To Paint or Not to Paint, That is the Question

[jd2cyl1943]

I am trying to decide whether on not to paint my 1943 John Deere B. Part of me wants to paint it and the other wants to leave it original( It's only original once). The one thing that's bugging me is that a few parts are going to be brand new with green paint. I'm only 14 and money is tight, so if it doesn't look odd I'm just going to overhaul it. Does this look ridiculous?

 

[Patsdeere]

Here is my take, only worth what you pay
for it.

Get it running. Get evey leak fixed, every
issue fixed, make it flawless. Then when
it's mechanically perfect (or as close as
possible or $ allows) then take it all
apart and paint it. That might be a year
or two from now, when finances are better.
It will do 2 things. First it will mean
you don't have to scratch new paint when
something starts to leak (since everything
is fixed) and if anybody comments on the
multi shades, you can tell them it will
get painted, but needs a very good shake
down first. Most will understand. Then
life gets involved and it's now a year or
two later and you'll have time to practice
painting, have $ for better paint since
expensive paint on bad prep isn't worth it
(nor is cheap paint over lots of prep
work).

If this was a nice original, original
paint without multiple parts replaced, I
would agree leave it, but it's starting to
look like a beater car, multi colored
doors and hood and trunk. If it runs well,
the color only hurts the pride, which can
be fixed.

 

[rustred]

not to discourage you, but you have thousands of dollars to be invested in that unit to get it running. then you can decide on the paint.
and i do agree i keep my tractors with the original paint, as they are only like that once .

 

[Janicholson]

Exactly. If something is getting rusty from lack of paint, spray it with a converter like this it will stop the rust, and is paintable. Jim
one product

 

[NY 986]

Depends on the condition of the sheet metal. There is such a thing as deteriorating to the point where holes show up. Further
complicated by where it will be stored and the humidity in that place. My personal bias would be to paint it after it has been
cleaned and leaks cleared up. Good paint might bode well for its future if it had to be sold.

 

[Fred47M]

You can always scuff and sand or do whatever to age the new parts. I kind understand what you mean, I fixed up a M farmall that was rolled everything from the trans cover up (including transcover) was replaced from several different tractors. I just got some IH red, some red primer, brown and some others. I liked the patina on the hood and tried to match that on the tank and nose, spraying alittle, dulling it with steel wool, scuffing, adding light scratches etc. Using anything and everything to age it. It was kind of fun! Can always restore later if you want.

 

[db4600]

Ive been around tractors my whole life. There is a story
to every one of them. With a family background of black
smithing I saw plenty of things created, fixed, or repaired
and I grew to appreciate that. When I got into steam
shows 35 years ago the trend was to restore and repaint.
I recall some gas engine guys adorning the engines with
chrome nuts and I didnt understand why. Then the trend
moved to keeping it original. I tend to walk away from
discussions that come around to whether the pin striping
is correct on a 110 year old piece of equipment and
conversely find myself appreciating an adaptation that
someone has done. Its your tractor, your sweat, and your
story and you should be proud of it and maybe more so
than the BTCs that buy their restoration. Be proud either
way.

 

[moresmoke]

To the OP, this is more life advice than tractor advice. You are young, and likely don t realize this yet. I am older, but not as old as many that hang around here. But, I have had enough experience to understand it doesn t mean a darn what anybody else thinks. It is your tractor and do as you can or please to do. Don t worry about what others think of what you do especially with your tractors. A purdy tractor is nice, but paint doesn t pull anything.

 

[Stephen Newell]

Just remember paint was invented to prevent the metal from rusting away.

 

[Rich'sToys]

i would agree with the plan of getting it running and drivable first. That may take a while and a few dollars. After it's mechanically reliable, then you can work on making it look good. But get it running first so you can enjoy it and play with it a little. The rest can come later.

 

[4wdtom]

I have to agree, get it running first. You may have to take it apart and work on it which could mess up a paint job. But the paint is far enough gone to need to be
painted, at least the sheet metal.

 

[rrlund]

Baby steps. Get it running. I don't know how attached to it you are, but maybe at some point you could find an original hood and
grill that have a little more paint on them and swap it out so it was ''original'' without being original?

 

[rustyfarmall]

It is YOUR tractor. Do it the way YOU want to do it. I own a 1950 Farmall H with the same patina as your John Deere, which is to say basically NO paint left. I've owned it for about 25 years. I had visions of a new, shiny paint job when I bought it, but that never happened, and now I am perfectly happy to just leave it as is. They are original only once.

 

[Leroy]

One thing to paint first is the inside of the wheel rims and get then so no
rust starts and then you do not have to dismount the tires just to paint the
inside of the rims just to protect them.

 

[treeman53]

2 trains of thought...

1) Only original once, including rust, dents, tears, ect. Usually refered to as patina. Popular these days with car collectors
too. Not for me, but I can appreciate that it fits other's tastes...

2) Bodywork it, paint it, and make it as it originally left the factory (or, better than it left the factory). I prefer the as
new original look. Of course, my opinions have certainly been questioned before...

 

[redforlife]

You spend your money getting this thing
running and driving FIRST. Along with
perhaps making it complete (not missing
anything). Such as front tires.

When it runs and drives, then decide if you
want to re-paint it. Once it runs and
drives, you might be happy with it just the
way it is.

For what it's worth, I wouldn't go to a lot
of time, trouble, and expense of a new
paint job, if I didn't have a shed to park
it in when done. But who knows, maybe your
mom would be willing to park her SUV
outside, and let you have her stall in the
garage. Wouldn't hurt to ask? LOL.

I repainted a couple when I was in high
school. I don't regret it. I had some
garage space (my parents) at the time, to
put them in when done. I don't think I
would of re-painted them, if I wouldn't of
had a roof to put them under once
completed.

 

[in-too-deep]

I was 18 and bought myself a junk '49 B. I took it all apart and it's still in pieces. I'm 35, now. Baby steps, man. Get it running first.

 

[1948CaseVAI]

When it was new and "original" it was painted. Why would you want something sitting around that looks like it is shot?

 

[danofarming]

Get it Running and everything fixed properly FIRST. Clean and paint the wheels as you go. Then if you want to paint it, have at it.

 

[fdt860]

You can also wax it and spray some boiled linseed oil. This is less expensive and time consuming, and will proect your tractor.