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Should I paint it

C

crooked rows

Member
I added this tractor to my collection last fall. I've got it cleaned up and running ....doesn't look too bad....it's all original except for the rear rims and tires....even has original dealer sticker......I will probably take it to a few local shows and parades and maybe a plow day......should I paint it or leave it original......
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Definitely leave it as is. It cleaned up nice. Old dealer stickers are interesting to look at. When I go to shows the original tractors like that seem to draw a crowd.
 
Depends on what makes you happy. I will say, when I go to shows (1 or 2 a year), I see very few people looking at or taking pictures of un-painted tractors.
 
Its yours do as you like, that being said if it were mine NO WAY WOULD I PAINT IT.

Look, anybody and everybody and their brother in law has a painted tractor at all the shows, but how many clean straight originals do you see???? Those are the first ones that catch my eye. If its pained it looks like alllllllllllll the others at the show, blah blah blah BORINGGGGGGGGGGGG.

HOWEVER, I would completely clean it and all the grease and dust and dirt then maybe spray her down with something like diesel fuel and hand rub it nice n smooth n let dry just to mask any rust and make her shine just a bit and Id spray tire shiney on the tires. NOW THAT WILL MAKE HER LOOK SO GOOD

John T
 
Anybody can paint a tractor. Nobody can make one original again.

When I went to Hickory corners a few years ago for the National Oliver Summer Show,there was a fairly rusty original Oliver 66. Every piece of sheet metal was on it,all rusted the same. I had a real emotional connection with it. It's the one that I'll always remember the most from over 300 Olivers that were there. Give somebody the chance to bond with that Case the same way.
 
Another vote to leave it as is. The dealer sticker may be a conversation maker. Maybe wash and shine up the tires for a show.
 
Original paint tractors are finally gaining in popularity.
Sure were hard to find any in Ohio ! But with the invention of the internet guys have been finding them far off and trucking them in.
 
All my tractor got a coat of lipstick. Looks like your first pic after a few years of use. Don't spend your time or money painting it if you plan to use it. The pig just roll in the dirt and you wasted your time. geo.
 
Leave it, especially with the legible dealer sticker with 4 digit phone number. That will be something for the old timers to talk about.
 
Do you ever notice a fancied up tractor on someone's driveway and go out of your way to stop and look at it?

I don't.

An old item still working after decades of use has a certain WOW factor you loose when you try to pretty it up.

Something mystical about a survivor vehicle with flaws and battle scars genuinely acquired from years of hard work that draws a persons interest.
People want to see what condition the rest of the tractor is in after all the years it has survived and hear it's story.

Your choice but do you really want yours to look just like all the other Tremclad queens lined up at a show.

My thoughts are if you are not going to do a job that is equal or better than what the factory did then better to just leave it be.
 
It's yours, so you have to do as you wish... but we love 'em in their original work clothes.

We both wish my husband had never painted the 3 of ours that he did paint... once that patina is gone - you can never get it back. :(
 
I think it looks great the way it is if you can keep it indoors and preserve it.

I have a 656 that looks about the same. I would like to paint it especially since the rims need fixed and painted. I have the dealer stickers on it too. Most likely time will not allow me to paint it anytime soon.
 
That is one sweet survivor. Id leave it just as it is, but as said before its your tractor. Do what makes you happy.
 
Here in the UK I spend most of my summer weekends attending tractor rallies to do the ring commentrys and
if this tractor came towards me the first thing I would say is DO NOT PAINT THIS TRACTOR and the owner would hopefully say
is no I am not going to. There is not another Case tractor in the same exact condition as that anywere in the USA.
I have several tractors in a similer condition including 1923 IH 10-20 and a 1945 Fordson N witch belonged to my uncle
for many years and I only found it last year after looking for it for 40 years. MJ
 
I only collect originals. I don't paint anything. Paint can hide a lot of problems. People can paint their tractors if they want but I have painted tractors before and they don't stay new looking very long. I want to use my tractors and original stays original.
 
With original paint as good as you have on that "survivor tractor" I would not repaint. You can do a real shine up job on the original paint using turtle wax rubbing compound. Most of my old ones were repainted with a brush many years ago so I don't have the option. I was pretty impressed with how well the 64 year old paint on this car shined up with a combination of steel wool (in places), diesel fuel, and finally turtle wax rubbing compound.
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Another vote to leave it as is.
Go to a show and you'll see a bunch of one model tractor parked in a row. Say JD Bs or Ford 8Ns, or Farmall Hs. All of them prettified and looking exactly the same.
But the one or two of them that are still original, or still earning their keep, that might have a few scars from years of battle, are the ones I stop and admire.
 
I've got an AC WD45 that doesn't have near as much paint as your tractor! Except- when I was putting new rims on it, I painted the wheels, weights, final drives, and rear axle housings, all while they were easy to get at. Plus, it's got a new battery box. So, it's a real mixture. It's married to a 6' bush hog, and mows around the farm.

I only bought it because when I looked at it I couldn't believe it- original manifold, fuel line, straight sheet metal, drawbar with hardly any wear on it, etc. It's not getting any more paint from me.
 
Your tractor reminded me of the SC I saw at the Ionia show this
year. It had a little primer on it but was pretty original.
I said then if this old SC was mine I'd show it just like it is.
As many as I paint, I would do the same with yours.

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Thanks for all the comments.....I like tractors with a nice paint job, but I think I would be covering a lot of history if I painted this one......it stays original ......also in it's favor it spent it's whole life on a farm a couple of miles down the road...
 
Do not paint it, you can never " unrestore" a tractor or anything else. Take good care of the dealer sticker, it adds personalty to the tractor. Someone mite look at that decal and recall some fond memories of that dealer. clint
 
I live in the UK but that makes no difference to my reply.. I have a 1960 dexta which was bought by my late father in 1965 the engine is getting close to needing an overhaul .. the general appearance is reasonable but I have no intention of doing a paint job as it will be spoilt. you have a lot of replies and I will read them all
 
NO! That dealer decal not only gives it character, but is a piece of history. It will eventually disappear on it's own. There's no need to speed up the process, because once it is gone, it is gone forever.
 
Here are pics after I used the farmall C for a few years. I mow grass with it and pull dump trailer. The second pic is right after I painted it. I'm asking myself why did I put lipstick on this dirty girl? I painted 3 other tractors, they look as dirty and scratched up as they did before I painted them.

Don't spend your time on painting them.

geo
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If you can store it under cover,leave it alone. If it will spend alot of time outdoors look into a low gloss/flat clear coat.
 
Well............
Any paint that you use to repaint it will not be nearly as good or durable as the original paint.
I would definitely NOT repaint it. It looks too good original.
 
I wouldn't paint it, unless it's a family tractor. The value isn't much different between one like that and one someone spent a lot of money on to paint right.
 
This picture is no more than 2 years old, tractor was painted in 1991 plus or minus a year.
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Hi
I'm a bit late getting here but I wouldn't paint it, It took how many years to get like that naturally and if a guy paints it its all gone with the first stroke of the blaster/wire wheel or what ever a guy does. Very soon there will be a change here in North America, where guys want to see original as found or last used tractors. They will get bored with seeing overpriced trailer queen restorations. I started my tractor collecting days back in the U.K. and still get the magazines.

Original tractors are starting to get sort afterand make a lot of money compared to trailer queens for what they are.
I got a Fordson P6 here has 40 years of patina from sitting including rust, faded original paint and fungus type stuff on it in patches, plus what happened during it's working life before. several guys say clean it down and restore it or just wash it. Nope it runs and drives it's complete and looks real cool like it is. If i showed Sweetfeet a picture and then painted it she's slap me to the middle of next week for destroying the rust L.O.L.
 
rusty, been admiring your "52". here's a photo of my "52" chevy pickup, it too went through the rubbing compound treatments by hand many times then many many hand waxings. the factory paint of 64 years does hold up well.
a230905.jpg
 
I agree with John T.; wash it and clean it up to remove any grease, dust & dirt, wipe it down with Diesel Fuel to stop the oxidation and rusting processes (it doesn't remove them, it just stops the oxidation & rusting process) . Then I would give it a coat of good, Pure Carnauba Wax and hand buff it out.

:>)
 
I made my mind up about ten years ago that I won't paint another one. I may be burned out since I painted so many. But one that isn't painted you dont have to be so cautious with it and worry about it as much. Just my 2 cents worth.
 
Hi Virgil, We cannot make it, have a wedding to go to in mid Sept. Grandaughter from Buna Vista is getting married then. clint
 
(quoted from post at 18:47:33 06/30/16) rusty, been admiring your "52". here's a photo of my "52" chevy pickup,
Click to expand...
Pete, that is a good looking Chevy and I have some idea of what it took to get it looking that good. My Merc might not look that special to some but I know what it looked like after pulling it out of the bush after 40 some years. It had leaf mold and lichen on the paint. So it has come a long ways and I never get tired of looking at it. The family history makes it worth while. To a real collector it would probably just be a parts car. Old 4 door sedans with rusty floors are not "cool".
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