Paint - type and hardener

moday

Member

I'm kind of new to painting old tractors. I restored a Ford 960 a couple years ago and brushed on the cast iron parts and sprayed the sheet metal.

We have 600 apart right now and can't decide how to best paint it. I may just go with TSC Majic paint and make my life easier. I can't decide if I should use hardener as I know it dries faster but I hear about how risky it is and I want to do this with my son and I don't want to harm anyones lungs. I could skip the hardener and just let things dry normally if it's as dangerous as they say....I have a mask from the paint store but I don't know the model.

Any thoughts? I could go to the auto paint warehouse but I think that is spray only paint. I could use a bunch of spray cans and make it look good but I don't know it cans to spray paint have any kind of hardener?

The one I did last time looked fine when I brushed on the cast iron parts with the red and then sprayed the grey sheet metal...

Any thoughts? Thanks in advance
 
If you paint one with automotive paint chances are the finish will last 20 years or more. Using a type paint like the Majic the gray may last 6 to 8 years but the red will likely be pink by then. If it's not that much trouble for you to repaint the tractor more than three times as often then you can save a lot on paint. Then after a while the build up of Majic will start pealing off and you will have the expense of sandblasting so the savings is canceled. If you are going to keep the tractor you would be better off to use good paint.
 
Average spray cans do not have any hardener although there are special ones you can get which have a separate chamber inside that you break open when ready to use and the hardener mixes with the paint. You still only have a limited time window to spray it on because it will harden up inside the can. They are a bit more expensive than your average rattle can and for a whold tractor it would probably be cheaper to go with automotive paint. Anything with hardener you should have supplied air although there are some really good respirators out there that I've seen some professionals wear.

IMO for all the time and effort spent to prep, you'd be better off with at least a single stage automotive paint with hardener, or a base/clear system if you're looking for a real show piece. Our local place sells the Sherwin Williams line which has worked out pretty good for me. Find a shop that sells automotive paint and ask some questions.
 
I've used the Majic brand paints in three colors. The JD green and yellow did not match the real JD colors, the Ford Ferguson gray looked good at first but didn't hold up well in the weather. All three had a horrible dry time. It was still sticky after a week. It's ok for implements but I think you will be happier with automotive grade paint.
 

Moday, this is a very frequent topic here, a search will give you volumes of info. My personal experience is that even high quality red without hardener will darken in a just few months. A few guys like the Magic, but I don't know how many still like it after a year or two. I have sprayed paint with hardener in my shop. I use an HVLP sprayer which of course puts little mist in the air. I use a mask with the charcoal filter elements that has the appropriate OSHA certification. I set up air flow with limited intakes to remove the vapors, and once finished I let it ventilate for at least four hours before reentering. A piece of basic advice is never spray cheap paint over a fifty hour paint, and never spray good paint over a five hour prep. On this tractor I used low end Nason 2K automotive paint.
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I have a 3M dual cartridge respirator. It says organic vapor/P95 assembly. I used this last time I painted but looking back, I don't know if it was as safe as I should have used. The cartridges say 3M 5101, 5201, 5301 HSOIN. I will take this to my paint store and see what they say....maybe I should paint outside and allow for more air? Last time, I hung plastic in the barn and sort of made a paint booth and used a fan to blow out air....

I just want to be safe more than anything and don't want to harm myself or my kid.

We should also spray the primer if I plan on spraying, correct?
 
I have a 3M dual cartridge respirator. It says organic vapor/P95 assembly. I used this last time I painted but looking back, I don't know if it was as safe as I should have used. The cartridges say 3M 5101, 5201, 5301 HSOIN. I will take this to my paint store and see what they say....maybe I should paint outside and allow for more air? Last time, I hung plastic in the barn and sort of made a paint booth and used a fan to blow out air....
I just want to be safe more than anything and don't want to harm myself or my kid.
We should also spray the primer if I plan on spraying, correct?
 
You do not have to add hardener when using one part enamels, can get a great job without it.

I would avoid any farm store paint, dealers have it pretty reasonable.
 
Using the hardener with acrylic enamel is the best thing you can do. If you don't use the hardener, and paint fades you can't buff it out. The hardener will cure the paint all the way through, with out the hardener only the out surface cures, and once you get past the outer surface the paint will be "soft" since it didn't cure. If you try to polish paint that didn't have the hardener added to it the paint will never hold a shine. Another plus with using the hardener is after the paint cures you can sand, and buff out any runs, or other imperfections. Without the hardener you will have to give the whole tractor another coat paint after getting rid of any runs, or imperfections.
 
By all means use hardener. That's what gives the paint the gloss and durability. I've painted cars and trucks for years, and I've always used a good cartridge type face mask with a good exhaust fan. Once I'm done shooting the paint, I leave the exhaust fan run and go do something else for a few hours while the paint dries.
 
If you Google around you will find a nice economical supplied air unit with a good long hose. I place this well outside the shop up wind. A full head mask and you wont even smell the fumes. I also put on a full paint suit and gloves. No exposed skin. These things are $$$ well invested. This is the only safe way to do it. Painting outside you are just kidding yourself. The label warnings are only what they KNOW can happen. They know nothing about partial exposure and the long term. Be safe.
 
(quoted from post at 07:54:20 08/30/17) If you Google around you will find a nice economical supplied air unit with a good long hose. I place this well outside the shop up wind. A full head mask and you wont even smell the fumes. I also put on a full paint suit and gloves. No exposed skin. These things are $$$ well invested. This is the only safe way to do it. Painting outside you are just kidding yourself. The label warnings are only what they KNOW can happen. They know nothing about partial exposure and the long term. Be safe.

I know that supplied air is really the only way to go, but saying that you don't even smell the fumes, is kind of misleading, because with an approved respirator mask, you should never smell fumes either.
 

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