Give me a run down...

[Ingersoll444]

OK for you you guys that have done this before, give a little run down, of prep for painting a whole tractor. Right now I am working on getting all the paint and rust off. Then I am planing on a quick sanding on the bad parts, then a wipe down with eather mineral spirets, or Napha to clean any greese off, then tack and spray primer.

One, does that sound good, or am I missing something?

Two, what about prep after the primer? It will probably be a few weeks before primer, and top coat. Do I sand the primer to scuff it up? Just use a 3M pad, or just paint over? Any other steps I am missing?

[Ingersoll444]

Oh sorry, I am using BPS paints, with hardner mixed in.

[parts man]

Sounds like you got the bases covered pretty good Paul, to wash off the tractor, I use gas or paint thinner (thinner is better, dries quicker ;) ). As far as the primer, by the time you have your gun cleaned, it will be lots ready for you top coats, spray away. The can will have directions on it for how long to wait between priming and painting, basically once it "flashes" it's ready.

[Fusion1970]

This is just a question, but wouldn't gas be bad to use? I have used gas many times to clean parts, but have never wiped anything down with gas prior to painting. I like to use thinner for wiping parts down prior to primer or paint, but will reach for acetone whenever feasible. When painting RC boats, I usually use Windex of all things, and have had great results from it. Would I try it on a car? No.

One thing I have learned is to experiment. A little variation in thinner, reducer, etc. might help in a given situation. Maybe a little more air pressure at the gun. But my rule is to not stray too far, as the products we see now are precise and the chemists and formulators are there for a reason. I have also learned that even when short on paint supply, still sacrafice enough to get the gun spraying like it should. You will save material in the long run if painting anything of significant size.

To me, another fine art is knowing how to apply it, and knowing what you can get by with, even with a spray can. With the CC104 I painted recently with BPS spray cans, after painting the deck I realized that the paint will not run easily. A couple tack coats, and then you can load up on a good flow coat to where it looks like its gonna run and sag everywhere but it don't. Some paints will run if a heavy second tack coat is applied. Kinda funny how it all worked out, as the hood that was sprayed with a detail gun looked like crap, but everything else that was painted with a spray bomb is like a mirror.

Painting to me is also something you will never master but rather just keep up with.

Greg

[bear]

looks like you got it covered

[parts man]

Greg, I haven't had any problems washing down with gas, just make sure it's evaporated off well, but I would think thinner would be better.

[Fusion1970]

PM- Thats kinda interesting. BPS' primer is oil based, and the topcoat also seems to go on as an oily based liquid. If anything, it seems it might be compatible with that. The oil based primer seemed pretty wild...and the paint without any catalyst seems to take a long time to cure. Oil paintings take 7 years to fully dry in comparison.

Greg

[professor]

Paul, I like to spray the tractor with a grease cutting soap then pressure wash, then sand. After that- paint. This way I am not exposed to evaporating thinner prior to painting. I also like to use window cleaner as a paint prep. If I sand after priming, it is only to flatten the final paint.

Mike

[mark777]

Paul, I like to spray the tractor with a grease cutting soap then pressure wash, then sand. After that- paint. This way I am not exposed to evaporating thinner prior to painting. I also like to use window cleaner as a paint prep. If I sand after priming, it is only to flatten the final paint.

Mike

I do it exactly that way. Although I've never tried the window cleaner part. The best success to date (for me) is a strong concentration of laundry soap dissolved in a bucket of hot water. I've found that the more caustic (stings your hyde!) the better it is as a final wash. Pressure wash/rinse or garden hose off and blow dry with filtered compressed air.

It may add one additional day to completely dry out (sit overnight) but it is cheap, effective insurance and worth the extra time...IMHO :).

I've found that chemical final washes are extremely effective inside the booth, but painting in any other areas where your project is exposed to surface and airborne contaminates smear those heartbreakers and compound the problems rather than isolate them.

Mark

[cadurning]

I don't know about window cleaners, but I would think that gasoline would leave a residue that could compromise the adheasion(pealing) or finish(fish eye) of the paint. Before I paint I spray/rub down with laquor thinner to get any oily residue off of the surface.