Anyone repaint/rebuilding 460/560/706/806/865/ etc

I am getting a "cover" made to exactly like the manifold gasket in 3/8" steel so when the tractor is getting sandblasted & painted there will be ZERO way to get anything in the engine after that's on the tractor.

If you want one let me know.... I'll have cost in the next couple days.

Will come with plate & bolts for proper installation.

Going to be made from laser machine to be exact match.

To be honest here sand blasting a tractor would be one of the last things i would do . That sand will get into places you really do not want sand in. NOW if i was going to tear a tractor down to bare housings and replace every seal and bearing NEW from the get go then i might think about it . You will have sand in the wheel bearings axle bearings down in the trans mission because it will enter around the gear shift . seen tomany auction dozers that were all painted up for the big sales and someone buys it because it is shiny and LOOKEd good and shorty after getting it home and putting it to work the leaks start and bearing start going out . Myself i have done a bunch of tractors over the years and found a good hot water pressure washer running 200 degree water at 2400 lbs pressure and a caustic soap Will take off a lot and when it drys for a couple days a scraper wire brush and a blow gun finishes the job . Then a good coat of red oxide primer and 6 coats of paint the tractor is good enough for the Red power video . Yep that is how i did my S/MTA and it was on the 94 Red Power Video Fast line and a couple other places. and it was a RAG when i bought it covered in PIG SHUT

I agree with TV, no sand!

I have an otherwise nice 450lp that someone painted and fixed up a little years ago, to the extent that the paint is now faded again. I did some work on it in the fall and there was still sand coming out of places!

An individual piece such a frame rail or something is ok but not an entire machine.

Ditto on what is being said here!

Unless you were doing a TOTALL teardown(which you obviously DO NOT need.) I would not go near the engine or the trans/final drive with a pressurized sand blaster at all! Most people do not realize that the sand under that kind of pressure WILL get into areas you dont want it to! I dont care HOW much duct tape,corks,plugs,block off plates you use.

You might look into low pressure,[lastic media blasting,but it will still enter any cracks or crevases. A good cleaning and some hand prep work like posted below will produce "show quality" results.It is in the detail as to how much you want to "work" at the prep job???? The prep work IS the key to GREAT paint.period!!!!

Even if you DO choose to sandblast it,you will have as much prep afterwards as you would have if you didnt blast it. (Sand clean up,taking it FARTHER apart to get the sand out of areas it should have NEVER been.) IMHO,If I were going to blast it,I would start tearing it apart even more than it is now.You wount get good coverage with the sand.TOO many angles to hit.You will find yourself taking things apart afterwards to finish them.

The old paint that is on it+ MORE primer will work good as a base IF IT IS PREPPED CORRECTLY! I am sure I will get arguments here.
Unless a tractor was a "rust bucket" of a chasssis,(which yours OBVIOUSLY is not!) I wouldnt.

I agree with the Tractor Vet and the others that say NO SANDBLASTIG!!!!!! A good hot bath or steamcleaning will do a better job of cleaning with less risk to the tractor and a lot less cleanup befor you paint. You think you have all the sand cleanup befor painting but you will be surprised and dismayed at how much sand the paint gun will find and blow around as you paint! Why do you think sandblasting is so important to a good paint job?

I say blast it! Everytime you talk about it this comes up. I would like to see if it is true or wives tales.

Hey sflem, have you ever sandblasted anything? I have. The sand gets EVERYWHERE.

*I* had sand in places I didn't even know existed, and I was wearing coveralls over regular clothes with the legs pulled over the tops of my boots, plus a face shield, a raincoat with the hood pulled tight over the shield, and welding gloves pulled over the sleeves of the raincoat.

From what little blasting I did, there was sand in my ARMPITS. There was sand in my UNDERWEAR. There was sand in my SOCKS. I thought I was pretty well sealed off from the world, but it still got in.

Professionals use a full helmet and duct tape their wrists and ankles for a reason I guess.

Do you think a tractor is going to fare any better, with the sand being sprayed directly at it?

I also say blast it we have done 13 of our tractors and have never had a problem yes it dose take a while to get all the sand off befor you paint but works fine for us.

Would you say you had a great deal of prep work to do AFTER sandblasting as you would have had if you didnt Gold 1456??? Even if you do blast,its no easy way out to getting that BETTER than show quality work so many seem to want for some reason???? If you are going to do the OVER restored 2 stage paint work like I think Colby has finally arrived at,It will ALL be a lot of labor anyway you do it.

If you are going to just pull it on and off the trailer at shows like so many do,you wont have to worry about too much mechanically wearing out from the sand,but if you are going to ACTUALLY use this machine,I would be deeply tearing into it to remove debris.

That engine got a water pump on it????

Yeah i think there is more prep work when you blast but im not looking for extra nice show paint job cuz all of our tractors get used on the farm.I use a epoxy primer and it seems to sick very well if i remove all old pait.

if your gonna spend the time and money to repaint a tractor dont half a** it by power washing it or osme other silly method. snadblast it. i do all my tractors that way and have ZERO problems. Its just like anything you do, PREPERATION is the key and you can control where the sand goes.

In 8th grade I overhauled our 560 diesel as a 4-H project. We
decided to paint it and I wanted to sand blast it, which sounded
good to everyone. Anyway, the tractor received blue ribbons at
the county and state fair. After the fair it was returned to the
farm for its regular use of cultivating 900 acres with a 68 front
mount, doing all of the custom square bailing, feed grinding and
mowing. After two years we were at the neighbors bailing hay
and oil started coming out of the muffler. After going from bad
to worse we tore it down and found that sand had gotten into
the engine somehow and ruined our engine. I believe a little over
$6500 later we had a completely rebuilt engine. I was careful
with the sand, but will never do a tractor that way again. If I do it
will be piece by piece with all new parts. I learned the lesson the
hard way before computers and forums. Do as you wish, it may
be fine, and you may regret it, just listen to the advise given. It
looks like more are telling you not to than to do so, and I would
hate for someone else to make my mistake twice. Good Luck!

Sand blasting should be limited to only the SMALL parts, and only if they are completely disassembled so you can SEE if you got all the sand out. I personally will NEVER sand blast a complete tractor.

a good mechanic would never sandblast a complete tractor.

That's totally why I like this forum!

1st of all... Thanks for your input.

Ok, change of plans, we will continue to remove many more items and get them sand blasted OFF tractor. After looking more at this tractor it's not too hard to remove more stuff. Rear castings, 2pt hitch, etc etc

We have good hot pressure washer, and will go that direction.

What about paint stripper?

Last comment

When I redid our 600 Ford,I did have the chassis blasted MINUS the engine,radiator and ALL sheet metal parts.(KNOWING I was taking it COMPLETELY apart after!!)ALL of the "joints"openings were duct taped or plugged.I then primered it and then FULLY took it apart.(transmission ,steering box,rear end,axles,backing plates,front axle.PTO shaft,3 point arms,clutch pedal and shaft, brake pedals and shafts) I knew going in ALL these components listed were going to be rebuilt or reworked,so I wasnt concerned.


When I took all these items apart,there was sand in ALL of them to some degree. We were careful with how hard we layed on all of these "joints' and plugged openings,but there is really no good way to block them off to ever seal them completely.Sandblasting is a HARSH beast!

My next one will be done in this manner.(Super M Farmall.) FULLY disassemled.EVERYTHING!!! Down to the trans/finaldrive. SPECIAL media blast all sheet metal.All components being rebuilt that are getting FULLY dis assembled will get cabinate blasted(Starter,generator,WP,ect)BIG castings that are dis assembled will get blasted(Wheel hubs/centers rims inside and out,steering shafts.)

Final drive/trans just DA and sanders on the rear housing,(and still going inside to clean the insides out!) Once you tear her down,the rear end really isnt all that much to power sand or hand sand,really!

I just WOULD NOT sandblast one unless you fully intend to tear it ALL the way apart after doing so personally. Your tractor chassis is in GREAT shape anyway,no need to fully blast it.Just maybe pull SOME of the parts and send them out and spend some sanding time on what remains????

Yours looks like it just needs some "scuffing up" and "feathering" and them primer the whole thing in GOOD primer.Your tractor is in GREAT SHAPE!!!!

You mean what brand too use or what to strip???

I use good aircraft stripper,but ONLY on delicate metal parts(example: gauge rims,fully assembled voltage regulators.)Things of that nature!

You can do what you want but I wouldn't sand blast anything. I had to redo a Mopar that someone blasted the block & rebuilt the engine. In a couple hundred miles it was very noisy. When I tore it down I could tell What happened to it. (SAND)

I had a thought: What about SODA blasting?

Baking soda will strip paint and dissolves in water.

Soda is good for certain items,mostly light gauge metals to remove paint.STILL would get into mechanical stuff.ANYTING abrasive IS NOT good to use around bearings,seals,bushings,ect.

Plastic media is VERY good for sheet metal. We did my Super M replacement grill in low abrasive media.They even blasted it with the screen still in it!!!!! It came out NOT warped and COMPLETELY paint and rust free.Acid etched primered it and it looked beutiful!

Not that I would know anything about it , I've blasted over 300 tractors . I've never had the first problem with any of them .
Yes you need to do much more prep before and after blasting but if you want a very nice paint job it is worth it .

Even when you have every last bolt out and every
part separated it is difficult to get the sand out
of everything.

wow thanks for all the help guys.

Decision has been made, we are going to just remove more parts & get them done off the tractor, sandblasted/primed. We did have already been doing this, removing parts, sandblasted & primed.

Here's a question has anyone used paint striper? is it worth it?

We are going to wash it a couple times w/ hot water to make sure it's clean, then a lots of sanding to make it look sweet.

Nearly all the sheet metal, fenders, etc etc are 100% completed waiting to get back on the tractor. I will admit this project is OVER the top but I want this to be something to remember

Check out my other posting for lots more information about my 560! My tractor is SUPER clean, we did do EVERYTHING needed mechanically it needed.

Last picture is from 25 yrs ago... enjoy

Yes Matt, I have blasted.

Well then why are you encouraging him to RUIN his tractor?

(quoted from post at 05:57:24 05/11/12) Well then why are you encouraging him to RUIN his tractor?

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No, he has listened to everybody tell him not to for at least three other posts he has started. He kept talking about it and seemed to have his mind made up. I am also not convinced that with proper prep on both ends of the job that it could be done.

When I worked in Ag retail we blasted the rear frames and driveling of a few floaters. Allow of them are still running to this day.

Colby, I would remove any parts that are stamped or made from sheet metal, media blast to remove the rust, prime & paint.
Once you get it down to just the major castings, buy a good 4 in angle grinder and around 15 wire wheel discs, including the "braided" and straight wire wheels.
Using this small grinder you can remove any thick build up or loose paint with the wire wheels, the braided ones remove it quickly, the straight ones are for more delicate work.
Stay away from any casting codes or numbers, go over these areas very lightly so as not to "round off" any corners.
It seems to take forever, and makes one heck of a mess, but this is the best way to prep the castings I have found.
You are now ready for an old fashioned steam cleaning.
TRUST ME !! You will be very happy with the results.

The gentleman who's going to paint my tractor has always sand blasted the whole tractor. Never had problems with sand getting in to areas where it doesn't belong. Been doing this for thirty years. He told me where people run into problems is they have the lower end blasting equipment.