Fixing paint job

[Tstoner]

I am about as green as it gets with any sort of automotive painting. Last year I restored a john deere A. During re assembly I painted all of the small parts while they were off of the tractor which turned out ok. But when it came to the sheet metal I had everything sandblasted. I sprayed two coats of primer. Sanded smooth then applied two coats of top coat. At the time I thought it turned out ok. But after going to some tractor shows recently I realized what a difference there is between a good paint job and the one I did. Is there a way of fixing this without sandblasting it back down to bare metal and re starting? My paint has a dull finish with a rough texture to it

 

[Fixingfarmer]

Polish it. They didn’t just shoot it and it’s magically perfect. You can make a paint job look much better with a good buffing. more topcoat is usually needed than that. Try 2 more coats before buffing maybe I usually do 4 on something that’s important. You want to let it cure good before doing it like a week in good 70 degree weather or longer depending on if you put hardener in. I’ve even come back the next summer to do it. Harbor freight has a polisher with different grades of discs. I’ve found that all 4 are useful.
You will always find a better paint job than your own until you are cranking out powder coat on brand new tractors. But there are things you can do to get better.

 

[showcrop]

Fixing farmer has given good advice. I have sanded with 1500 then 2000 then buffed to a mirror finish. HOWEVER, I use 2K acrylic enamel which is a lower grade cheaper automotive paint. If you used alkyd enamel or implement paint from a tractor store it may not buff readily. you may want to try a small less noticeable place first. It is also likely that the other paint jobs that you are looking at included a hardener with the paint.

 

[drsportster]

Look uo Buffing it out You will be pleased

 

[flooder1997]

you can try this stuff i used called liquid ice from Norton its a 3 step polish with the buffing wheel it isn't cheep but it is amazing as you can see on the 4250 i did in my picture. now if you used garbage paint it will only do so much

 

[Tstoner]

Polish it. They didn’t just shoot it and it’s magically perfect. You can make a paint job look much better with a good buffing. more topcoat is usually needed than that. Try 2 more coats before buffing maybe I usually do 4 on something that’s important. You want to let it cure good before doing it like a week in good 70 degree weather or longer depending on if you put hardener in. I’ve even come back the next summer to do it. Harbor freight has a polisher with different grades of discs. I’ve found that all 4 are useful.
You will always find a better paint job than your own until you are cranking out powder coat on brand new tractors. But there are things you can do to get better.

Thanks for the info. So would you guys recommend that I apply two more top coats first?

Fixing farmer has given good advice. I have sanded with 1500 then 2000 then buffed to a mirror finish. HOWEVER, I use 2K acrylic enamel which is a lower grade cheaper automotive paint. If you used alkyd enamel or implement paint from a tractor store it may not buff readily. you may want to try a small less noticeable place first. It is also likely that the other paint jobs that you are looking at included a hardener with the paint.

you can try this stuff i used called liquid ice from Norton its a 3 step polish with the buffing wheel it isn't cheep but it is amazing as you can see on the 4250 i did in my picture. now if you used garbage paint it will only do so much

Thanks for the replys! I used john deere paint from the dealer. I'm thinking the texture of the paint I was left with is from not sanding. Would u guys recommend I put another coat on or just try to buffer?

 

[Tgrasher]

Buff and see how it turns out. Two things that causes a rough paint texture, even with the best paints, is humidity (lower is better) and not enough paint thinner (whatever type the paint calls for) to make the paint flow. Orange peal is a nickname for a rough surface and it can vary, depending on the aforementioned. The rougher the less the shine. Factory paint was not as "shiny" as what some guys are doing but it does catch the eye.

 

[Tstoner]

Buff and see how it turns out. Two things that causes a rough paint texture, even with the best paints, is humidity (lower is better) and not enough paint thinner (whatever type the paint calls for) to make the paint flow. Orange peal is a nickname for a rough surface and it can vary, depending on the aforementioned. The rougher the less the shine. Factory paint was not as "shiny" as what some guys are doing but it does catch the eye.

That makes sense. That was my first time using they sprayer I had. I was messing around with thinning the paint. I felt like I couldn't get it quite right. It was either too thin and coming out like water. Or too thick coming out apparently leaving the texture I am left with

 

[showcrop]

Thanks for the info. So would you guys recommend that I apply two more top coats first?



Thanks for the replys! I used john deere paint from the dealer. I'm thinking the texture of the paint I was left with is from not sanding. Would u guys recommend I put another coat on or just try to buffer?

John Deere doesn't make paint so you have something else which is cheap alkyd enamel, which is softer and takes months to fully dry. My recommendation is still the same: try buffing an area that is out of sight. You may need to remove a panel to be able to get at it properly. Again, you will need to lightly sand with 1500 then 2000, then try buffing GENTLY. If you can't get this to work you will need to put some good paint on it, and to avoid problems with the solvent attacking the alkyd enamel you should re-prime first. Perhaps you will consider watching this forum in the future. Every other week someone posts about the paint job that they are planning, and they often want to use cheap paint from their dealer. Dealers carry implement paint, which can be very difficult to make work the way many of us want it to. I will frequently recommend the 2K urethane which is a lot more $ than alkyd enamel but is only 20% of the cost of modern automotive paint. You could answer them with your story.

 

[flooder1997]

as far as i am concerned dealer paint is generally cheep i have never had good luck with it i use napa nassion works awsome 2 3 good coats with a clear and it looks like a new truck if done right guys above have pretty well covered it pretty well

 

[Ebenezer]

I am about as green as it gets with any sort of automotive painting. Last year I restored a john deere A. During re assembly I painted all of the small parts while they were off of the tractor which turned out ok. But when it came to the sheet metal I had everything sandblasted. I sprayed two coats of primer. Sanded smooth then applied two coats of top coat. At the time I thought it turned out ok. But after going to some tractor shows recently I realized what a difference there is between a good paint job and the one I did. Is there a way of fixing this without sandblasting it back down to bare metal and re starting? My paint has a dull finish with a rough texture to it

I also went through the same trials learning to paint, still not any kind of pro but I did learn a few things. A rough dry looking finish is usually from using too small a nozzle and maybe too much pressure.. If your using oil base paint the can will suggest the size you need. (1.3 @ 30psi most likely. You can wet sand you existing paint with 600 and put a new finish coat. I found it takes practice.

 

[showcrop]

as far as i am concerned dealer paint is generally cheep i have never had good luck with it i use napa nassion works awsome 2 3 good coats with a clear and it looks like a new truck if done right guys above have pretty well covered it pretty well

Nason is what I use. 2-3 times more than alkyd enamel, but 1/5 the cost of the "good" stuff.

 

[showcrop]

I also went through the same trials learning to paint, still not any kind of pro but I did learn a few things. A rough dry looking finish is usually from using too small a nozzle and maybe too much pressure.. If your using oil base paint the can will suggest the size you need. (1.3 @ 30psi most likely. You can wet sand you existing paint with 600 and put a new finish coat. I found it takes practice.

I think that 600 is pretty risky on cheap JD dealer paint. I would rather take longer with 1500 and not risk balling the paint up.

 

[Tstoner]

I think that 600 is pretty risky on cheap JD dealer paint. I would rather take longer with 1500 and not risk balling the paint up.

Thanks for the information guys. Lesson learned I wish I would have known the jd paint is cheap. I'll Try wet sanding and polishing and see what happens if that doesn't work would you guys recommend taking it back down to bare metal and re starting? or just sand smooth and add top coat?

 

[showcrop]

Thanks for the information guys. Lesson learned I wish I would have known the jd paint is cheap. I'll Try wet sanding and polishing and see what happens if that doesn't work would you guys recommend taking it back down to bare metal and re starting? or just sand smooth and add top coat?

As I posted Tuesday, my suggestion is to re-prime. The solvent in the new paint could attack the Alkyd enamel. Fixing that is not fun. You need to go on manufacturer's sites to verify compatibility before you proceed. You need to also check the data sheets to see how long the Alkyd needs to adequately harden. Or alternatively, sand it all down and start over.

 

[urbancase]

I not a expert but learned after doing a few, on sheet metal i sand everything then use a paint sealer and do 2 coats, then 2-3 coats of primer and wet sand last coat with 400 sand paper, then paint 2-4 coats and wet sand the second last coat. Been using automotive grade paint with a hardner in the paint. This is a Ih 706 I redone a few year ago.

 

[Fixingfarmer]

As I posted Tuesday, my suggestion is to re-prime. The solvent in the new paint could attack the Alkyd enamel. Fixing that is not fun. You need to go on manufacturer's sites to verify compatibility before you proceed. You need to also check the data sheets to see how long the Alkyd needs to adequately harden. Or alternatively, sand it all down and start over.

Yes I would caution against switching at this point you could cause some issues unless you know exactly what each is. Sand some of the worst orange peel if you want now. And don’t be surprised if you do a bit of wet sanding later before buffing. It’s fine to use the cheap jd valspar stuff. The farmers around here gravitate to that stuff enough they sell ih red in jd green gallon cans. 10 parts paint 2 parts reducer 1 part hardener. Crossfire reducer and hardener will mix fine from the napa store but it doesn’t take as much hardener as a lot of people will put in. Check your gun pressure if it’s an hvlp you want to have the highest pressure recommended that will help the orange peel. I’m usually at the 30 mine says at the gun fairly heavy output but moving quickly. Cheaper gun the more it will like being wide open...