Rust getting bad all over my Kubota

[TripleR]

Big deal when I was in college no one would touch a Toyota, Honda etc., but look at how many there are now; same thing for Hyundai, Kia etc. at one time.

My dad often proclaimed he would NEVER buy a foreign vehicle, but in the last few years of his life he had several and owned a Mazda pickup at the time of his passing and loved it. That was in 1993 and the truck is still being used today.

 

[grsthegreat]

Yup.. its the truth. i guess some people just dont want to speak the truth. Remember what people thought of the Toyota...it was for the truly poor folk.

All im saying from this post, is everything changes over time. Kubots makes nice products now days... but not always in the past. Im sure some of the early Kiotis had sucky things about them, but this brand has been sold in the USA now for 25 years. They build a nice tractor now and i believe there here for the long run. I doubt ill be able to get parts for mine in 30 years... but i really doubt anyone will get parts for theirs in 30 years. All of todays equipment is built to throw out....

Argue if you want, but thats the way it is with all modern computer driven objects. And besides, in 20 years ill probably want the new tractor with magnetic levitation anyways.

 

[4shorts]

Powder coating is actually a poor choice for vehicle paint in tractor type service.

I totally agree. I HATE powder coating. All of the orange on my new 5740 is powder coated including the blower and FEL. No primer and it will peal. They all will but first the moisture will get under it then rust then lift. I haven't seen actual paint on a tractor in years. Why do you think everyone is using powder coating? Fast, efficient and cheaper. The only looser is the end user.

 

[TripleR]

Yup.. its the truth. i guess some people just dont want to speak the truth. Remember what people thought of the Toyota...it was for the truly poor folk.

All im saying from this post, is everything changes over time. Kubots makes nice products now days... but not always in the past. Im sure some of the early Kiotis had sucky things about them, but this brand has been sold in the USA now for 25 years. They build a nice tractor now and i believe there here for the long run. I doubt ill be able to get parts for mine in 30 years... but i really doubt anyone will get parts for theirs in 30 years. All of todays equipment is built to throw out....

Argue if you want, but that's the way it is with all modern computer driven objects. And besides, in 20 years ill probably want the new tractor with magnetic levitation anyways.

I have never knocked Kioti or any brand that I can remember. You sure as heck won't find me doing so on a brand dedicated forum of something I don't nor have ever owned.

We have had problems with three different well known brands, but anyone can make a bad tractor, so I don't judge the brand based on my individual experience.

I am sure you are right, their tractors look to be well designed and built.

 

[Jlillie2]

This is how you keep a steel vehicle from rusting.

BMW Paintshop ECoat - YouTube


Notice how it is rolled so there are no spots where bubbles would keep process from reaching an area. Wonder why you don't see any Toyota's or Honda's on road from the 1980's and you see old BMW's all the time.

HS

HMmm, this is a newer process, BMW didn't do this in the 80's. (Or I'd still have mine. B-(

 

[Jlillie2]

My dealer told me that Kubota will find him a part for any tractor they have sold, no matter how long ago. You may have to pay a lot, but they will supply the parts. But Kubota makes all their own stuff - No Kubota's made by LS or Yanmar or ? If you buy a tractor made by the low bidder on contract, you shouldn't expect much support.

And thats the reason I love my kubotas. I have a Takeuchi Excavator from 86, and I can't get replacement parts for my drive motors. (The OEM for the drive motors only supplies parts for ten years...) I have a Kubota lawn tractor from 83 and I can get anything in the book for it.

 

[r_star_man@yahoo.com]

I don't know about cheaper or recycled metal. To me metal is metal. BUT due to environmental concerns the EPA has been mandating away oil based coatings.....just like they did with lead in the coatings. Much of the vehicle coatings today are water based. Although, these coatings are superior to when they first were developed, they still don't do the job of good old fashioned lead paint. Don't use epoxies....epoxy doesn't flex and will probably crack at stress points. If you want a good coating that will last use a urethane as it is much more flexible than epoxies and will retain it's color longer. It is expensive but may be worth the expense. You can usually find these coatings in marine supplies.

 

[jacspath]

Well, I have a 1978 L185W and it is truly a bucket of rust. Thank god for mig welders!!

But, I must say, except for all of the stuff I have done to keep the fenders on, this thing does not seem to suffer from the rust. Amazing how well it seems to rust and never get to the deterioration point.

 

[sylvandb]

My dad often proclaimed he would NEVER buy a foreign vehicle, but in the last few years of his life he had several and owned a Mazda pickup at the time of his passing and loved it. That was in 1993 and the truck is still being used today.

Of course, assuming your dad was in North America and depending on the age of that Mazda pickup, it could have been designed and built by Ford in the U.S. (1994-2010 model years), or joint designed by Ford and Mazda (about 1972-1993).

 

[crazyal]

I totally agree. I HATE powder coating. All of the orange on my new 5740 is powder coated including the blower and FEL. No primer and it will peal. They all will but first the moisture will get under it then rust then lift. I haven't seen actual paint on a tractor in years. Why do you think everyone is using powder coating? Fast, efficient and cheaper. The only looser is the end user.

I can't say if it was powder coated or not but if you look at your step the orange will quickly wear and you'll see a white primer under it. It's quite possible that the primer was also a powder coat.

 

[4shorts]

I can't say if it was powder coated or not but if you look at your step the orange will quickly wear and you'll see a white primer under it. It's quite possible that the primer was also a powder coat.

My step isn't orange it's grey and yes it's not powder coated. On my tractor it's just the orange that's powder coated. Did I mention I hate powder coating :laughing:

 

[Deere Dude]

My step isn't orange it's grey and yes it's not powder coated. On my tractor it's just the orange that's powder coated. Did I mention I hate powder coating :laughing:

Possibly some tractors were made with inferior technology when powder coating was first developed. As for me, I would never buy a tractor that wasn't powder coated withing the last 10 years. Here is why.
I bought 3 or 4 JD garden tractors in the 1980s, I believe, that I know were spray painted with the latest technology that the factory had. The last spray painted mower deck and tractor and the rest of the attachments rusted up all the time. It got to the point where I would sand down big parts of them and grab the spray can and put more oil based paint on.
I finally got a powder coated garden tractor in the 1990s I believe and never had to touch the paint unless I scraped or wore through from rubbing on something. But generally it would be just the exact spot where the rub was or it was chipped from gravel or something. Nothing else would have to be touched and stilled looked great. Some of those tillers and snowblowers I still have, but I know from my experience if it was spray painted it would never have held up like that.
I could be maybe you had a bad powder coat job, or I had a bunch of spray paint jobs from the factory.

 

[crazyal]

My step isn't orange it's grey and yes it's not powder coated. On my tractor it's just the orange that's powder coated. Did I mention I hate powder coating :laughing:

That's kind of odd. I wonder why Kubota would make the open stations Orange and the cabbed tractors Gray? I can confirm that the orange step has primer under it (along with the floorboard).

When it comes to powder coating I don't see how it can get into seams between layers of metal like liquid paint can. It's advantage is the ease at which it can be painted and the fact that liquid paint can run. The EPA loves it because it doesn't use solvents to thin it out.

 

[slowzuki]

Lead was pretty much only used for the white pigment as lead oxide.

they still don't do the job of good old fashioned lead paint.

 

[weldermike]

Could it be possible that the seamed edges only get a dusting of powder coat, due to the fact that if it got sprayed on heavy it would crack upon assembly with air tools, and really bring out alot of complaints, the newer paints on the other hand are alot more flexible. So paint will wear quicker than powder coating, but your seams would hold up better. May be a toss up, not sure, but just thinking.

 

[Deere Dude]

That's kind of odd. I wonder why Kubota would make the open stations Orange and the cabbed tractors Gray? I can confirm that the orange step has primer under it (along with the floorboard).

When it comes to powder coating I don't see how it can get into seams between layers of metal like liquid paint can. It's advantage is the ease at which it can be painted and the fact that liquid paint can run. The EPA loves it because it doesn't use solvents to thin it out.

Factories may be different but John Deere takes the super clean frame or whatever it is and puts them on a trolley and immerses the parts by running them through a huge tank full of primer. This I think is the undercoat, and then it bakes on at 400 deg. for a half hour or so, then it goes through a powder paint booth where paint guns put a layer of powder that attaches to the part and sticks on because of the electrical charge to the part, then it is baked on again. The powder paint doesn't get into the nooks and crannies. It is the undercoat that keeps it from rusting. As far as I know.

 

[Nelra2000]

Yup. Throwaway society. I've been a bodyman for 45 yrs now. $50,000 trucks come in, 3 yrs old, with large pieces of rocker panel missing, holes in cab corners and doors. We now have design engineers who've never owned a truck buft this is what the "computer" says to do. Da! Panels and seams are no longer caulked nor are they rustproofed. Even a sealed seam will eventually rust. Especially a lap seam where metal is twice as thick. Sun will shime on the top surface while the underside is shaded. Difference in temperatures will cause condensation between the two layers. Rust will form inside, bubble, and even push the caulking out of the seam. Everything's being made cheaper and cheaper and quicker. Planned obsolesence by the industry to assure we buy a "new" one. No pride in quality today. Just get that almighty buck. "First in initial quality!" That means "new", right? How about 6 months, a year, later? We mention the older ones being good. What's the difference between then and now? "Heavier metal." "Pride in craftsmanship." Here's reality, think about it. The high cost of union demands has forced the industry to "cheapen" their product. Unions are cutting their own throats. Quality drops, sales fall off, industry closes. No jobs. Union or otherwise. We can't stop rust. Been trying to do it for 45 years. Sad but true.

 

[Soundguy]

Yup. Throwaway society. I've been a bodyman for 45 yrs now. $50,000 trucks come in, 3 yrs old, with large pieces of rocker panel missing, holes in cab corners and doors.

when I was looking for my used f350 drw, I went to see lots of low mile trucks that were only a few ys old.. and many had extensively rusted out undercarriages and frame areas around body panels. if it went up north around salt.. it was a bum deal.

they should factory undercoat anything that is north of a certain line..

 

[buck12]

when I was looking for my used f350 drw, I went to see lots of low mile trucks that were only a few ys old.. and many had extensively rusted out undercarriages and frame areas around body panels. if it went up north around salt.. it was a bum deal.

they should factory undercoat anything that is north of a certain line..

When I was looking for a truck in 09 I started looking at used trucks. Two of the trucks I got serious about were from Michigan per the car fax. Both trucks had been bought by different dealers at auctions. I told the dealer there was no way I would buy a truck from the rust belt. I ended up buying new. I have a 93 model truck that I bought new that has zero rust. It would break my heart to watch a good truck crumble from road salt.

 

[grsthegreat]

No matter what item i make in my shop i have it powder coated. I have NEVER had a finish fail. I truly believe its all in the prep. My guy sand blasts it just prior to the trip to the oven.

I personally LOVE powdercoat finishes.