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Antique Tractor Paint and Bodywork

Painting Farm Equipment on the El Cheapo

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Bill Grady

05-16-2006 21:22:20




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I need to paint some wagon gears, a hay rake, and some other regularly used equipment. I am doing this on the cheap, as I want to conserve money and not put this stuff in a parade.

I am going to use paint from TSC, my el cheapo spray gun from Harbor Freight, and paint in the barn lot.

I'm going to wire brush all the loose crap off and then wash with dish soap and water.

I guess I could use some primer although that just seems like tossing money down a hole, since the factory paint jobs sure as heck didnt have primer underneath.

My question is what are the bare minimum products I should use. ie: primer, hardener, etc. Or can I just take the Implement Paint, thin it and spray it on. Things that really arent up for debate are the brand, quality, or procedure.

I intend to go back farming with this stuff, not rub the PPG paint with a diaper on Sunday afternoons. Since it will most likely get scratched up and muddy again, repainting in 3-4 years isn't a big deal.

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B-maniac

05-29-2006 13:17:33




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 Re: Painting Farm Equipment on the El Cheapo in reply to Bill Grady, 05-16-2006 21:22:20  
Well,Bill,I guess you proved what you set out to prove. There is no answer for your question since brand,quallity and procedure are not up for debate.Are you happy now? I suppose when you really do need some advise,you will have a different user name to get it.Ever heard of "Little Man Disease"? I also see you sucked in some people other than intended. Nice job!



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Don-Wi

05-21-2006 08:06:24




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 Re: Painting Farm Equipment on the El Cheapo in reply to Bill Grady, 05-16-2006 21:22:20  
One thing I would suggest is a few arosal cans of clear coat, espescially if yu're doing red. It'll hold the color very well with clear over it but if you don't it'll be pink within a year. I repainted a running gear about 4 years ago with $25 paint and it's still as bright of red as the day I painted it, and it's outside 365 days a year. Our hayrake that I used the same red paint out of the same can, is very faded and almost white now. I didn't clear coat that one...
Donovan from Wisconsin

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B-maniac

05-18-2006 20:39:49




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 Re: Painting Farm Equipment on the El Cheapo in reply to Bill Grady, 05-16-2006 21:22:20  
It sounds to me like you already knew what you were going to use and just wanted someone to confirm it.It also sounds like you already had a good idea what you were going to hear from the experts because of the sarcasm in your question.I agree with the post that said the directions on the can should be all you need to know to do the "El Cheapo" that you are asking about.I believe the experts on this forum do an excellent job at sharing their years of experience,a lot of it learned the hard way,with people who want a crash course in order to do their project theirselves.Sometimes it"s hard to shift gears back to the guy who just wants to throw some cheap paint on it.They are not "judging" what you want to do,there just isn"t a lot of advice that is relevant to what you are asking. Just buy some tractor paint,read the can and paint it.For your stated use you don"t even need to spray it. A brushed finish won"t look any different after you work this equipment for a day or so.Good luck with your projects.

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Capt. Obviously not

05-18-2006 14:53:48




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 What? in reply to Bill Grady, 05-16-2006 21:22:20  
Your quote from below....

"Note I said things that arent up for debate are brand, quality, or procedure."

So why did you even post here?



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1030 brian

05-17-2006 19:41:53




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 Re: Painting Farm Equipment on the El Cheapo in reply to Bill Grady, 05-16-2006 21:22:20  
All of this advice is good only to the people who want to here it and use it. Bill asked a simple question. No you do not need to use a primer, however you will just use more paint to get the coverage. The primer "seals" the metal requiring less coats of paint wether brushed or sprayed. I feel that you eaither put on one coat of primer or 2-3 "more coats of paint to make it up. Last fall I painted a JD 40 sh@t spreader for my dad with TSC JD Green and it works exellent for that application. It still looks good and sits outside all the time. Would I use TSC paint on an "Expo" show paint job? No. For implements that are being used they are the perfect cheap way to keep you equipment looking good!

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souNdguy

05-18-2006 13:00:07




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 Re: Painting Farm Equipment on the El Cheapo in reply to 1030 brian, 05-17-2006 19:41:53  
I use TSC paint on tractors that I have shown. It looks fine. 90% of the look is based on the hand work put into the tin.

1000$ of paint and application hardware will give you a 100$ paint job if no time was put in the prep. Whereas 'perfectly' prepped tin will pretty good fine with even cheaper materials.. etc.

My Allis G and ford 5000 have a shine that you can see yourself in.. better than some auto finish's I've seen from the 200$ apint job shops. And I used TSC BPS paint/primer and hardner, and a 9$ paint gun... and months of prep work...

Good materials are the icing on the cake when coupled with good surface prep. With bad surface prep, expensive materials are like lipstick on a pig... ( can't say the other analogy here... )

Soundguy

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Dan9-Midwest

05-17-2006 17:45:06




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 Re: Painting Farm Equipment on the El Cheapo in reply to Bill Grady, 05-16-2006 21:22:20  
Hope I'm not too late in this fray but I have done exactly as you plan to for more than 15 years with excellent results. I wire brush the loose rust and wash with a scrub brush and Joy liquid detergent. Let dry, Rustoleum spraycan rusty metal primer the few really bad spots and carefully spray a finish coat or two. I do a light coat on a 75 or more degree day and re-coat immediately. I use acetone as a thinner and sometimes prime the whole piece. I think the finish covers better this way. I prefer Rustoleum over TSC because it's cheaper and I perceive it to spray better. I do not leave things outside and ten years later things look pretty good. Leave ouside and it dulls like most farm equip. I have a Devilbiss Finishline gun and it works fine but have heard good things about the Harbor Freight $39 gravity feed gun. Hardener looks great but not safe to spray without external air.
Hope this helps.

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CNKS

05-17-2006 14:45:22




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 Re: Painting Farm Equipment on the El Cheapo in reply to Bill Grady, 05-16-2006 21:22:20  
I know your paint is not up for debate, but you aren't paying for the info -- I think you should use something like POR 15, as Davepal suggested, or a product called Zero-Rust, see the link. Either is more suited for painting over rust than what you want to use -- only a suggestion. I have not used it but would consider it if I were going to do what you are about to do. I have heard the stuff is durable.

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Rod (NH)

05-17-2006 17:52:40




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 Re: Painting Farm Equipment on the El Cheapo in reply to CNKS, 05-17-2006 14:45:22  
You're wasting your breath CN. Neither POR15 (over $100/gal) nor Zero Rust (over $40/gal) meets his "bare minimum" requirement. He's already got it with the $20-$30/gal paint he's chosen. Whatever additional guidance he's after should be stated right on the can label. No response considered necessary. Maybe he just wants to make a statement.

BTW, POR 15 is a moisture-cured isocyanate product (single part - doesn't require a separate activator/hardener). The MSDS calls for supplied-air when sprayed. I don't want to open that discussion again but just thought you should be aware (if you weren't already), even if others choose to ignore such things. I've been thinking about trying it myself sometime on a 3pt snowblower - at least on the second stage housing and discharge chute interiors which are high wear areas.

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davpal

05-17-2006 21:12:37




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 Re: Painting Farm Equipment on the El Cheapo in reply to Rod (NH), 05-17-2006 17:52:40  
Actually I have never sprayed on Por-15. I only brush it on. I never needed to because it flows very good even when brushed on and leaves a very nice surface appearance. Most of the items I use it on are not really cosmetic type items that you want to be perfect. It gets used on miscellaneous items that take a lot of abuse and need some protection. I used it on a battery tray that had some rust on it and it has held up amazing. The parts stay just like new. Also on the bottom side of trailers that see salt. Some trailer wheel rims etc. I don't think I would want to get it in my spray gun because once it cures you had better have it all clean or it is on there for good. Laquer thinner wont even phase it after it is cured. I wear green nitrile gloves when I use it but I got some on my elbow a couple of weeks ago and it took about four days to scrub it off. It is a really good product though. Very pricey though. Great product for farming, trucking, boats, industry.

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Rod (NH)

05-18-2006 14:27:37




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 Re: Painting Farm Equipment on the El Cheapo in reply to davpal, 05-17-2006 21:12:37  
That's a good point about not getting it in a spray gun. I occasionally use the Rust Treatment from NAPA, actually a Permatex/Loctite product. It is water-based and I only sprayed it once. I came close to ruining an expensive spot gun with it. Since it was water-based, I just ran water through it after I was done. The next day I disassembled the gun for other reasons and found remnants of the stuff that had hardened in a couple of nooks and crannies behind the fluid tip. Fortunately, there was none in the threaded areas and I could pick out what was there with a sharp pick. I turned to only brushing it on because of that. It does not flow out well at all but a throwaway foam brush does a fair job. Actually if I try out the POR15 on the blower, it probably would be better to brush it on anyway. I think that would make it easier to get decent coverage in some of the areas around the second stage impeller since I do not wish to completely disassemble the blower. What I am looking for is a smooth, slippery and highly abrasion resistant surface over existing tightly adhering rust. Sandblasting in this case is not a reasonable option for me. I want it to be highly resistant to abrasion, not only to high velocity snow but also embedded pebbles and dirt from a gravel driveway. I've used urethane paint on my regular truck plow blade and it stands up fair but I think the blower presents a more severe service than the blade. I am thinking about the POR because I have read about it being about as tough as you can get. I've thought about a polyurethane such as DuPont's Imron but discarded that idea since I am not going to be able to get the nice surface prep for an underlying epoxy primer. Anyway, I am more interested in performance than appearance on the blower. I don't even care about color on that.

Rod

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CNKS

05-17-2006 19:53:14




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 Re: Painting Farm Equipment on the El Cheapo in reply to Rod (NH), 05-17-2006 17:52:40  
Yes, I remember you mentioning the iso part. The "making a statement" part is also obvious, particularly the painting in the barnyard part. I just wanted him to know if he didn't want to use diaper's PPG, that there were other alternatives to both TSC and "high dollar" PPG/DuPont. I have never considered POR 15, as I prefer to remove rust rather than convert it. I did ask the autobodystore guy what the Zero-Rust was. He said it was something that would convert rust, and came in colors. Perhaps ok for it's intended purpose, as is POR 15. When I first read his post a little voice inside me said "stay out of it". Actually it was a loud voice. I did compromise and didn't mention the good stuff, didn't realize POR was that expensive.

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CNKS

05-17-2006 14:47:27




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 Re: Painting Farm Equipment on the El Cheapo in reply to CNKS, 05-17-2006 14:45:22  
Sorry about the e in your name davpal.



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Richard H.

05-17-2006 06:42:07




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 Gets my vote! in reply to Bill Grady, 05-16-2006 21:22:20  
Painted a "48 dearborn plow and my bush hog last fall with TSC and they still look like new even tho they live outside. The heavy rust is handled with muratic acid and then a pressure washer. Seems like it took about 10 days for the paint to cure all the way out (quit stinkin) that is.



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jubilee johnny

05-17-2006 06:10:37




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 Re: Painting Farm Equipment on the El Cheapo in reply to Bill Grady, 05-16-2006 21:22:20  
I agree with jason. Modern automotive paints are more durable and long lasting. The paint that you are planning on using most likley will not hold up as well. In the long run it will be cheaper to use good quality products that will hold up longer. When you add a harderner the durabilaty goes up even further. Having said that the quality of any job is only as good as the surface preparation, too.

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jason(ma)

05-17-2006 04:18:39




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 Re: Painting Farm Equipment on the El Cheapo in reply to Bill Grady, 05-16-2006 21:22:20  
please remember it's your stuff do as you wish but just a quick comment about what you said.

The idea of using automotive paint like ppg is so you don't have to rub it with a diaper on sunday. The good paints in modern chemistry are longer lasting, resistant to fuel spills, chipping, ect... It's the cheap stuff that needs to be protected from sun, branches, fuel ect.. or it just turns into chaulky, chiped rust. In my opinion the good paint is cheap, to spend something like $70-200 more on good paint to me is worth it for what you gain.

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Jason(ma)

05-17-2006 04:03:52




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 Re: Painting Farm Equipment on the El Cheapo in reply to Bill Grady, 05-16-2006 21:22:20  
my question from the sound of it is, do you really need to paint it?



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Bill Grady

05-17-2006 05:57:46




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 Re: Painting Farm Equipment on the El Cheapo in reply to Jason(ma), 05-17-2006 04:03:52  
Thanks for kicking in your 2 cents. Note I said things that arent up for debate are brand, quality, or procedure.

That is one thing that drives me crazy about people in general, they can't just answer the questions as presented along with their personal experience or preference. Nope, they just take it as an opportunity to get on their soapbox, blow some smoke, and then leave the original question unanswered.

But, to answer YOUR question, it does not make economic sense to use $100 worth of product on a $200 running gear and yes I would like it painted, Captain Obvious.

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jason(ma)

05-17-2006 15:56:09




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 Re: Painting Farm Equipment on the El Cheapo in reply to Bill Grady, 05-17-2006 05:57:46  
okay let me answer your question more directly then, No you don't need to do anything but scuff and go over what is there. I've tried using gemplers rust convert and then JD paint, didn't help in my case. I've also had simlar disapointment with napa's rust converter.



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davpal

05-17-2006 00:43:21




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 Re: Painting Farm Equipment on the El Cheapo in reply to Bill Grady, 05-16-2006 21:22:20  
Bill, the tsc paint with the hardner will hold up great for what you are doing. It would not hurt to throw a coat of tsc primer on if you want a little more durability but you really don't have to with that type of paint. A few years ago I painted my 9n tractor, my two bottom ford plow, two row ford cultivator, dirt scoop , six foot scraper blade, all with the tsc ford blue and all the implements sit outside and they still shine like new. The tractor looks very good too but it is inside a pole barn but gets used almost every day and still looks ready to take to the tractor show. I also used the tsc black color and took off and painted the reciever hitch for my lincoln Navigator. It has been driven a lot in rain and snow and still looks great. I did a nice job on that. I also used the black to paint the black on a white 4-150 (lot of surface) and it is very shiny and nice. Another good product to paint implements with or just trailers and outdoor stuff is por-15 paint. That stuff is just about bulletproof when it dries. It goes on pretty good too and you can brush that on and have it look really good. It permantley bonds stuff though so make sure you are serious about what you are working on. It is great for trailer frames and items that see a lot of abuse. I just used it on the bottom side of the mower deck of my toro zero radius mower. Really durable. They also make a product called manifold grey that keeps manifolds, mufflers, and exhaust pipes looking really nice like factory grey. It is supposed to hold up to about 1500 degrees. Dad did what you are talking about with some john deere implements during the late 80's and they still look presentable. He uses them hard every year too. A Disk and Cultimulcher. His Farmalls were all painted during the 70's and they still look really good but they all get to sit in a nice dry barn in between uses. The stuff will look good and you can say you did it yourself. I think my neighbor would like me to paint his 1066. The old girl is looking more orange and faded than red anymore. Sure sounds good though! Good luck.

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Bill Grady

05-17-2006 05:59:14




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 Re: Painting Farm Equipment on the El Cheapo in reply to davpal, 05-17-2006 00:43:21  
Thanks for the intelligent response! This was exactly the type of answer I was looking for.



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tommyw-5088

05-17-2006 19:46:02




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 Re: Painting Farm Equipment on the El Cheapo in reply to Bill Grady, 05-17-2006 05:59:14  
i have some old seldom used implements . i did paint most of them .just a little wire brushing and paint ,hardner adds alot to the lasting of the job ,but supplied air is "suppossed " to be used with it ,and i do use it . my tractors are base coat clear coat ,and the better tools are ppg polyurethane .but the old junk gets what is left over from other things.primer will add some durability . but i dont use it on the cheap implements.

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