Repainting the 135

[artfull dodger]

If I keep this Yanmar, it really needs a paint job. From what I can find, to keep the original pea green, it would have to be custom mixed by an auto body shop and shot from a gun. I dont have that ablity and being a worker tractor, a rattle can does just fine. Looking for ideas on what color, JD green, IH red, something else????? Or someone buy the tractor from me and then I dont have to worry about it. Mike

 

[MrJimi]

Number one, find you a painter friend and have him paint it, number two, go to a car paint store and look thru their color books and then just say get me some this color and your problems are over. The rattle cans will NOT last long at all, you will be wasting your $$
I have a Case and it is a puke yellow that I hate, I will paint it white and be done with it and it is not going in a museum, It's mine
Jim

 

[Tractors4u]

Like MrJimi said, the rattle can does not last. It will fade and scratch easily because it really won't harden like an automotive paint with a hardener added. Do yourself a favor and do it correctly the first time.

 

[artfull dodger]

That is why I will probably just sell it, it will be way to large once we move to suburbia next spring. Looking for a nice JD140h3 or 110rf package, ie mower deck, blower and rear hitch as a trade for it. Have it properly painted isnt in the budget right now. Mike

 

[MrJimi]

Mike, I don't know what your tractor looks like but I'm thinking less than a $100 for everything and I don't mean buying a paint gun and an air compressor
like others have said, do it right once
Jim

 

[BruceR]

Mike,
Looking at the photos of your 135 on another site, it doesn't look too bad. A poor re-paint job has been a deal breaker for me on more than one occasion. If you are looking to sell, then any potential buyer would have to figure on stripping the poor paint off if they wanted a "keeper".

Work it over by hand with some light polishing compound to brighten up any oxidation on the paint. Use a little rust converter on the rusty parts and then you can touch them up with a brush. Use a 50/50 mix of Kerosene and Westly's Whitewall cleaner to clean engine area, it will make your belts and hoses look new.

Use a can on those lift arms maybe.

Bruce

 

[artfull dodger]

It would be spring before I can paint it, the great outdoors is my paint booth. I do have the tractor for sale for $1295. Quite the deal I think being it has a fresh rebuilt engine. I am on the prowl for a smaller JD garden tractor that will more approiate for our needs. And I do agree that a poor paint job hurts value than a good one done right. Hopefully she will sell soon as I have found several other tractors I can choose from. Thanks Mike

 

[Whiskey]

BotaMike:

Paint it your self...it's a great boost for the ego and fun to say the least....I painted mine with guidence over the internet with a super guy willing to help a novice...I have never picked up a paint gun in my life........

 

[Jagmandave]

I pulled the sheet metal off mine and took it to a local body shop. They sandblasted back to bare metal, did some minor repair and primed and coated with good automotive paint, for $300. Definitely worth it to me, and it'll last for years.

 

[artfull dodger]

I could do that, but what about the original decals, I havent seen anybody making reproduction YM135 hood decals. I know a place back home that could make the black on white decals, but its would run $100 per side to do it. Mike

 

[Whiskey]

BotaMike:

I got all the decals from my local Yanmar dealer...they are originals and cost was not bad at all.

 

[mark777]

BotaMike:

Paint it your self...it's a great boost for the ego and fun to say the least..........

I think that Whiskey feller has the right idea......

 

[streamin]

Paint and body has been my profession for over 20 years, I'd be glad to answer any questions.They make a small sprayer that comes with a glass cup that will spray an area of lets say a tailgate on a truck, you can buy the quality paint to use with it.2 or 3 of those should do the job, no guns or compressor.
Spray can paint allows moisture to penetrate it over time, you will be sorry when your stripping it off again to do it right.

 

[2manyrocks]

Streamin, I just got done painting the frame on a Cub Cadet while I had it torn down. A friend who restores them said I should have just bought automotive paint for ease of application and durablity versus the tractor store paint I bought for about $30.00 gallon.

So what do you suggest about painting one of these Yanmars--say the hood and fenders are Yanmar red and the body is black?

Would you steam clean it--how would you handle the prep work with all these irregular surfaces?

Then what kind of paint would you suggest and how to apply it?

 

[mark777]

Not to challenge your experience Steamin...but IMHO the YM135 like all the smaller Yanmars has considerable sheet metal that's one color, wheels and grille another color and finally the engine, transmission, rear end and frame all another color.

The small (1 pint) glass guns with propellant would, at minimum, be a race to keep the chemistry from flashing too fast. Even using a decent acrylic automotive finish with slow reducers and catalyst...a painter would be chasing his tail due to insufficient material, coverage and judging flash times between coats (passes). I don't see how a good painter could achieve satisfactory results with BC/CC Urethane's either.

I have to say the gun you've describe, I've used for graphics, ghost flames and Logos...and worked excellent for projects no bigger than motorcycle tanks, side covers and fenders. I've finished those same projects with my SATA for the clears.

In this instance, an inexpensive gravity fed gun (like HF sells) or a step up to an HVLP gravity fed gun...like Lowes or Home Depot's Ingersoll or Cobalt $100. guns will give a novice a very good chance at a successful first attempt.

Having said all this, one will still need to barrow, beg or rent a small compressor.

Just my 2 cents,

Mark

 

[FL_Jerry]

Mark, do those HVLP guns require a special compressor or will a 30 gal
regular old compressor work?

 

[mark777]

Jerry, No, no special equipment or compressors are necessary.

The newer line of gravity fed HVLP guns, ranging in prices from $139. to $500+. require less than half the pressures that were necessary for the older siphon fed guns (or = 11.4 CFM @ 29 PSI at the gun tip).

The two most significant improvements with the HVLP guns are (1-) the transfer efficiency I.E. two quarts of unreduced, uncatalyzed paint will cover 50%-70% more than a siphon gun...(or a siphon gun will use a gallon+ of the same material) and (2) the decrease in atomized volatile organic compounds (over-spray). You can, quite literally, paint twice as much....or buy half as much paint. And if you've purchase any of the high line paint materials and related chemistry, that is a big difference in money saved.

Mark

 

[2manyrocks]

How would you get a typical tractor ready to paint and what paint would you use?

 

[jimmer2880]

Using a gravity HVLP, I (rather, a buddy of mine) painted a 6.5x10 utility trailer I built with a small 2-tank compressor like this one:

Heavy-Duty 2-1/2 Max HP 4 Gallon Side Stack Electric Hand Carry Compressor

It wasn't the best, but did the job. It's just not what I would use if I painted every day.

 

[mark777]

How would you get a typical tractor ready to paint and what paint would you use?

Well, LOL, Like Steamin or Whiskey, a hundred different journeyman painters will do it a hundred different ways. Ultimately, and I think the majority of experienced painters would agree, It's about working clean and ever conscious of the two most common based chemicals that have no prejudice when it comes to destroying $30. or $900. a gallon paint. Petroleum AND Silicone based products like WD40, Power Blaster, Power Booster, Sta-bil, Armour All, Car Polish, Wax, engine, hydraulic and gear oils, and even french fries or KFC can, and DO become airborne contaminants that will ruin your top coat in the first or second gun pass.

After years of production, industrial and custom painting you adopt a specific discipline about getting ready. This is what I do...and certainly NOT the only way to do it:

*Remove all attachments/implements and any ancillary items like fender handles, indicator lamp assemblies, hood and grille bright-work (emblems) and FEL is so equipped. Pressure wash everything...everywhere and at some distance from your painting area (shop, booth, lean-to or shed).
*Using a strong solution of 50% laundry detergent and water in a 1+ gallon container and a good clean (or new) large parts brush, brush everything with copious amounts of the cleaning solution. Garden hose rinse, and repeat until your satisfied that ALL the diesel, gas, grease and dirt are thoroughly dissolved and gone.
*Power wash....again, and let dry.
*Once in the shop, remove** all the sheet metal, battery, wheels once the tractor is jacked up - level and supported with jack stands.
(**One can...and often does mask everything with tape and paper, but IMO it takes less time to do so and the results are not nearly as good when items are removed, tagged and bagged and reassembled.)

To condense the rest of the story, a good "How To" book on basic body work and paint preparation will give any beginner the necessary mental tools (and confidence) to finish the paint work.

I have used everything from TSC's (Valspar) BPS paints and their "Restoration Series" paints all the way up to the high end DuPont or PPG Base Coat-Clear Coat (BC/CC) Urethane's. The more you spend on the paint and related chemicals...the better and longer the completed job will last.

Apologize for the long winded response.

Mark