protecting Rustoleum paint finish (for Rod or othe

[Anonymous-0]

I know there is a lot of cumulative painting experience here so I'm hoping to get some good advice.
I have an 1951 8N with a Wagner loader. It's a working tractor, not a trailer queen, but I recently did extensive paint work on it. Where possible I stripped the old paint off to shiny metal, using wire brushe attachment on drills and sanding disks. Then I primed with either Rustoleum Metal Primer or the Ace equivalent. Then for the red I used Rustoleum Sunrise Red. Most of the parts were brushed - a few I used rattle cans for. I used two coats of finish paint over the primer. The gray I obtained from the Ford New Holland store. It's called "Factory Match Finish Paint" Gray Enamel (M1J-957-SE5DS on the rattle cans). I love the gray. It's darker than some of the too white grays I've seen, and in certain light has a very light olive cast to it. I also like the Sunrise Red. I am happy with the results, though some brush marks are visible in places. I customized a few things, painting the lift cylinder bodies,oil filter, oil lines, starter button, check chains & bucket hook in silver. A purist may cringe a little but I think it adds a little pizazz to the look. I hope to redo the rear wheels to do the rims in the original style cadmium type (silver maybe).
My tractor is housed in an enclosed shed and is only out when it is being used, so fading due to weather or sun exposure is not an issue.
My question is: should I apply some kind of clear coat finish over this to protect it, or maybe a wax? And if I do either of those things will it make it harder or impossible to either touchup or repaint in the future?

Thanks for your advice.

Carl

 

[Anonymous-0]

Carl,

I have heard about clear coats adding some UV protection (against fading) to some single stage paints but I don't know if the Rustoleum clear provides any such protection. It's an enamel and not a urethane. And since you are keeping it garaged much of the time, that is not a big issue anyway. If I were to use a clear, I would not use an automotive clear in your case because 1) they need to be sprayed, not brushed 2) the vast majority of auto clears contain isocyanates in the required hardener and require fresh air respirator for safe use and 3) they may not be compatible with the Rustoleum color. The safest bet, if you are going to clear it, is to use the Rustoleum clear. Scuff sanding the color before applying the clear would also be advisable, if not required, for good adhesion. I have no experience with the Rustoleum clear and would be concerned that it might yellow over time, even under cover. If it were mine, my tendency would be to forget clear and go with a wax. I have cleared over decals to provide some physical protection from tree branch scratches and because I think the vinyl ones simply look better with a clear over them. However, I also notice that any scratches in clear will leave a whitish mark that can show up worse than if there was no clear there. The wax would not provide a problem for future touch up. Just use a dedicated wax&grease remover (like PPG's DX330), do the touch up, wait a couple of months or so and rewax the area. Having a clear could also complicate any simple brush touchup or at least make the touchup more noticeable than it otherwise would be. I'm just thinking out loud here as I have never tried that particular combination.

Rod

 

[Anonymous-0]

I painted my old '91 Ranger pickup with Rust-oleum maroon paint. I used those sponge brushes for the job. It turned out ok. The truck has 184,000+ miles on it, so longevity is not a problem. But, the paint looks alright so far. If it shows signs of wear, why i'll just get out the paint and do the bad spots over again!
I only painted the bed and parts of the doors and rocker panels.
When i was employed, i refinished cars and trucks for nigh onto 50 years, but became allergic to the new paints, so i had to quit painting, and even get out of the body shop! Iso's did that to me!