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Clooney
10-05-2001 18:29:17
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John, everybody seems to do the clean, prime & paint a little differently & most likely the way that works best for them with the equipment & tools they have. I can tell you what works best for me & the reason I do it. It will take about 3-4 complete restorations before you find the correct path for you..... I usually steam clean then solvent clean the complete tractor before doing anything, to help figure out what is broken, cracked & if the project is worth putting any money into. Then play with it for a while to find the noises, non-functioning items & loose parts. Then I tear it completely down & pile the parts in groups to keep the sub-systems together for inspection & wear analysis. When I say teardown I mean to the last nut & bolt. At that time I make a list of all the pieces that need to be replaced & then break that list onto parts that I can get from Deere or at least from a quality vendors & a list that I carry to tractor shows & swap meets that has the parts listed that I will need to find used or pick up in some other way. I am a stickler for originality so even the correct bolts, markings on the bolt heads & nut size & type are included. While I am shopping for parts & looking for "assembly originality" pictures I will systematically sand blast & rust kill all the cast & heavy metal parts (I don't sand blast the main case or rear axle case because of the impossibility of getting all the sand out of every pore & pocket) & wire wheel, rotary brush & de-scale the bare main case & rear axle housing. As I clean & complete each piece I spray it with a Phosphoric acid rust killer (I don't use rust converters as I have had very bad luck with those products) & in many cases I re-sandblast once the rust is killed (just sandblasting doesn't remove all the rust it just removes the rust you can see & leaves the rust down in the pores of the metal) then I prime the piece with DP-40 epoxy primer & hang it in a safe place. After all the major pieces are rust killed & primed I re-assemble & install the inner components, gears , bearings etc. I even prime most bolts before installing, then when I have the main part of the tractor re-assembled I will completely wipe it down with enamel reducer & re-prime with a light coat as a sealer. At that time I will paint the main frame, case & rear axle as an assembly then sandblast, rust kill, prime & paint each piece & install it as I complete it. The assembly bolts are primed before assembly & hand painted with a brush after installation. The hood is painted off the tractor & installed later as well as the wheels, radiator, seat, floor plate & other parts that are difficult to paint behind or under & most of those parts need an epoxy filler primer to remove the rust pits & wear deformations . All the carb, governor clutch & other linkage & rods are painted off the tractor & installed later. I realize Deere didn't paint behind or under many parts but I can't stand unpainted areas. I use lock-tite on ALL fasteners & quality gasket sealer on all gaskets & flanges making sure not to miss any areas as I don't want to have to re-do any installations after painting & I hate oil leaks. I don't paint any rubber parts (even though Deere painted most on the originals) because they look awful after a short while of use. I don't use clear coat on the sheetmetal because to me it doesn't look like the original paint..... ..... .Now I am not trying to tell anybody how to restore their tractor I am just stating how I do it on mine & if there is something that I do that will help others it is worth the typing time.
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