sand blasting

I will soon be restoring a 1951 M. I am planning to sandblast the frame and tin using the suggestions I read in YT as to care with doing this, avoiding certain parts such as the engine (the one suggestion I thought very helpful is to use oven cleaner to remove grease) and around any seals and am planning to paint separate attachments separately. What I would like to ask is has anyone used the "peening" process using glass beads to provide a smoother surface to paint? A professional painter near us says he will provide technical suggestions and tips to repaint it. Another question I have is: has anyone on here used the paint advertised on YT? It's considerably more expensive than that sold by Tractor Supply and Big R but I don't want to skimp on the project because I want to do it right and not have to do it again in a year or two. Also, do most of you finish the job with Clear Coat? I would appreciate any suggestions. Thanks.

Pat

First thought is that if you have a professional painter backing you up, take his advice.

Peening is a term, at least as I understand it, usually reserved for blasting with metal (usually fine steel) shot, and better reserved for cast parts to bust deep rust. The blasting I've done on sheet metal where you want a fine finish, I've had excellent results with a mix of glass bead and aluminum oxide. Cuts the surface well without cupping too hard into the metal. On sheet metal, you get a dull matte overall when you're done is good, though it might look a little bright or shiny on the high spots. And it's reusable.

I got my grit from McMaster-Carr. Comes in 5-gal pails, though it's sold by weight so the pail ain't necessarily full. If you have the time, they also sell sampler packs, something like two-to-five pounds apiece of different abrasives, that you can buy to test out to see which works best for you before you commit to larger quantities for the whole job.

For paint, you're thinking right. You don't want to skimp, but you don't want to go nuts either. I went nuts on a pet project (family tractor . . . ) and went with a top-line auto paint (PPG Concept) that cost almost as much as all the parts that went into her, but wouldn't recommend that expense to anyone, and wouldn't go that route on any other tractor myself.

I would recommend, though, that you step up from the old alkyd chemistry of the TSC paint. DuPont and PPG have a good range of mid-line paints that are much more reasonably priced than the one I went with in that one case. Again, whether or not he favors a particular brand, your painter buddy will be a good source to recommend a mid-range formulation (acrylic enamel as an example) that will give you a good balance between durability (sticking) and tendency to fade (keeps lookin' good).

If this is your first time paintin' I'll just also add that the "fancier" the finish, the more skill or experience it takes to put it on right. I got a little overly-ambitious in tackling the Concept, and then went on to learn a lot about wet sandin' and polishin', to gt rid of my runs and ripples.

Good luck, and don't forget to bleed your air tank regularly and put a water filter between the hose and the gun!

As a body man and painter, I get sticker shock every time I buy paint anymore. Acrylic enamel I bought for $20 a gallon 15-20 years ago is now well over $100 per gallon.

Even on a tractor, I'd stay away from the old alkyd enamels that most farm stores have. At the minimum, I'd go with acrylic enamel with hardener. Durable finish with a good gloss. It's what everyone used before clear coat became popular. Be aware, though, that once you mix in the hardener you have about three hours to do your painting and get the gun cleaned up, otherwise the paint sets up in the gun. The same goes for after you've added the activator to clear coat.

Any more, though, I clear coat most everything. It just makes a higher gloss with less problem with sun fading. And you can shoot it over acrylic enamel as well as basecoat. I have, a lot of times, anyway.

Thanks for your excellent advice. I will definitely keep all of your pointers in mind when I tackle the project. If I can get the wife to let me use her digital camera, I intend to post before and after shots of the tractor. Thanks again!

Pat

for your Oven cleaner go to a restaurant supply store or a janitorial supply and get it by the gallon or even four gallon ctn. you can save a lot that way. Be careful about overspray if you spray it on. It's best to use light pressure on the trigger sprayer.

I received a few good and really helpful hints with my original question about sandblasting and although they were few in number, all of them were excellent in giving tips and hints regarding sandblasting my 1951 M which I just bought and am going to restore. Now I have another question: on average. how much paint should I allow for and how many coats would be the usual for coverage. Thanks for any help

Pat