Painting a tractor

[brewdexta]

I've only had my dexta about 12 years, of which she's been in bits for about 6 or 7 years. I am now going to make a concerted effort to get it on the road for the middle of next year.

I have already bought synthetic paint for her, its more the preparation I need some advice on. I've sprayed synthetic on two milling machines and a kid's land rover and I'm fairly happy with the results and although 2 pack would be great I haven't got the right safety gear and want to do it myself. Moving big castings around to paint booths is not something I want to do.

So I've settled for a synthetic top coat however I want to give it decent protection from tin worm and wear and tear.

Not having used epoxy primers before, but hearing good things about them, I was wondering if a good quality product like Lechler would be OK to brush on and get a half decent finish that I could spray synthetic primer and topcoat? Will it go on like cream cheese or can it be thinned and give sufficient wet edge time to get something that would not look a dogs dinner?

initial thoughts? There will be more questions to come

Cheers
Andy

 

[richie00boy]

I don't think you would need to thin it and it dries fairly quickly but still should give you a decent wet edge time. The Jotun products are thicker and slower drying.

Either will definitely be better in both brushing and protection than a fast drying anti rust primer that is thinned with xylene.

 

[brewdexta]

Thanks Richie

I'm guessing its fine on bare cast aluminium too or do I still need etch primer?

Also, apart from the exhaust manifold, I'm guessing its fine on hot engine parts too?

Cheers
Andy

 

[richie00boy]

Decent epoxy sticks as well as etch, it's a better product for a number of reasons.

All paints are usually fine on engine blocks etc. The epoxy will have a greater resistance to oil leaks etc though.

If you are spraying the top coat then why not spray the primer?

 

[brewdexta]

If you are spraying the top coat then why not spray the primer?

I was under the impression that spraying epoxy needs a proper air fed mask to be on the safe side?

I've got the usual vapour and particulate mask that I change regularly when spraying synthetic and I do in the downstairs barn with the door open so it has a nice through draft. I don't like taking chances with this stuff, life is not a rehearsal and I don't believe in the here after

 

[richie00boy]

No an A2P2 rated mask is all that is needed.

And there is no need for 1k primer on top of epoxy, in fact it will be worse with it.

 

[brewdexta]

Hi Richie

I'm using MOLDEX 9030 P3 R Particulate Filters & MOLDEX 9400 ABEK1 Organic Gas Filters / Cartridges when spraying synthetic,
so P3 particle and ABEK1 vapour which I think exceeds A2P2 rating, however I'm not an authority on this.

Should this be OK to spray epoxy in a semi-outside environment?

Sprayed epoxy and topcoat sounds great without a 1K primer.

Cheers
Andy

 

[richie00boy]

That is the same setup I use. I've sprayed 2k with it, it's way better than needed for epoxy and 1k.

Just make sure the vapour cartridges are not old and have been kept in a tight plastic bag or box.

 

[brewdexta]

Cheers Richie, I thought I had a deja vu moment, I asked a similar question a while ago about this on a thread about Jotun . Ho hum, better to be safe than sorry. I bought a couple of new pairs of cartridges recently and will keep them bagged.

That's me sorted I shall haul down the tractor from the workshop above into the barn and give it a good spray with epoxy. I may use some high build on the panels but I shall just go straight on top of the epoxy with empire blue synthetic on everything else.

 

[Welderpaul]

I will be very interested to see how she takes shape Andy. Mine is not far off paint; just need to finish the body panels and find a new nose.

Looking forward to the photos!

 

[brewdexta]

Hi Paul
mines a little way of painting all of it however its getting in the way so I plan to get the big lump of the main casting and back axle cleaned off and painted first, I've mainly stripped it, fixed a couple problems, just need to take a look at the hydraulic pump. The steering column is ready to paint, I renovated that about 6 years ago . Once I start I will finish it, I've been getting the engine liners honed for about 2 years now, I got the head done, I haven't checked the crank yet. I had the injectors refurbished by a mate, I'm guessing that the fuel pump may need a looking at too. Kingpin bushes done and rear axle bearing and new oil seals done so I'm well on the way.

I have some new wings for it however they are not a perfect copy. They fit all right but you can instantly tell the difference from the original. The originals are very rusty and I assumed beyond repair, until I joined this forum that is. So I shall fit the new ones for now and repair the old ones at my leisure, complete with "fomoco" embossed into them. The nose has had a bump so I need to give it a bit of a bash. The rest of the panels are OK and I bought new foot plates that are fair copies, the old ones were dust.

There's a vintage car rally in Hebden Bridge in August, I have an old fergie link box and I brew beer so my aim is to take the tractor to the rally next year with the link box full of home brew and a picnic. I may need a lift home.......

 

[Welderpaul]

I found a good company who refurbished my Dexta fuel pump. I can send you their details of you need them.
Luckily i've managed to repair most of the original panels which, like yours, have the Fomoco stamp on them. I'm on the look out for a (less knackered than mine) original nose, even if it needs some work. There's next to nothing left of mine!

Rear axle - does yours have shrunk on collars or big nuts to hold the bearings on?

 

[mylesdw]

I have had promising results with International's Interbond 373; it's a 2k epoxy. You can spray, brush or roller it on; it has great covering and very little over-spray. The datasheet says it can be applied over a little corrosion ("slight gingering"). It's not too expensive, I pay about UKP20 per litre and it goes a long way. I can't comment on its longevity.

 

[brewdexta]

Rear axle - does yours have shrunk on collars or big nuts to hold the bearings on?

I've got big nuts!

I have had promising results with International's Interbond 373; it's a 2k epoxy. You can spray, brush or roller it on; it has great covering and very little over-spray. The datasheet says it can be applied over a little corrosion ("slight gingering"). It's not too expensive, I pay about UKP20 per litre and it goes a long way. I can't comment on its longevity.

Sounds interesting, however I may go with the Lechler as per Langy in case I want to pimp my tractor a bit later . I think you can get 4l plus 2l hardener for around 60 or 70 quid from paint4U so that sounds a pretty good deal, I shall be checking it out later today.

 

[brewdexta]

4 litres of Lechler 29107 epoxy primer, 2 litres of activator and a litre of thinners on its way, I asked for it to be tinted mid to light grey. The tractor is empire blue with light grey wheels/wings so should be good for both.

 

[Welderpaul]

with light grey wheels/wings

Orange, surely??

 

[armalites]

I keep thinking I should sell my Dexta, had it for 13 years. Everytime I see you guys talking about your I think I should restore it. Kids don't want me to sell it but I've got so many projects on the go.

Mine is all blue(empire blue I think) with orange wheels.

 

[mylesdw]

Some inspiration for you; my brother-in-law with his Dexta

I think maybe some of the later Super Dextas did have grey wheels, not sure. It's Empire Blue and I think Fordson Orange.

 

[mylesdw]

It's not too expensive, I pay about UKP20 per litre

I should qualify that; paint is really expensive here in NZ but this is comparatively cheap, you'd probably get it for much less in the UK.

 

[brewdexta]

Very nice, I defo want to get it finished

The later "new performance" dextas and majors had light grey instead of orange, this is identical to what mine should/will/may look like