Started the refresh of my G154

MyG154 · Jul 22, 2012

Inspired by a fresh clutch and a few nice gents on this site, I decided it was time today to start pulling the sheet metal off my tractor and begin the refresh. Last weekend I bought a couple bottles of degreaser and sprayed the entire machine down with it. Today I hosed it and scrubbed it clean. Most of the tough stuff was removed with a putty knife, thats what was left after a pressure washing before the machine went to the mechanic a month ago. So after some time in the sun to dry off, I commenced removing all of the sheet metal, and banged out a few dents in the hood. Next will be rust removal, sanding, priming and painting. I will also wire brush all of the bolts, washers and nuts or find new where needed. Haveint decided what to do about the FEL and Backhoe, I want to paint them but am unsure of the color to use.

Tuesday we are off to spend a couple weeks in Finland with my wifes family so the machine will sit and wait for my return. Here are a few pictures from todays progress. I'll post again in August when I've done some more work.

Sideways · Jul 23, 2012

Awesome!
Keep us posted on the progress

MyG154 · Aug 12, 2012

Quick update: Fresh back from two weeks vacation in Finland visiting the wife's family. Spent Friday evening in the barn sanding all of the white parts, removing rust, and straightening dents in the hood. Visited my local tractor supply store and bought out the last of the Ford gray spray paint. Luckily there were four cans on the clearance rack, bargain price at $2.99 each. Today I'm going to prime and give a final sanding, then wipe it all down with some thinner before applying the gray. I've decided some of the labels are in good shape, so will attempt to mask those. The hood labels are actually in great shape, but the rest I will remove and replace. Photos to follow...

NHmitch · Aug 12, 2012

Thats great! It looks like you are off to a great start with it! The ford grey is the perfect color, and that should be more than enough. I also ended up putting a clear coat on after the paint to help protect it. I used a heat gun to remove the labels, and it worked very well. I know the original factory paint on the loader was white with matching green decals like on the tractor, see photo below, but I have seen them painted black like yours, and even green. If you need any help at all, please let me know, since I basically compleatly disassembled mine the same way, plus I replaced the alternator, and did some electrical work. I need to get my clutch done now, but I needed to get my splitter first, because we have to get wood in for the winter. It looks like you are off to a great start!

MyG154 · Aug 12, 2012

I like the white on the FEL Mitch. But I dont have the time right now to tear that down and do a proper job. I've got that on my long term plan to tear it down and re-do all of the hydraulic hoses at the same time. For now black paint will do. I gave all of the black iron a quick coat of paint while the sheet metal was drying in the sun this afternoon. Here's a few progress photos.

MyG154 · Aug 19, 2012

Found the serial number on my machine today. Wondering if anyone can tell from the S/N what the year of manufacture is...

Ilikeurtractor · Aug 21, 2012

Looking good - where did you get the decals from?

MyG154 · Aug 22, 2012

I actually masked off the old ones and re-sprayed. They where in decent shape. If I scrape together a few more bucks this fall I might consider getting new, but for the time being this looks 100% better than I bought it. Forum member NHMitch and his G154 were the inspiration for my repaint. He applied new decals and I beleive he bought them from SamsDecals Bolens. The exact decals are not shown on Sams website, but that is where Mitch said he got them.

Ilikeurtractor · Aug 22, 2012

That's what I thought, although when I tried to call Sams their number on the website has been disconnected. Guess I'll have to try again...

MyG154 · Aug 22, 2012

Maybe Mitch can offer some insights? I recall trying their website a couple weeks ago and having some issues as well. Hope we're not losing a vendor for these machines. Parts are rare as hens teeth to begin with.