Painting a 1955 John Deere 60

Poppy Johnny · Mar 11, 2023

So I will at some point in the next few months will be painting my John Deere 60 and would like some tips.

To give an overview, my tractor is a tractor in that will be used for work although not heavily, just for plowing a small garden that at most is an acre and haycutting a larger area on occasion thus I have no actual plans of using automotive paint over regular paint given the cost involved, at most the tractor would be used or shown in small parades or small events and that's that. Because of that my plan is to just buy two or so cans of Classic JD Green paint and use a type of good primer with it.

My main question however to those who have experience painting two-cylinder Deere's or just tractors in general are there any hurdles to avoid and what type of primer is best used? How many coats of primer and paint should be applied?

Note: I have already painted the clutch pulley in advance of everything while we had it off the tractor using JD Official Classic Green Spray Paint and using Tractor Supply Magic Red Oxide Primer as a measure against the clutch freezing again after our full clutch rebuild of it.

coonie minnie · Mar 11, 2023

I'm by no means an expert, but have done a couple farmer makeover projects. I like Deere's primer when using Deere's paint. It adheres
well to bare steel or old paint, and the paint adheres well to it. My stuff gets used, and gets dirty. Paint that doesn't come off with a
high school kid and the pressure washer is paramount to me.

Stephen Newell · Mar 11, 2023

The most important thing with painting a tractor is to clean it. It's not enough to wash it once and go with the paint job you have to do an overkill with cleaning it. The surface may look clean but if there is the slightest trace of oil on the old paint the new paint will peal off. Start with scraping off any heavy concentration of grease and dirt. Then go over it several times with purple power and a power washer. You might even use oven cleaner on bad spots. The last step would be to wipe it off with a wax and grease remover frequently changing rags. This will remove the oil you can't see.

You only need to prime bare metal. Going over the old paint you don't need primer, just make sure it clean and free of any oils. All you would have to do is scuff sand the old paint with 220 grit paper first. If the paint you are going to use is an alkyd enamel then use an alkyd primer.

What I would recommend when painting the tractor is to first fix it mechanically where there is no oil leaks anywhere first. Otherwise you do a nice paint job on it and a month later it's caked up all over with grease.

rustred · Mar 11, 2023

Youre not going to get far with 2 cans. It takes at least
one gallon or more to paint a tractor. One can is hardly
enough for one rear rim. Probably need a whole case of
green plus about 4 cans of yellow.

JD Dave · Mar 11, 2023

For a thorough job, cleaning and preparation is 90% of the job. Get down and dirty with a hot water powerwasher and industrial-strength detergent with the goal of getting all grease and oil and dirt
removed. Then inspect everything for loose rust and missed spots. Scrape and rub every square inch with tools and course steel wool. Wipe everything down with mineral spirits and followup with Prep-
Sol or an equivalent product. Shoot on a dose of self-etching primer to take care of bare metal. Follow with John Deere enamel topcoat of your choice.

showcrop · Mar 12, 2023

Cheap Alkyd enamel will be a big disappointment 3-4 years down the road. For just a little more money you can get Acrylic enamel which is going to last a lot better for the work that you will be putting into it. rimer is pretty much the same thing. You will see ten times more recommendations for epoxy than anything else. Scroll down through this forum. You will see your question asked and answered many times every week for twenty years.

mrhud · Mar 14, 2023

it takes one gallon to paint a tractor and an extra two quarts for the rims and wheels and also the primer required

Painting a 1955 John Deere 60

Poppy Johnny

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coonie minnie

Well-known Member

Stephen Newell

Well-known Member

rustred

Well-known Member

JD Dave

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showcrop

Well-known Member

mrhud

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