Spray paint

gregww

Well-known Member
I am kind-a redoing a garden tractor. Does spray paint ever really dry? Or does it just take weeks to do so?
 
If it's taking longer than overnight to dry something is very wrong. I would get a solvent and try to strip all of it off. What kind of paint did you use? Did you do any cleaning before spraying it with paint? Often paint can have an adverse reaction with some substance left on the surface and if that substance isn't thoroughly cleaned off can really screw up the paint you use. Chances are if you let it sit long enough to dry it won't adhere and will peal off. Better off to get it stripped off now before having to resort to paint and varnish remover or sandblasting.

If I were to paint the tractor the first thing I would do is clean it with a product like Purple Power or Krud Kutter and rinse with a power washer. Then if there was any place where there was still any grease packed on use an oven cleaner and a power washer. Then when it appears clean use a wax and grease remover frequently changing rags. Then if the existing paint was in good condition scuff sand it with 220 grit sandpaper and topcoat with paint. Any place where bare metal was showing should first have a primer.
 
I am using Van Sickle "Super Premium" Tractor Equipment & Industrial Enamel. Primer and paint. The paint does feel dry to the touch, but never seems to get HARD. Even after days I can scrape it off with my fingernail. I set my garage furnace at 73 and turn on the ceiling fan at night, thinking that will dry the air as well as heat it. Maybe I am just impatient.
 
The Van Sickle paint is just an oil based enamel similar to house paint. It should have dried pretty hard in a couple days, even a week if cold where you are. Did you stir the paint well before using it? How many coats did you apply? If you applied more coats before the first coat was dry completely it can take a very long time to harden completely. What ever you do either remove what you have done or stop working on it until it fully hardens. If you have applied too many coats too soon left alone it will probably harden alright but there is a point where too many coats too soon can wrinkle or crack when it fully hardens.
 
Van Sickle is one of the worse paint still in use, no better when it was made in the 30's. Acrylic urethane with hardener is dry for sure the next day. The more you spend, the longer it lasts. The paint sold by JD, CaseIH, New Holland, etc is ok, it is a modified 30's but not as good as the newer ones.
 
I painted my Farmall H with van sickle red, then it turned a white film just sitting in the barn. Not in the sun, not outside. Never again.
 
(quoted from post at 02:15:59 05/30/17) I painted my Farmall H with van sickle red, then it turned a white film just sitting in the barn. Not in the sun, not outside. Never again.
should have verified that it is spray paint in a CAN. I don't have a shop or paint booth or anything like that. I'm just a guy with a 2 car garage, (a mad wife) an old mower, and too much time on his hands. I have way too much painted to start over now, so I will just have to be patient and let it dry. Before I move on to the hood, fenders,and other larger parts is there a better CANNED spray to use? Thanks Greg
 
I shoot parts with rattle cans often and have no problems but never touched that van sickle stuff. Always used rust oleum or whatever "tractor" paint TSC had on the shelf.

Heat always helps
 
I remembered that last year I re-did my sons John Deere riding tractor with Van Sickle. He got it for Christmas 33 years ago. I went down to the storage shed today to check it out. It is still fairly easy to scratch paint with my fingernail. I don't think this paint will ever dry "hard". On my Massey, I can't even reassemble it without scratching everything up. It's too late for me, but for others I think I would avoid Van Sickle spray paint. I have read that spray paint has at most a 2 year shelf life. I doubt this stuff runs off the shelf at my local farm store. Maybe that's the problem.
 
(quoted from post at 03:07:56 05/30/17)
(quoted from post at 02:15:59 05/30/17) I painted my Farmall H with van sickle red, then it turned a white film just sitting in the barn. Not in the sun, not outside. Never again.
should have verified that it is spray paint in a CAN. I don't have a shop or paint booth or anything like that. I'm just a guy with a 2 car garage, (a mad wife) an old mower, and too much time on his hands. I have way too much painted to start over now, so I will just have to be patient and let it dry. Before I move on to the hood, fenders,and other larger parts is there a better CANNED spray to use? Thanks Greg

I am just a guy with a half decent shop, air compressor and cheap spray gun, but no paint booth. I have put a LOT of work into prepping for paint, so I use lower end automotive 2K urethane paint so that I am not throwing my time away. My suggestion is to look for Nason brand paint, and get enough to re-paint the part that you have already done, along with the parts yet to go. Then after you paint all the rest of it with real paint, and the color doesn't match, you can remove the Van Junk Sickle and repaint it with matching good paint.
 
Parts are all painted. I can't start over now. I talked to my local body shop, but they didn't want anything to do with it. I am going to reassemble it as is. At least maybe the next guy that owns this tractor wont have so much to do. It will be clean anyway.
 

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