What sorta paint goes on a tractor?

Dumb question maybe. Only paint I have used before is a shaker can to touch up fresh welds. My wife wants her tractor to be a bit more dolled up than my preference of "patina". She's got it decided that she wants purple paint, not sure they sell that at Tractor Supply, so I figure I'll need to get it special, hopefully not too special and expensive though. But hey, this is a small price if I can get her it pull a rake!

It depends on a few things. Not so much what it goes on. One thing is cost. Don't put $500.00/ gal paint on something that you are going to just pressure wash and then slap the paint on. Don't get $50.00/ gal. paint if you are going to spend 50 hours prepping it. Two very basic categories are: Alkyd enamel or implement paint, which is lower cost and dulls and fades and weathers off in a few years. Second broad category is more expensive 2K urethane which lasts a lot longer.

There is no right answer, it depends on your needs. The more you spend on paint the longer it will last. If you wish to use Tractor Supply
paint I would recommend Rustoleum Farm and Implement paint. It won't come in purple but you could mix red paint and blue paint to achieve
that color. Mix a small amount first to get the feel for how much red to use and how much blue. If you are needing a darker color you might
have to add black to it to darken it.

If you really want the paint to last longer you might use an automotive paint. You just have to be more careful spraying it. Some of them
like urethanes contain an isocyanate hardener which you have to wear a air supplied respirator to do it. This equipment is pretty expensive
to paint one tractor. It's sort of like a C pap machine which you put the pump someplace where the air is clean and it pumps fresh air to
the mask.

In the end regardless of what kind of paint you use it won't end well unless the tractor is thoroughly cleaned. The slightest trace of oil
that you can't see or feel will cause the best paint to peal off. I would start with purple power and a power washer and perhaps oven
cleaner on some of the more stubborn spots. You just really can't clean one too much.

From what you are saying I can tell you do not have any way
to spray paint or any idea how to do it so your only option
is a brush and you can do that with the rust o leum paint not
the higher priced paint.

(quoted from post at 10:13:19 02/13/23) From what you are saying I can tell you do not have any way
to spray paint or any idea how to do it so your only option
is a brush and you can do that with the rust o leum paint not
the higher priced paint.

Click to expand...

I'll be that pretty much everyone who has ever painted with a spray gun, before they got it didn't have one, or know how to use it. At some point they made the decision to get one and learn how to use it. There is an old saying, "happy wife happy life". Since his wife has expressed a desire for her tractor to be "dolled up", this may be the time that pard will decide to get the spray paint gun. He has options.