Repainting a tractor? any ideas/experience

[jdmar]

I have a small Yanmar 1500 that runs well but looks bad. My wife (OK, me too) wants it painted so it looks new(er). I plan to take lots of photos, then dissasemble major parts (sheet metal, fuel tank, etc) so I can get a good result.
Any suggestions before I start "re-inventing the wheel?" Should I fully strip the paint down to original cast iron or just clean/roughen/repaint? If I should strip the old paint what should I use? I am familiar with the old methylene chloride strippers but am concerned about damage to seals/gaskets/any rubber parts.
Any suggestions on paints/additives? I do not want to paint the block then find it burns away in 2 minutes!! My local John Deere dealer says just use enamel with a hardener--even for the engine. Are they crazy or telling the truth?
Any help from the experienced would be greatly appreciated.

Peter

 

[Junkman]

Pressure wash the entire machine and disassemble as little as you can. Do a good job taping thing off and then paint. I wouldn't go to a lot of trouble, but you can make it look 100% better with some paint that is neatly applied. If this were a "show tractor" then disassembly would be proper. It is a working machine and you will be very upset if it gets scratched after you put 100's of hours into restoration. Look at the places that the paint has burned off and expect the new paint to do the same. Sand the metal, but don't try to take every bit of the old paint off. It will make a better job if you leave well attached paint on the metal. It will act as a primer. I would use a good enamel with a hardener in. Depending on your expertise, brush or spray.. remember it is a tractor, not an antique car....

 

[Soundguy]

Here's my .02 And it is far from the definitive word on the subject.

I try to strip the tin down to shiny metal, if it is rusty. If there is a mix of good and bad paint on it, I hit it with a wire wheel, and then sand it down with a medium, then fine paper.
If you are going to do body work, do it now. DO remove pint from areas before adding bondo or fiberglass. Sand, file and conture as you want.

Prime the metal. and body worked areas. If you use a high solids primer it will help fill microscopic details you missed. If you are going for showroom quality.. wetsand it with 600 and then prime it again... then sand it with 600 again dry. wipe it with a tack cloth, and then paint.

If you have a real good hand.. you can use spray bombs. Lots of light coats. Or oyu can use a sprayer and some hardener for a superior finish. ( I know the yanmar has very little tin... your choice for the paint application method).. if you don't have a sprayer or air compressor.. spray bombs are cheaper.

For the cast parts.. wash with a good degreaser.. some pressure wash... I don't prefer that.. but doubt it would hurt.
For my last wash.. I use something like simple green as it doesn't leave a residue.

Remove loose paint with a wire wheel / brush. Unless you are going for automotive finish.. don't worry about 100% stripping the porous cast iron.

In the past, i painted the cast with a sprayer. When i just did my JD B last year, i actually used a brush, and then hit it with a thinned coat of spray. Looked awesome. The brush puts on a heavy coat, that way a small nick doesn't go to the metal. The brush lines smooth out easilly on thier own, If not, they will once hit with some spray.

Use paste tire soap ( napa has it in tubs.. ) on the rubber parts.. like hoses, tires, tie rod boots. Apply carefully, and then after paint has well cured. just wash the tire soap off these areas, and the overspray goes with it. The soap has the consistency of axle grease... paint it on with a brush anywhere you don't want overspray.. like I mentioned.. hoses.. etc.

Soundguy

 

[SPIKER]

I would start with a good wash with soap, hot water/steam if you can. remove all dirt & greas that way. then sand any rusty areas on sheet metal with grinder & soft flexable wheel of some type 80 grit is fine, then re-sand with some 120 and prime the area after it is free of rust. You should use a good metal conditioner which is a metal phosphate mix that can be bought at just about any paint store. then use a deglosser which can be had anywhere. it is akin to sanding but is much easier on cast surfaces. (unless you want to go nuts and sand the cast surfaces smooth!>!?!? lol.

anyhow like others siad mask off and paint using a goo dhardened enamel paint. You can get all that here from TSC. so one stop shopping and all on farm account.

you should prime any bare metal too after acid/phosphate treatment. sand down any chips using 120 sandpaper too. so it is smooth edges. you can then treat & prime them too. final sanding with 220 is plenty for a tractor. leaves a better surface for adheasion. and the hardened enamel will fill in that size scratch and spray it with a spray gun, stay away form spray cans they will not hold up form more than ayear!

to check oput my trailer pic. look here http://www.bright.net/~ispike/home2

Mark M /forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif

 

[arkydog]

Use a sanding paste that you can buy from a auto paint store and a red scotch-brite. Clean and degrease, white wall cleaner works good, sand depending on the type of finish you want as per previous posts, sand with paste and scotch-brite, rince and wipe with scotch-brite. Use self-etch primer on bare spots, mask and paint. Your auto paint store will be very helpful, tell them what you are doing and you want a tractor finish, not a showroom finish. Sometimes you can ask them where to shortcut without loosing the integrity of the job. Also ask one of their customers that has done body work and used their products, what and how he would do it. After the customer leaves, as the guy behind the counter how the customer rates as a bodyman. That will tell you how you should do it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Junkman]

There are also primer sealers that will keep any problems from coming to the surface. Body work is like oil..... everyone has an opinion and no one is right or wrong... /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

 

[jdmar]

As usual, thank you for the fantastic advice. I am looking for a nice and lasting/quality job but not interested in show! I have painted several cars and some of my own implements but never a tractor...I didn't know how much the cast iron and heat issues would change what I had to do. I have never heard of the paste tire soap...sounds like a great idea. Is it easy to keep it only where desired or does it tend to "run" if it gets sprayed or warm?
I also like the idea of sanding paste (another new one to me) and chemical deglosser...any problems with rubber parts and those chemicals...heck I can ask that at the store!
SPIKER great job on that little dump trailer!!! I use an older F350 dump but I love your trailer...want to donate it to my personal "Farm Research Fund" /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif And your barn looks great...did you make those trusses yourself? That looks like the barn I will build in few years when my boys are a bit older. I just finished a more basic 30x 40 last year and will wait for the bigger one until I don't have to do everything solo.
Anyway, when it gets above freezing I need to get my sheet metal off and at least start some preliminary cleaning and sanding...ready for warm weather already. Thanks for all the help everone

 

[Von]

jdmar,
I have painted three tractors and all looked like they were new when done. You got some great advice and all methods will work. If you have painted cars than you know what to do. Just use the enamel with the hardner and tape off what you don't want painted. Here is a link to a post with photos of my neighbor's JD 755 that we painted a few years ago. paint job If you have any questions just ask.

 

[chim]

When I did mt Ford 1210, I took everything off of it that I could and had it sitting on blocks. To clean it the Castrol Superclean and some scrubbing with various old brushes was all it needed on most everything butthe sheet metal. For the sheet metal, I sanded it smooth and primed it. Any loose paint was removed. The paint I used for the finish was from Ford. None burned off the engine...............chim

 

[Soundguy]

That tire paste soap is like stiff axle grease. Put it on all the rubber / hoses/ and wire surfaces to protect them from overspray. The soap isn't going to migrate unless it gets real hot... like the engine is running. Even when you go to rinse it off.. you will have to rub it a little.

It is great for painting rims.. grease the tire up, and paint, and wash it off. Goes on fine with a course bristled cheapy paint brush... or your hand, etc.


The cast iron on the block will hold paint fine... however paint on the exhaust manifold will burn off. Try a hi-temp black for that. I used some on my JD-B, and it is fine after hours of running.

Soundguy