John Deere GREEN

I had seen a new home with a BRIGHT YELLOW entrance door, so I wanted yellow,,
NOPE,, per the wife,, bright yellow was not happening!!

I mixed those colors to try to come close to the paint sample color that my wife had selected.
I was expecting the tractor paint to be a primer, mixed close to the final color,
in case the house paint that was subsequently added happened to chip off, or wear away.

The color I mixed, and including the hardener, was so close to the wife selected color,,
that we never added the custom mix house paint.

I think this tractor paint will out last the house paint that we would have used.

(We tried to have a new door installed, but, after talking to over a half dozen carpenters,,
no one would TOUCH a door install with brick walls inside, and outside)

Several guys told me that a door replacement install like this could take over a week of labor,,
So, we painted the door we had,

Before the paint, the original paint was wearing away,, after 40 years of use,,

 

[Rebeldad1]

As far as getting a very level and shiny paint job,, brush or spray,,
I think the "trick" is the hardener that is added,, and
WAITING the full amount of time for the hardener to react.

Every time I use enamel, with hardener, and wait, wait,, wait,,
I am amazed how nice the paint turns out.

This steel door was painted with a mix of three cans of TSC VALSPAR type enamel tractor paint,,
50% Allis Chalmers ORANGE,, 35% International Harvester RED,, and 15% John Deere GREEN

I had seen a new home with a BRIGHT YELLOW entrance door, so I wanted yellow,,
NOPE,, per the wife,, bright yellow was not happening!!

I mixed those colors to try to come close to the paint sample color that my wife had selected.
I was expecting the tractor paint to be a primer, mixed close to the final color,
in case the house paint that was subsequently added happened to chip off, or wear away.

The color I mixed, and including the hardener, was so close to the wife selected color,,
that we never added the custom mix house paint.

I think this tractor paint will out last the house paint that we would have used.

(We tried to have a new door installed, but, after talking to over a half dozen carpenters,,
no one would TOUCH a door install with brick walls inside, and outside)

Several guys told me that a door replacement install like this could take over a week of labor,,
So, we painted the door we had,

Before the paint, the original paint was wearing away,, after 40 years of use,,

Why didnt you pop the pins and replace the door?