Need help picking tractor paint for Ford 3910

[FordManiac]

I Have a ford 3910 that i want to repaint. It will remain a working tractor but i want a good tough paint that also looks original. Im looking at original NH paint all the way to expoxys. What are your recommendations? I hear tractor paint is cheap and wont last. I know the labor/prep is the majority of the equation thus dont wont to waste it on poor paint. I need something that has good UV protection too.

Thanks

 

[Stephen Newell]

I would use a epoxy primer and topcoat with a 2k urethane. The jobber I use sells Dupont so I use Nason Ful-Poxy 491-16 epoxy primer and I topcoat with Nason Ful-Thane 2K Urethane.
 

[FordManiac]

I spoke to man painting tractor. He wants to use a urathane primer and paint. PPG Omni i believe. Is this ok?
 

[Stephen Newell]

I personally think a epoxy primer is better but you will probably never have a problem with the urethane primer. In the event you would get a nick in the paint down to the metal the epoxy primer will keep the rust isolated to the nick where the urethane primer is more likely to allow rust to creep outward from the nick under the paint. The epoxy primer is also more chemical resistant so some oils like brake fluid won't lift the primer if you have a persistent leak at some time or another. The bottom line though is the painter is likely to have a better finished product if he uses products he is accustom to working with and likes. Automotive finishes have gotten more complex and each paint has its quirks so if you make the painter use something he has to read the instructions the overall paint job may suffer.
 

[FordManiac]

Ok thanks. I believe i will let him paint the way he wants as it still should work good. Now just have to see if the color match looks good
 

[casecollectorsc]

Mt son painted my 2470 Case 20 years ago with Omni and it still looks great. It is outside all the time. Take time to do a good prep job, it will pay in the long run!
 

[FordManiac]

[CNKS]

PPG makes a urethane surfacer, not really a primer -- MP 182, if that is the number he wants to use, I say no--it requires etch primer and sanding, that much prep is a red flag. Epoxy is better, the 182 goes over the epoxy on the sheet metal, not needed on the cast.
 

[casecollectorsc]

No clearcoat! Cheap clearcoat is worse than no clearcoat!
 

[CNKS]

If you want the guy to use clear coat tell him you want base clear and use the Omni clear, about $100+ per gallon, the base costs about the same as the MTK urethane. You are approaching the $500 mark if you use MP 170 epoxy on all and MP 182 surfacer on the sheet metal.
 

[FordManiac]

[Stephen Newell]

Not all paint is basecoat clearcoat. The 2k urethane I use doesn't need a clear coat. A base coat clearcoat is used mostly on cars especially metalic finishes. The basecoat visually looks like colored primer. It goes on dead flat and the sheen comes from the clear coating that follows. Its a really good finish for a car but in my opinion is not as good for a tractor as a urethane finish. On your car the finished is designed to look good and protect from rust. Your tractor is walked on and driven through high weeds and generally handled much rougher. The clearcoat finish is just not formulated for that abuse where the urethane is.
 

[CNKS]

Clear coat is urethane without color. I believe that base/clear is MORE durable than single stage, I have no proof of that. It is certainly more easy to buff and gives a better finish after buffing than single stage. That said, I use base clear because I cannot keep the cooties, lint etc, out of my paint. Single stage is easy to sand/buff to the primer unless I really pour it on. The clear in the base clear system is much harder to buff through if I use 3 coats. Otherwise there is no real advantage and in a clean environment I would use single stage Omni MTK.
 

[FordManiac]

Ok so if i go with Omni MBC base/clear what products and steps should i use? He is going to sandblast sheet metal and just clean and use some sort of solvent on chasis and wheels. Current paint on tractor is the original. Hes fairly new at painting tracotrs and has only done 5 or 6 in past 3 years.
 

[FordManiac]

Well this is becoming more difficult than i thought. So i went to my paint store and found a good match for Ford tractor blue but they dont have the correct grey. I then asked him just to color match my sample but his response was that he couldnt do that in the Omni line. What? I dont understand this and honestly i dont get the feeling these guys know much about painting anyways. Seems like they are more like a fast food worker s than a paint specialist. Anyways i now have to look for another line which there recommending PPG Delfleet. Does anyone know anything about this paint? Is it good or should i look at something else? Keep in mind that the guy doing the painting is no expert and has only painted 6 or 7 tractors. We are also buying the proper safety equipment for spraying these paints.