Please help me decide which paint scheme to use on my 6000. I'm trying to decide whether to paint the lower grille surround blue or white.

My desire is to make this tractor look "factory'. Problem is, the original factory literature shows the grille surround in white, while the tractors as delivered had them in blue (see very bottom of last page of link below). Someone else here on this board told me they were delivered in blue, and the link below would confirm that.

Please tell me which version you prefer if this was your project, and why if you care to. Thanks.

• Nebraska Test

Non commanders had a gray surround and Commanders had a blue surround. Either will look good.

Thanks everyone for the near unanimous decision - two tone it is! That's what I was hoping for as it was my favorite as well. You may be wondering why I asked for opinions. The main reason is because I plan to sell it after I'm done with it, so the majority consensus is what I'm going with. By the way, the existing panel was blue when I bought it, and I can see no signs of repaint anywhere on this machine, so I strongly suspect that blue was factory, at least "out the door".

I liked showcrop's assessment the best: the blue paint surround looks like a quick repair job. I couldn't agree more!

I know we talked about this before Bern and I’m torn like you on the 2 I have to paint. I do think the white frame /blue screen looks better. That’s what we painted the first one we did several years ago and I like it. In my opinion most people that will see it won’t know the difference.

You're the one who told me they came out of the factory painted blue, correct? I found it hard to believe when you first told me because it didn't match the lit, until I saw the pic in the Nebraska test photo. That pic is from 1965.

I didn’t believe it at first either but it was a guy I would call a 6000 expert who told me they were blue. Once I got to looking at the one I had sitting here unrestored and it was blue and got to looking at pictures of ones in salvage yards online they were all blue. I picked up a nice original Commander this summer and it’s blue too. The brochure also shows the early teardrop muffler shield but I haven’t ran a cross one with it or the teardrop hole in the hood. They must have used up the leftover parts on the very first few. I recreated the original Commander muffler for the original one.

What is that on the fuel tank, some sort of undercoating? Mine was a solid ball of rust, but I cleaned it up real good and painted it blue.

This one is a gas and the tanks on them were coated with some type of insulation. Diesel tanks were just metal.

Thanks. Did you get my e-mail?

I prefer the white surround.

I like the blue blending in to the blue of the engine. I may be the lone vote to not paint the surround white.

You had to be the lone ranger, didn't you? :-)

Oh well, I need to be nice to you after that huge favor you just did for me!

Yes, the white surround looks much better, but it's only my opinion.

Yep! I'm with the majority here. I like the white contrast surround.

+1 for the two tone. Makes it stand out better and has an overall better look in my opinion.

Bern, easy one for me to vote on, the contrast with the surround being white really stands out and matches the literature, regardless of how they were shipped. I do not recall a lot of these being around here, but we had a customer who had one, and I recall it as a kid in the early 70's being like the literature, so maybe it had been painted after the factory, and we did sell it new. We used to paint tractors for municipalities, had all the equipment for doing so. I remember when we painted 2 brand new 5550 backhoes we sold to the town, orange, like the rest of their trucks and equipment.

Really enjoy your posts on this project, still a big fan of S-O-S tractors, even in obsolescence.

Can I be a real "pita"? I don't like blue! That's really dark blue. 6000's are red! I know, no red Commanders. So, shut up "Wayne", it is your tractor Dean, And I like your idea of a painted screen and contrasting white tin.

I do not know how it was painted by Ford but I like the white surround better.

Dean

I for the most part, do things the way I like. But then I believe in, I bought it, it's mine, and will do what I like, not the way you want it to be. Not what the next buyer wants, unless I am only flipping it. But then I will still do what I like. Mostly.
I also like to for the most part do things the way they came originally. I always like contrast. So my vote goes for the white surround.
Pat

I like blue with the white contrast. That's what I'd go with.

I like the white better. White looks complete, real factory while the blue looks like a quick repair job.

Put me in the two tone column.

I likewise know little about what's original but like the contrast so would go with blue screen and white frame around it.

Quoting Removed, click Modern View to see

All the brochures I've seen (not a lot) show contrast between the screen and sheet metal.

These would be my colours if I owned one.

I prefer the contrast of the white as well. The pictures of my Grandpa's Commander show it to be blue... so if you're going for originality...

The gas Commander I had years ago were blue, not sure it was correct as tractor had been repainted.

I like the contrast, so I would paint the frame around it white.

Absolutely no idea as to right or wrong as far as originality though.

I'm not convinced everything tested in Nebraska was "as delivered"

when it comes to final colors/tin/paint schemes at least.