Painting Cast Iron

Jim Paterson · Dec 11, 2011

I was just reading a past post about painting cast iron wheels with a brush or foam brush. What other cast iron parts can I get away with using that same method and still getting a decent looking paint job (I'm not looking for a Ferrari finish). All my sheet metal is going to be sprayed. '44 H.

Tom Fleming · Dec 11, 2011

Personally, I just spray them. Never attemped to brush them.

perrycounrtyfarmalls · Dec 11, 2011

spray it....looks great

perrycounrtyfarmalls · Dec 11, 2011

I've been done with this one for almost 10 years. The photo was taken this fall.
Rusty

perrycountyfarmalls · Dec 11, 2011

my computer was messing up.had my name wrong...ooops....but here is another pic of previous paint jobs we've done.

mike1972chev · Dec 11, 2011

Why would you want to "brush paint " your wheels???? It would be easier and way faster to spray them out.

pete 23 · Dec 11, 2011

I have seen a few wheels painted with a brush because the guy didn't have a paint gun and he thought rattle cans were too expensive. Didn't look too bad. I wouldn't do it but hey, it's your tractor.

gene bender · Dec 11, 2011

You can do a great job with a brush on the cast i think its a better than spraying. Now the sheet metal is a spray job

Kyrock · Dec 11, 2011

looksssss good

JRSutton · Dec 11, 2011

Brushed on paint CAN look just fine - if done right.

You definitely want to be sure the paint is thinned adequately, to help avoid tell-tale brush marks.

Personally, seeing even slight brush marks screams "amateur", so I think it's woth taking the time to avoid them.

Which, sort of comes back around to why not spray? Brushing ends up taking more time overall.

rustyfarmall · Dec 12, 2011

(quoted from post at 18:07:03 12/11/11) You can do a great job with a brush on the cast i think its a better than spraying. Now the sheet metal is a spray job

Exactly. Do not thin the paint. Use a very good quality brush. Apply a second coat while the first coat is still "tacky", and a third or even fourth coat may be necessary. The end results will be equal to any "sprayed on" finish, and when you're done, you have only one brush to clean up, no masking tape to remove, and you didn't have to worry about "over-spray" or drift landing on something that didn't need painted.

JRSutton · Dec 12, 2011

You don't thin?

A friend of mine who does a lot of brush painting tells me it's very important to.

I've never tried it either way, I'd much rather just spray. But that's only because the tedium of brushing always gets me to a point of "to hell with this, just slap it on and get it done" within about 5 minutes. But that's just a mental problem.

Judging by my friends results on his brushed stuff, he seems to know what he's talking about. He does absolutely beautiful work.

However, I've seen other stuff that other people have hand painted and it looks "ok", but not something you'd want to show off.

So, perhaps the moral of the story is, thinning doesn't really matter. The point stands that you CAN get very good results with a brush.

mkirsch · Dec 12, 2011

Okay, I don't see how:

1. Spending hours getting the paint mix right and the gun working because no matter how many tines you rinsed it out with thinner, how much thinner you ran through it, how many times you took it apart or how many times you brushed out all the orifices, it's STILL plugged up with dry paint.
2. Spending hours and wasting gallons of thinner cleaning out the gun, only to have it STILL not work right the next time you need it.

takes less time than:

1. Take 98-cent foam brush from package.
2. Throw 98-cent foam brush in garbage.

Sure, it takes less time to do the actual spraying, but prep and cleanup are almost nonexistent with a brush. Prep/cleanup is the great equalizer when you're talking about time.

The keys to successful brush-painting on castings, in my experience:

1. Do NOT thin the paint.
2. Use a cheap disposable foam brush.
3. Apply a minimum of 3 coats over 3 days. Because the paint isn't thinned you can apply thicker coats, but the same rules apply as for spraying... Thin first coat, don't expect it to cover. A little thicker on the second coat, should cover this time. Thickest on the third coat, which will flow out and cover any brush marks, deepen the color, and give you a nice "candy coating" on the part.
4. Wait at least 30 days after the last coat of paint before assembly if you can. This will allow the paint to cure through to the base, and it won't peel off around bolts when you go to reinstall things...

rustyfarmall · Dec 12, 2011

(quoted from post at 06:21:29 12/12/11) Okay, I don't see how:

1. Spending hours getting the paint mix right and the gun working because no matter how many tines you rinsed it out with thinner, how much thinner you ran through it, how many times you took it apart or how many times you brushed out all the orifices, it's STILL plugged up with dry paint.
2. Spending hours and wasting gallons of thinner cleaning out the gun, only to have it STILL not work right the next time you need it.

takes less time than:

1. Take 98-cent foam brush from package.
2. Throw 98-cent foam brush in garbage.

Sure, it takes less time to do the actual spraying, but prep and cleanup are almost nonexistent with a brush. Prep/cleanup is the great equalizer when you're talking about time.

The keys to successful brush-painting on castings, in my experience:

1. Do NOT thin the paint.
2. Use a cheap disposable foam brush.
3. Apply a minimum of 3 coats over 3 days. Because the paint isn't thinned you can apply thicker coats, but the same rules apply as for spraying... Thin first coat, don't expect it to cover. A little thicker on the second coat, should cover this time. Thickest on the third coat, which will flow out and cover any brush marks, deepen the color, and give you a nice "candy coating" on the part.
4. Wait at least 30 days after the last coat of paint before assembly if you can. This will allow the paint to cure through to the base, and it won't peel off around bolts when you go to reinstall things...

Yep, that's pretty much how I do it.

JRSutton · Dec 12, 2011

Overall, yes, just painting with a brush can be much quicker and easier.

But my point was a personal perspective on the fact that the actual monotonous WORK time is much longer with a brush. And with my A.D.D if I'm five minutes into it with a brush, I'm bored out of my skull and WILL just get messy for the rest of the job.

I'll start over applying and slobbering paint everywhere leaving lots of runs and drips and pools of paint, start touching and bumping into everything, getting paint all over me, etc etc.

I'm much safer with a spray gun.

Again, a personal perspective, but I know I'm not the only person who's short on patience. And you do have to factor that in when evaluating whether or not you personally can do a good brush job.

I can not.

rustyfarmall · Dec 12, 2011

(quoted from post at 06:32:31 12/12/11)
Overall, yes, just painting with a brush can be much quicker and easier.

But my point was a personal perspective on the fact that the actual monotonous WORK time is much longer with a brush. And with my A.D.D if I'm five minutes into it with a brush, I'm bored out of my skull and WILL just get messy for the rest of the job.

I'll start over applying and slobbering paint everywhere leaving lots of runs and drips and pools of paint, start touching and bumping into everything, getting paint all over me, etc etc.

I'm much safer with a spray gun.

Again, a personal perspective, but I know I'm not the only person who's short on patience. And you do have to factor that in when evaluating whether or not you personally can do a good brush job.

I can not.

To each his own. We all need to do it the way it works best for us. Personally, I like to turn the radio on and then pretty much mentally block out the rest of the world. The time I spend doing a project like that is MY time.

dhermesc · Dec 12, 2011

I brush paint the castings but I try to use a "high quality" brush. Usually a 2 1/2" to 3" soft bristle brush that is used for varnish. I will also thin the paint a little so the paint is nice and even and there is less of a chance that the brush marks show. The wheel weights I've painted (fairly smooth castings) look very nice after being painted that way.

My last choice would be to use a rattle can paint. I painted my 350 13 years ago and I sprayed all the sheet metal and brushed all the castings. I removed nearly all the sheet metal and painted it on saw horses but rattle can sprayed a couple of small cowl peices tha I left on the tractor and the sides of the radiator. The rattle can sprayed areas show considerable fade compared to the rest of the tractor.

CNKS · Dec 12, 2011

Quality paint guns cleaned after use are ready to go the next time. Following the spec sheet for quality paints works every time. Using cheap guns and cheap paint end up with results similar to what you say. I only use a brush for touching up minor chips and scratches. To each his own, but I want to do the best job I can, and that is not with a brush.

perrycountyfarmalls · Dec 12, 2011

My thoughts exactly.....but if it's your time and money...do it however you want....

Painting Cast Iron

Jim Paterson

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Tom Fleming

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perrycounrtyfarmalls

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perrycounrtyfarmalls

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perrycountyfarmalls

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mike1972chev

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pete 23

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gene bender

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Kyrock

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JRSutton

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JRSutton

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mkirsch

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rustyfarmall

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CNKS

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