Paint question

[MattE]

I've finished my 350B rebuild for the most part. Since it's still in the shop and the weather is still crappy I figure I might as well blast and paint it. Can anyone recommend a paint and primer for me. Mechanic I am, painter I am not.

[KenP]

deleted

[PowerStroker]

tractor supply's "transport yellow" as ken mentioned is very good looking and considerably less expensive... as for primer, i used rust oleum "healily rusted metal" primer, its a red brown color. you can get it in quarts and spraycans. its a thick primer and paint sticks to it very well.
on a side note, the transport yellow stayed soft for about a month when i did it. but then it hardened up and now i cant scratch it

[RedDirt]

I painted my 2010 using this process. If you look around this site you can find some before pictures. I have a link below to where you can see my finished 2010. I'm not a pro, I was 30 years ago, painting heavy equipment while I was going to school.

Step 1 - POWER WASH
Power Wash the heck out of the machine with soap feed (I like simple green in the pickup tube on my pressure washer) and rinse it with clear water. It took me 4 hours to get 40 years of mud and grease off.

Step 2 - SANDING
Heavy sanding with 80 grit on a DA down to metal when necessary. Then smoothed that out with 180 where there was paint left.

Step 3 - RUST STOP PRIMER
Clean whole tractor with wax and grease remover. Wipe it on with a clean grease free paper towel (they make special ones for this) and wipe it off with the same type of dry towel, use this process with wax and grease every time before coating with primer or paint. With a brush apply Mar-Hyde One Step anywhere there is rust showing at all through the paint or on the metal. This will stop the rust from bubbling from under the paint in spots where you can't grind it down the metal. I don't like to sandblast equipment that is in running condition since the sand seems to always get into the works and ruin something on me. Mar-Hyde One Step is nasty acid based paint so wear gloves, I don't like to spray it as it is really bad on your skin, burns etc. bad to breath the vapor so brush on as smooth as you can in a well ventilated area. This is the stuff: http://www.autobodytoolmart.com/mar-hyd ... 12783.aspx I used about 4 quarts and did the tracks and bucket too, why not stop the rust, makes a hard black surface out of the rust.

Step 4 - SURFACING PRIMER
Tape and mask as needed. Clean the whole crawler with wax and grease remover. Catalyzed Primer the whole tractor, sand with 180 on a DA and repeat until you get the brush strokes and other mess out to the finish level that you want. Use a purple 3M scratch pad where you can't get to the surface with the DA. I like Kirker primers in gray. Again this is a two part paint full safety protection is required. I like Perfect Prime for sanding and Enduro Prime for the final coat of primer, if you thin the Enduro prime out it won't need sanding except for your mistakes on the last coat of primer if you shoot the finish coats within the recoat time window. Perfect Prime sands easier and builds more. Enduro Prime is harder and more protective and seems to bond better to difficult surfaces like weird old paint and bare metal. Primers are here: http://smartshoppersinc.com/kirker/primers.html

Step 5 - URETHANE FINISH COAT
Finish sand with 180 or 220 DA any runs or irregularities out. Use a purple 3M scratch pad on any surface you can't get the DA on. Clean the whole crawler with wax and grease remover. Fix up any tape that has lifted. Shoot 2 - 4 coats depending on how heavy you go of the catalyzed Kirker Ultra-Glo Urethane School Bus Yellow, tint 3 quarts (that's what they sell it as, 3 quarts in a 1 gallon can that you add the 1 quart of catalyst/hardener to make a spray-able gallon. I usually don't thin this to spray it, sometimes if it's real hot I'll put 4-8 ounces of thinner of the temp I want to get better flow. Kirker Ultra-Glo is here: http://smartshoppersinc.com/kirker/acry ... hanes.html
Final coat was two or (three in areas with coverage problems on my first two coats. I used 2 sprayable gallons (3 quart cans + 1 quart catalyst) I wish I had bought 3 as I ran out before I finished a couple of areas on the bottom of the ripper, which is not a big deal but 3 gallons for a 450 size machine would be the minimum next time for me. You need a hardener with this according to the temperature you will shoot at. Make sure you have a good respirator, or air supply hood. Urethane is nasty stuff on your lungs, take no chances.

Before every coat of any type of paint or primer, blow the whole crawler with air to get dust out. Wipe every surface with wax & grease remover and after that dries, wipe the whole thing down with an automotive tack cloth. Shoot with the shop doors open at least a couple feet on the bottom or if shooting outside shoot at a still time of day and hope for low dust. Make sure there are no pilot lights on anywhere near where you are shooting to avoid kaboom

Here is my basic materials list. Some things I keep in stock so I estimate those things like paper, tape, gun cleaner, thinner, and sanding discs.

Simple Green concentrate for pressure wash - 1 Quart
Wax and Grease Remover - 2 Gallons
Masking tape - 3 rolls
Paper as needed
Gun cleaner / generic cheap solvent for clean up - 1 Gallon
Urethane thinner of temp needed - 1 Gallon
Mar-Hyde One Step - 4 Quarts, plastic bucket and 4" brush to apply
Perfect Prime - 2 gallons + 2 quarts of catalyst
Enduro Prime - 1 Gallon + 1 Gallon catalyst
Ultra Glo School Bus Yellow 3x3quarts + 3 quarts of catalyst at temprature needed.
10 drops of black and 10 drops of red urethane compatible tint for JD Construction Yellow
I likely used about 50 80 grit DA Discs and another 50 180 discs. Stir sticks and paint filters a couple dozen of each.

You can see my tractor when I finished it here:
http://www.kirkerautomotive.com/html/ga ... 7&SORT=148

I don't work for Kirker or Smartshoppersinc or any of the other companies I mention here. I painted heavy equipment when I was in college many years ago. I like Kirker because it is a quality paint at a price that makes it possible to use it in fleet work like this. The volumes of materials on heavy equipment is deceiving because there are so many surfaces on both sides etc., unlike a car of similar outside dimensions. So keeping material costs down is important. If you use premium automotive brands you will spend lots more. If you go with plain old enamel or the like, it won't hold up in the sun very long and won't take as much work scratching etc.

Good luck with your project!