Painting H Tractor

johnmor · May 11, 2021

I am in the process of getting ready to paint my International H tractor. It has been in the family since it was new and now is a bit rusty.
I I am not looking for show quality but want a decent paint on the thing that will not fade.
I have it pretty well torn down, have taken off the radiator, fenders, most of the brackets, many engine components, pretty much stripped. I have cleaned up the removed components either by wire brushing or sand blasting and as they are cleaned I spray then with Rust-Oleum primer. The main part of the tractor I plan on cleaning it up using a high pressure water sand blasting unit.
My problem is that I don't know much about painting. I am pretty much convinced thru several posts I have read that IH2150 is the paint to use, it is durable and does not fade much. I am thinking of spray painting the main part with primer, then IH2150 paint and spraying the individual components with IH2150 rattle cans. After assembly I would then spray the entire assembled tractor with IH2150 in order to get things like bolt heads and other missed areas.
Any thoughts would be GREATLY appreciated.

Goose · May 11, 2021

My first thought is be careful with the sandblasting.

The sand just loves to hide where you don't want it and then come back to haunt you. Other than that, I see nothing wrong with your plan.

JD Dave · May 11, 2021

It sounds like you have the project prepared properly. I would suggest you use a self-etching primer over any spots of bare metal. Also, I question your wanting to re-shoot the whole project at the end. Mostly I'm uncomfortable with re-coating new paint after, say, 12-24 hours because of adhesion issues. I recommend you nix the re-paint and after assembly touch up spots with a rattle can or small artist's brush.

Pete in Holland MI · May 11, 2021

Pre-paint any surface that is hard to get to and not necessarily visible (like under sheet metal), then assemble. Acid etching primer is better than red-oxide primer over bare metal. Rattle cans generally are very thin paint and takes effort to build up a coating. It also isn't necessarily the same paint as in the big cans, and often prone to fading quicker.

Iron Guard paint at the IHC stores has been pretty good for me. Holds it's color, and goes on well. Buy their thinner, but Acetone will clean your spray gun. Not automotive, but far better than any tractor paint found at any of the big box farm stores, and around $65/gallon. Give a tac coat, then a full coverage coat. Dries quickly. Can recoat in about an hour or two.

As mentioned earlier, painting a second coat after 24 hours or so from the first coat, the chemical bond will be far less, and layer separation is a possibility without sanding of the first coat.

Have fun with your tractor !

Stephen Newell · May 11, 2021

Rattle can paint isn't very good paint. It will be prone to fade just like what you are trying to avoid. A pretty good middle ground paint would be Rustoleum Farm and Implement enamel in a can. With that you could add hardener to it which would make it more colorfast. I painted a Kubota tractor in 2009 and it's holding up very well.

jon f mn · May 11, 2021

I would not recommend sand blasting at all! Did that once and still haven't Finished replacing all the seals it ruined.

Rich'sToys · May 11, 2021

Not sure how it work spraying over rattle can paint with a gun. I know the reverse is a no-no until the original layer is fully cured.

Also, since you have it apart-realize that when you reassemble things all your electrical ground connections will be lost. Sometimes using star washers will penetrate the paint, otherwise you may end up scraping some off to get the lights, etc. to work.

560Dennis · May 12, 2021

Suggestion , not seeing it power washed . Family Original is a gem If theres say 50 percent original paint , wet sand and clear coat or linseed oil , only original once , or get some other ideas how to keep original ,they out shows the rest in many cases even with historical dents , A working 70 year old tractor has dents ,such as your brother put into it driving it into chicken coops.

showcrop · May 12, 2021

I hated it when two years after painting cleaned metal rust bubbled up under the paint. It takes only a tiny amount for the rust to get started again. That is why it is so important to "kill" the residual rust with rust converter after cleaning rusty metal. Red is well know to fade quickly in the sun. That is one reason why it is so important to use hardener.

michford · May 12, 2021

High pressure water and sand is not something you want to be blasting at an assembled tractor. Water and sand will find its way into places you do not want them. I would seriously reconsider going that route. If you had the tractor completely disassembled and can now work with a bare engine block, bare transmission housing, bare rear end housing, then blast away.

rustyfarmall · May 12, 2021

(quoted from post at 19:52:15 05/11/21) Rattle can paint isn't very good paint. It will be prone to fade just like what you are trying to avoid. A pretty good middle ground paint would be Rustoleum Farm and Implement enamel in a can. With that you could add hardener to it which would make it more colorfast. I painted a Kubota tractor in 2009 and it's holding up very well.

Not true. The IH 2150 rattle can paint from Case-IH is the same paint that comes in quarts and gallons.

montidale · May 12, 2021

I painted an H about 10 to 15 years ago. We used PPG Omni paint. I keep the tractor inside, but it looks like the day I painted it. I personally wouldnt sandblast the frame of the tractor. Sand will get in everything. The mistake I made was I put it all back together after I had painted it, and put gas in the gas tank. The gas leaked around the gas shut off and dripped onto the fresh paint. So make sure you give it plenty time to cure. The trick is painting the rims and then mounting the tires without wrecking the paint on the rims. I never figured out the best way to paint the rims. We cleaned the main parts of the tractor with pneumatic wire wheels. It did a good job and the paint is held for 15 years or so.

Crazy Horse · May 12, 2021

Rusty ..... you might be correct on the 'same paint' ..... problem is with rattle cans, so much of what comes out is solvent carrier with not a whole lot of paint pigment. So really, the paint itself might be the same but the make up of the mix is quite different.

Oregon Tractor Jack · May 12, 2021

I am not a fan of sand blasting an assembled tractor. I did it once and that was enough. It does get into everything including oil seals. When I restore a tractor I strip it down to the wheels. Then the tractor is pressure washed several times. I use wire brushes, small screw drivers and Stoddard solvent to get all the grease and loose paint off. It takes some time to do this right, but it is worth it. The sheet metal I take to a sand blasting/powder coating place and have it sand blasted. Before I paint anything I do any metal repair that the sheet metal might need such as body filler and put it back on the tractor to check the fit. Made the mistake of painting the sheet metal once before I fitted it, bad idea.

OTJ

jon f mn · May 12, 2021

But without the hardener which is what helps with fading. The
paint is good tho.

GordoSD · May 12, 2021

IH has the hardener for their 2150 gals.

johnmor · May 13, 2021

Unfortunately it has rusted much farther than 50%. I have not done a good job of maintaining it and now am trying to make it right. There is a few dings in the sheet metal that do tell a few stories that I will not bump back out of history. By the sounds of your post, you have a ding or two that tell a story also.

Painting H Tractor

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