painting a horse

[russellmc301 600]

when you guys paint one do you completely tear it down or how should i paint it? I've never painted one besides touch ups; I'm going to use regal red to paint it or anything you have to share about painting it.

[953 nut 55,003]

That is a very open ended question. If you plan to make a "worker horse" look a little better than it is right now then just clean it up and shake up the rattle cans. If you will be rebuilding the engine and/or transmission then you may as well complete the task by doing a complete disassembly.

Lots of previous threads on here about painting that you can use as reference.

[roadapples 6,983]

Depends on how much tearing down or taping up you want to do. Nothing looks worse than things being painted that aren`t supposed to be. Like tires, wires, fuel lines etc.

[can whlvr 993]

I woyld at least take all the body panels off

[russellmc301 600]

well it is a driving model so i should say like how to paint the engine area and have it look nice. i don't like painted wires and stuff because i don't want an odd ball siting by the 5 ones that look nice. so do i just tape around the engine and take off the cables and things that i want to stay like they are so the engine will look nice too? i think take the wheels off and then jack it up and paint like that since i've seen many frames like that getting painted. the end goal is to look like a semi used horse that looks nice i hope to look like this one in the end http://www.wheelhorseforum.com/topic/18814-wheel-horse-a100/

[953 nut 55,003]

   If your  isn't in need of any body work and the decals are in great shape I think a good wash down with a good degreaser and a power washing followed by careful masking of everything not to be painted would do the trick. Hood and seat pan are easy to remove and need to be painted on both sides so take them off. Also, remove the wheels and deflate the tires and push down on the tire beads so you can mask between the rims and tires (nothing worse than seeing over spray on tires).

[RedRanger 1,468]

Any pictures of it now?  Sometimes a good cleaning and polish will look better than repaint.

Before

After

[roadapples 6,983]

RedRanger, can we ask what you used on the paint. That is quite a difference, looks great

[RedRanger 1,468]

1 hour ago, roadapples said:

RedRanger, can we ask what you used on the paint. That is quite a difference, looks great

I'll have to check later for the name of the buffing product, but basically I:

1.  Degreased and powerwashed.  (Be careful because the powerwasher took off some of the black print on the decals as well as blew off the decal for the seat lock)

The black color on the decals is delicate.

2.  The wheels were broke down and powder coated.

3.  The deck obviously was rebuilt and painted.

4.  The tractor itself was only cleaned, degreased, and buffed.  (in addition to mechanical repairs)

 

There is still good paint under those faded red tractors.  That old paint was a lot more durable than what is used now.

All you have to do is get the oxidation off.

Edited January 5, 2016 by RedRanger

[russellmc301 600]

ill get a picture next time I'm out in the garage to show. but it is looking pretty rough since it was buried by a colony of ground hogs.

[DennisThornton 4,769]

Yes!  I'd like to know what compound was used as well!  Turned out really nice for no new paint!  I'd also like to have a rough idea of how long it took and how much was hand polishing...  I don't mind running a buffer but that hand movement gets pretty old to me pretty quickly.

[RedRanger 1,468]

5 hours ago, DennisThornton said:

Yes!  I'd like to know what compound was used as well!  Turned out really nice for no new paint!  I'd also like to have a rough idea of how long it took and how much was hand polishing...  I don't mind running a buffer but that hand movement gets pretty old to me pretty quickly.

Thanks Dennis.

 

The hood and seat pan were machine buffed as well as the belt guards.  The frame had enough grease on it from years of use that it came out pretty nice just by degreasing it.

The only things I hand polished were around the dash and center console where the buffer would not fit.  I also have a smaller 3 inch buffer on a pnuematic polisher for tighter areas.

 

The compound I use is Xtreme Cut HT-420 by hi temp inc. applied with a 8inch wool pad at low to moderate speed. http://www.hitempinc.com/id71.html

 

Followed by 3M Perfect-It II 05996 on a foam pad as a polishing glaze. http://www.amazon.com/Automotive-Perfect-It-Polishing-Glaze-Quart/dp/B000O3IEPG

 

Both products work great with little effort.  They're both clear coat safe for cars too.  I've got a relative body man that turned me on to this stuff.

They work great for polishing steering wheels and shifter knobs too.

Nothing on the 867 has been touched with paint except the wheels and mower deck.

 

 

[shadyady 24]

totally stripped mine cleaned and painted each part separate just bonnet and engine cowl left

[DennisThornton 4,769]

Thanks RedRanger!  I owned and operated an autobody shop for 15 years and buffed many an hour! (weeks more likely!)  Used a lot of 3M stuff, not cheap but good.  Never had nor have a small buffer but I can sure see where it could come in handy for GTs.

 

Impressive results!  I shall look into your links! 

 

Thanks!

[russellmc301 600]

heres some pictures of her she is a rusty girl now but is to change. the one rim is drying now. and idk how to flip a pic so sorry for the upside down picture 

Edited January 10, 2016 by russellmc301

[953 nut 55,003]

A little time and effort and it will look like new.  

[russellmc301 600]

anyone know were i could get the lift bar on the left side so i looks complete? it is bugging me how it's missing, or the PTO lever so it looks nice.