Tractor Painting

[Len]

Once in a while I get some farm equipment to paint and recently we were hired by a neighbor to paint his Ford tractor. The first step was to get the tractor in the shop, take off the wheels, fenders and hood then clean it well.

Ford Tractor 1.jpg

The engine was quite dirty so we removed the battery and cleaned it will using Super Clean. This stuff really cuts the grease but be careful not to breath it. Whew!

Ford Tractor 2.jpg

After cleaning we scuffed everything with a combination of a red scuff pad and 320 sandpaper. In the places we couldn't reach (like some areas of the engine compartment) we just cleaned and applied Evercoat's adhesion promoter prior to painting.

Ford Tractor 4.jpg

After all the cleaning and scuffing we masked for painting. The wheels and fender got painted first so we could get them out prior to prepping the rest of the tractor.

Ford Tractor 3.jpg

[Len]

It took a day and night to get this thing masked and ready for paint.

Ford Tractor 5.jpg

Ford Tractor 6.jpg
Ford Tractor 7.jpg

Using a combination of tape, paper and alum foil we were able to protect everything.

Ford Tractor 7b.jpg
Ready for paint

[Len]

We sprayed everything using the DeVilbiss SRi Pro because all of the areas where small. It even did an excellent job on larger areas like the wheels.

We used the 24oz DeKups so that we could spray at all the odd angles without worrying about spilling paint or the gun sputtering.

Ford Tractor 8.jpg

Several small parts were done separately and the SRi was great for them also.

Ford Tractor 9.jpg

If you're ever unmasking stripes be sure to pull the tape back on itself so that it "cuts" the paint.

Ford Tractor 10.jpg

After a day of unmasking and reassembly it was given back to the farmer who was quite happy with the result.

Ford Tractor 11.jpg

[Len]

Is that Glasurit Ford Blue? Single or Base/Clear? Urethane or enamel?

No the customer didn't want to spend a thousand dollars on paint so he supplied the enamel from the tractor supply. We warned him about the life of the finish but he, understandably, opted for the less expensive route.

[All Dry]

has pride in his equipment!I bet he is an overall practical individual.Mike

[TLB]

Looks great Len

[Len]

has pride in his equipment!I bet he is an overall practical individual.Mike

He's a great guy. He teaches school in the Winter and farms a lot of land with his son-in-law all Summer, he's also a commericial fisherman in the warm weather. He's been teacher of the year in a large grade school near here. I've also restored a 54 Chevy 4500 for him and we used Glasurit on that one. You'll see the Chevy pop up on the top of the board once in a while.

[M DAGG]

tractor looks good len. i have painted 3 tractors this year 2 of them they wanted van sickle. one of them was a big 1370 case could not convince the guy to spend a little extra to get a better paint. but thats farmers for ya! used to do it a little my self.

[Roger J.]

Len, was the tractor supply paint made by Valspar?.. If so,, what did you thin it with?.. The 65 Econoline that I bought a year ago was painted with Ford tractor paint by the previous owner and I've been fixing some bad rust on it and just shooting more of the same paint back over it. Using the Naptha to thin it (like they recommend) is kind of a pain in the butt.

This van would need to be completely stripped down for it to be worth using better paint on it.

[Len]

Len, was the tractor supply paint made by Valspar?.. If so,, what did you thin it with?.. The 65 Econoline that I bought a year ago was painted with Ford tractor paint by the previous owner and I've been fixing some bad rust on it and just shooting more of the same paint back over it. Using the Naptha to thin it (like they recommend) is kind of a pain in the butt.

This van would need to be completely stripped down for it to be worth using better paint on it.

The brand name is New Holland made by a Wisconsin company with a long French name. It's just inexpensive enamel.

[Primal]

very impressive pics i can tell alot of work.

castrol super clean? comes in a blue bottle? i use it as a household cleaner.

[Len]

very impressive pics i can tell alot of work.

castrol super clean? comes in a blue bottle? i use it as a household cleaner.

I don't see the name Castrol on it anywhere, it's in a purple bottle and we get it from Wal Mart. We go through quite a bit of it for keeping the drains open, cleaning hard stains and degreasing engines.

[Primal]

yep thats the stuff works great as a household cleaner. and cleans tires really well too. Its made by castrol.

[easymoney]

i have used paint from tractor supply. it is really slow drying in cool weather. i sprayed some late yesterday afternoon. it was not very cold last night but this morning you still could not touch it without leaving a print. it will probably need to sit out in the sun a few days to cure enough to handle. it might have helped if i had used hardener.