Painting the B

[Lanse]

Well, as some of you know, im not all that pleased with the paint job i did on my 93 B, its the wrong color supposidly and it was WAY too think, so it looks like the whole tractor is covered in some thick goop. It is just plain too red, plus i missed a few spots here and there. I'd like to try it again, only with it taken apart. Instead of manuvering all under the tractor with a can and a brush, i'd like to take it apart ( down to the frame and rims) and use my new compressor to spray it on there. I'm assuming that a grinder with a wire wheel is in order, as is a sprayer (obvisly). Im pretty sure im going to get a good grinder from craftsman, but what about sprayers???? I'm going to do what any 14 yr old with a tractor would, and get the cheapest thing that'll work, not looking foward to spending any more money, but if its worth doing its worth doing right, and the tractor is taken apart now. Its gonna hurt, but im up for it. I know nothing about them sprayers, any advice??? Also, yes its a dumb question, but how do i tell when the paint has been thinned to the proper consistancy??? Ive "gooped" 3 different things and am tired of having to look at them, and would preferably not do it again. Anyone know where to get the "right" paint for it?? This is a working tractor, so its not getting the $130/gal paint

 

[Anonymous-0]

My vote is: wait on the paint. Get the tractor running how you like it, and driveable...get used to it and get the kinks out. Then, once you have everything lined up and organized, take the tractor back apart, sandblast, prime, and paint. When you put it back together you'll have a GOOD running tractor that looks GREAT! It'll be very satisfying to take a running tractor apart, and put it back together so it runs again. Feels like you've got it all figured out AND you know exactly what went into making it look and sound the way it does without cutting any corners. I definitely love your enthusiasm...wish I had more of it myself, but you gotta take this one thing at a time, as hard as that is to listen to. To me, a mechanically sound and tight, good-running tractor is WAY more valuable that a dolled-up one with a fancy dress.

 

[Janicholson]

Though you can pull it farther apart, and do the paint, I believe the following
1} It needs to run first and foremost
a)Running will tell you so many things about it that will make your heart sing, that it is necessary.
2) The learning mechanic should never (ever) take more than one thing apart at a time. Doing so will confound the reason it will not start so badly that you will begin to hate it.
3} The moment you find that the tranny has a broken shift rail (and it is all apart) you will want to shed yourself of the entire project.
4} It can be painted very well with all parts put together except hood and some tin pieces.
5} The longer things are apart the harder they are to ever put back together. The engine is apart, put it back together before any other fragments of how to remember leak away. (believe this, I have had Allison 10 speed automatics laid out on four benches for one trans. If I had left it for even a day It would have been a disaster)
6} The fact of tool ownership (compressor) is not a reason to use it.
7} to become a painter of quality, become a volunteer with a paint/body expert and get experience cleaning his/her equipment to their satisfaction. Learn mixing. Learn humidity control, Learn finish preparation. Learn patience.
Learn more patience.
8} Use the paint you have on it foe protection for the time being. It will not hurt a thing being there, and you will make me happy.

Your experienced friend Jim!

 

[Patsdeere]

I have to agree that making sure it is running is critical. If it doesn't run you simply have a nicely painted piece of yard art.

When I can afford it, I take the big pieces (rims, sheet metal, things with lots of crannies) to a sandblaster and let him work his magic. When I am poor (like now) it is stripper and wire wheel time. I have found that a little stripper sure makes the paint come off a thousand times easier. I tried spraying stripper and then hitting it with a pressure washer. Worked pretty darn good. The touch up or hard areas is done with a wire wheel. Make sure you are using a mask, it can get nasty wire wheeling. I have a tendancy to wire wheel even before it is running since it is essentially free to do that. I don't put top coat on until it is running. I will hit it with primer so it doesn't flash rust on me. I found that the most reasonably priced wire wheels are from harbor freight on special. I just picked up a couple for $3 a piece instead of $6. If you want a copy of the ad let me know.

I have a couple of sprayers (not hlvp so I cam't speak for them), but I have found that my touch up gun ($9.99 special from Harbor Freight) has worked the best. My compressor won't handle hlvp so I am stuck using the suckem type. It allows control of air volume, paint volume and spray width.

In terms of thinning paint, it takes a little trial and error. Start with what ever the can recommends. It all depends on what size tip your gun has (the smaller the tip the thinner it would have to be). I usually mix it up so that it drips off the end of my stir stick and doesn't make a spash up like water does when it drips into a pool of water. Sometimes I find that the stuff is still too thick and so I add just a smidgen more since it doesn't take much to change the viscosity.

One thing I learned was that trying it on some scrap metal is well worth the wasted paint. I also shot all my cast metal first since that is much more forgiving compared to the sheetmetal. Granted my sheetmetal didn't come out quite as well as I had hoped, but it was a lot better than if I had started with it. Also make sure to put on thin layers. Thick layers will give you goopy, runny uggly paint jobs and you then get to redo it, which I hate.

 

[Roy in georgia]

you can buy the paint from tractor supply and the thinner and hardener. mix according to the directions on the can get plenty of mineral spirts to clean the gun with. Sherwin Williams sells a value priced 5 gallon bucket of it . Next just get a old piece of metal sand prime and paint it. The practice will make you paint the tractor more to your liking make a bend and bow in the metal so you can get the feeling of painting the shapes of the fenders and hood. Then AFTER she is running and driving (working tractor) take the hood and other parts off that you can even any wires that you can so you don't have any lines under them and I never like looking at a tractor someone painted over everything. I like my carb. and other parts to break up the one color radiator, shroud, carb, linkages, mag, plug wires, and some other things I can't think of I like to be black in the end just looks better to me that way but she is all yours paint it how you like. do some looking in photoes and pay attention to these details and I think you will agree on breaking up the color a bit with these small pieces.

 

[hillbillyOH]

Thinning depends on temperature, humidity, paint-type, etc. It can literally change from day to day.

 

[ScottyHOMeY]

Lots of good advice down below, so I'll only ad two cents instead of the whole nickel.

You can hold off on a lot of paint until you have it running, but you might think about about cleaning up some of the larger parts while they're off the tractor and mix up a small batch of primer and shoot them. It'll be good practice, and you would only need to degrease and scuff it a little as prep for your color coats.

I offer the idea for the practice in shooting the primer, learning how to sdet up your gun, how to flow it on, and how to clean up your gun. I shot a whole tractor that way before I ever shot any color.

 

[JT]

Lanse,
First, I agree, get it running first. You start painting, the you get it all oily greasy, scratch you new paint, you won't be happy.
As for preparation, Use a wire brush only on the heavy, rough cast parts. You use a wire wheel on tin, you will make it look like crap, create 10 times more work to get all the scratches out that you will make in the tin. Do not use a DA sander, you will burn the base paint and make a mess. the hood, tank, front end are small, hand sand it, straighten all your tin, fill with a liquid fill n glaze, hand sand that smooth, then prime it, sand it, prime it, sand it. do this until it is as smooth as you want it. I am using Rustoleum rattle can primer on the small parts and it is working good, just takes 5-6 hours to dry to be able to sand it. Then paint it. there is no such thing as an easy way to get a good surface that will look nice. I have over 30 hours in the hood, tank, and front end of my M and I still am not done with base work and preparation. I have yet to put a machine on it, it has all been hand sanded. And mine still will not be perfect.
Jim

 

[kyplowboy]

Well said.

Lanse, please read what In-too-deep said several times. 10 years from now you will be glad you did.

Have you got it unstuck yet?

Good luck.

Dave

 

[Andy Motteberg]

I didn't know they made Allis Chalmers B tractors in 93! LOL!

 

[Alex-41JDb]

1: We told you so already. Wait on the Paint. Sandblast/wire wheel and let set.
2: Janicholson and in to deep got it covered.
3: I know this sounds bad but a rattle can job is sometimes better than a poor gun job, learn the gun thing and you will be a happier man.

 

[hillbillyOH]

One more thing: there's nothing more important with a gun than clean-up. You must clean it from top-to-bottom after every session.

 

[Case Pres 1]

Lanse, I've been following your adventure with interest and agree with the advice you are getting, it's good! Don't know if you ever look at the Case Discussion board but if not, take a look at "Combinekid's" LA Case. I think this will give you some encouragement. I think he's been working on this one for at least two years, but that doesn't mean it will take you that long. Thanks for the updates and stick with it, it will be worth it in the end.

 

[troyr]

Lanse,Plenty of good advise here already I'll give you mine.We have the same tractor I have #25550.I also am in the process of restoration.The first thing I did with mine is get it unstuck then got 'er running,tore it apart ,painted everything one at a time and reassembled.That $10 touch up gun from Harbor freight is great I bought two.one for primer one for paint.Buy good primer.It should be expensive.It should mix with about a 1:1 ratio.You should be able to sand a coat of primer in 20minutes after you spray it.Use hardener I didn't on a couple of parts and it was soft for 3 weeks.The wire wheels at harbor freight are good for use on an angle grinder,Wear protection those wheels seem to go fast they start shooting out the wires.Take a picture of everything before you disassemble.I just got a camera and have no before pics

 

[JT]

Bought my paint at a farm store, 29.99 a gallon. This is the air cleaner off my M shot with a rattle can. It looks good, but I also spent 5 hours hand sanding, primering, sanding again, primering again, sanding again. I use
rust oleum primer, it worked real good. ALL primer needs at least 1-2 hours to be dry enough to not get little peices of primer balled up in the sandpaper and leave little scratches. I guess it all depepnds on how you want it to look. the guy helping me has been a paint and body man for over 40 years. this is the info he gave me if I want it to look good, not show quality, just to look good. I painted this about a week ago, so the paint is still a little soft, even though the date says 2004.
Jim

 

[trucker40]

Ive been watching this but I must have missed some where did you get it unstuck?How did you unstick it?
Get a cheap paint gun,one of them ones that has the reservoir on top.HVLP I think they call it.Read instructions and paint something else besides your tractor first.You need to clean the gun up every time you use it.Paint wont stick to rust.Mask whatever you dont want paint on.why did you brush paint it?Live and learn I guess.The cleaner you can get it the better.Grind your brush mess off with a wire wheel.When you get it clean wipe it off with degreaser or solvent or whatever they say to use with the paint you have,then you paint a thin coat after you have mixed the paint with the right thinner to the right consistency,then you let it set a few minutes until it gets tacky,hit with another thin coat,wait,hit with another thin coat,by then should be covered good,the 4th time look for places that you think you can see through the paint or light spots.Paints not cheap even if you buy it at TSC or an auto parts store by the time you get all the stuff you need.You might get a gallon of automotive type paint for 150 dollars maybe 120 in a kit that includes reducer and hardener and other stuff,filters stir stiks,mixing containers,see if they will throw some sandpaper in too.If you get it from TSC or a place like that you can get a gallon for about 30 dollars,but you still need lacquer thinner to clean the gun,masking tape,reducer,so its probly over 50 bucks and thats probly not enough.The TSC paint is only going to last a few years and it will fade.You dont want any paint on the inside of your motor where it could flake off and plug a oil gallery.
You might want to watch somebody paint something or go to a library or look it up on the internet,how to paint a car.Maybe how to paint a car,Car Craft magazine or Hot Rod magazine and see if it comes up.