MTFCA Forum

How is this for chassis top coat? This will be a white speedster. Rust-oleum Farm and Implement $18 a quart at Tractor Supply was recommended by a friend who paints autos for chassis. Says it can be sprayed, brushed, rolled here https://www.rustoleum.com/~/media/Digit ... s_TDS.ashx

Their other brand, Mystic with harder does better.

Hank

I really like Enamels. Rust-oleum is a great product. I have used Van Sickle Tractor, Equipment & Industrial Enamel for several years.
https://www.vansicklepaint.com/tractor-equipment
The slow drying allows brushing to flow out nicely. It sprays well too. It is less toxic without the hardner and has held up well for me.
Rich

Aside from painting tractors my 23 Speedster is all International Harvester red white and blue. Holds up real good. I use Van Sickle also.

We used to paint our circle track race car with tractor enamel. We would put it in a paper cup and carefully heat it in a microwave, then quickly pour it into the gun and spray the car before it cooled off. It dried fast, hard, and real shiny.

On the farm we used that paint on the new fence line posts and corner sections on the perimeter fence a few years ago. The posts were rusty oil field pipe. It looks as good today as it did when I first painted it.
Industrial enamel is pretty good paint for exterior use.

I use it: brush on the chassis and wheels and rattle can parts. I am not making a museum piece and don't have spray equipment.Gave it time to cure and its very tough finish. Van Sickle is a division of Diamond Vogel. Couldn't find a list of their product names.
Rust-Oelum is owned by RPM International Inc.

I brushed on my trailer wheels. No brush streaks, looks great.

I bought a quart of the acrylic just to try. Don’t know what I’m going to do with it but it will wind up somewhere on my pickup build

Well, here it is sort-of. Cleaned up after riveting, primed the remaining rivet burn spots and the first coat of tractor paint is brushed on. The good: it is the chassis so it won't be seen much and some parts not at all. Brushing on is historically accurate. Brushing doesn't get on the neighbors nice cars and can get into some tight spots. The bad: lots of brush marks, lots of runs, the grey primer shows through in places but it is the first coat. I think I will try to spray it on for the second coat. I wonder what the most efficient way to fix the runs and maybe sand it more smooth?

ivaldes1 wrote: ↑

Sat Dec 26, 2020 8:39 pm

. . . The bad: lots of brush marks, lots of runs, the grey primer shows through in places . . .

Not to beat you up or be a smart-alec, Nacho, but regardless the method of application, the paint needs to be the proper viscosity to handle well, flow out, and "set" with an optimal "open time" before drying to a dust-free tack. This is accomplished by using the correct reducer and sometimes amendments that improve flow or drying. This requires a certain amount of judgment and experimentation. Then there are brushes. Size, shape and hair type all figure in. Alas, nowadays good brushes are expensive and hard to find. Bottom line, painting is a skill that takes some time to master to get good results. The good news is, it's just another opportunity to learn and gain yet another skill, along the path that restorations take us ! Sometimes frustrating, always rewarding !

Hit the runs with a little sandpaper on a block if they bother you and hit it with your second coat. Like said above, viscosity or how thin it is means everything. You can get by without expensive brushes, although they help a lot. You will be surprised how good your second coat will look. Temperature makes a difference also.
You are painting white in which your first coat will not cover well brushing. I think you will be happy with the next coat

Have to agree that doing a brush on paint job can turn out pretty smooth if your careful with the application. It takes a little practice just as it does with a spray gun.
The right paint consistency helps when brushing it on. It’s up to you of course but I would do what the poster said and smooth out the bad runs and apply another smooth coat.

Thank you for the comments. Santa brought me a spray gun kit for Christmas. I had to cut the Farm and Implement paint a lot like 40% with acetone to get it to spray well enough. The result so far is much better.