With IHC's Iron Guard paint gone........

[Pete in Holland MI]

The original Iron Guard paint formula was discontinued a couple years ago, and now the "new" Iron Guard, has not been getting good feedback, although it is better for the environment.

I am not a painting expert, and generally specialize in paint jobs that look good from 50 feet. I had been very pleased with the Iron Guard paint, regarding its ability to hold its color, especially reds. One one tractor VanSickle was fading after a year or two. The paint from Tractor Supply was poor.

Short of getting into the really expensive automotive, what paints out there are good at holding their colors, and don't break the bank? I will be repainting parts of my steam engine, and need to brush it on.

Seeking your experience...........

Pete

 

[showcrop]

One of the regulars at the local pizza pub told me recently that he paid $3200 just for the paint for his Chevy truck. I call that expensive I usually use Nason 2K urethane. it holds up very well for me. It now runs around $250 for top coating a tractor. I have to call it cheap relatively. I fixed up this one in 2012, and it came back for a little work last summer. I find the Nason easy to work with too. Much easier than rattle cans.

 

[Don B.]

Iron guard gone finally? Good riddance that paint was awful

 

[Stephen Newell]

The original Iron Guard paint formula was discontinued a couple years ago, and now the "new" Iron Guard, has not been getting good feedback, although it is better for the environment.

I am not a painting expert, and generally specialize in paint jobs that look good from 50 feet. I had been very pleased with the Iron Guard paint, regarding its ability to hold its color, especially reds. One one tractor VanSickle was fading after a year or two. The paint from Tractor Supply was poor.

Short of getting into the really expensive automotive, what paints out there are good at holding their colors, and don't break the bank? I will be repainting parts of my steam engine, and need to brush it on.

Seeking your experience...........

Pete

A lot depends on the color. The color red is very prone to fade so it would be cheaper in the long run to use that expensive automotive paint. If you are not using red I've had good luck with rustoleum farm and implement paint. I painted a kubota tractor with it in 2009 and it's faded about the same as valspar tractor paint in two months. The worst to fade is the hood and the color could be brought back if I buffed it with rubbing compound. I did a test spot by hand and the color easily came back.

 

[showcrop]

A lot depends on the color. The color red is very prone to fade so it would be cheaper in the long run to use that expensive automotive paint. If you are not using red I've had good luck with rustoleum farm and implement paint. I painted a kubota tractor with it in 2009 and it's faded about the same as valspar tractor paint in two months. The worst to fade is the hood and the color could be brought back if I buffed it with rubbing compound. I did a test spot by hand and the color easily came back.

I think that a lot depends on how much you are going to put into it. I always tell people: Don't waste your money on good paint to put over a five hour prep job, and don't waste all the time and effort you put into it by putting cheap paint over a fifty hour prep.

 

[Don B.]

My experience was (actually my son's) was on a cub original that he redid in high school. I took it and paid to have it sandblasted then straight back to the career center. He was in metal working class there and got the auto body shop teacher to personally spray it with iron guard, yellow and white that I had bought for my kid right from the IH dealer.

It sat after it got painted in my attic in pieces for a few years between being painted and being assembled.
Not a drop of water in that time and my attic gets quite hot in the summer. So that paint was well cured. Once assembled the first time he put gas in it the float stuck ( the engine wasn't touched except to clean it up from the ) time he got the tractor
That iron guard paint peeled off in one big sheet.
He graduated HS in 2011 so it was around 2013-14 when he finally put it together, that tractor sat in my attic in pieces in between. So I don't know what you are calling "a few years ago" that they did away with the "good stuff" but what they were selling in that time frame was absolutely crap.

 

[560Dennis]

Well from show experience , I really think a good paint job is all you need , for working tractors I still prefer a quality paint product.
It’s up to the owners what they prefer to use .

 

[Don B.]

Something that will hold up and stay on beyond the first tank of gas would be an improvement