Farmall Cub

Took several parts to the sandblasted yesterday and he agreed to prime them as well and asked me to bring him some primer knowing absolutely nothing about paint,primers, etc. is not helping my cause!
What kind of primer do I get?
Sandable or non sandable ?
What is the difference between them?
Can you use non sandable first then go over it with sandable if it needs it?
Does color make a difference?
Is there a particular brand of paint and primer that should be used?
I was planning on using the majic brand paint from TSC because it is budget friendly and obey on this 4H project is tight.

I've used a lot of the Rustoleum Automotive Finish primer, and Metal Etch primers, both with very good results. I typically use the grey color, but I'm sure Red would be find under Red paint, however it may be difficult to see places where your finish paint is not covering good (that's why I've always used grey).

I recently used some of the Case IH IronGuard primer, and that stuff is AWESOME!!!!! I was really glad I invested a little more and used it for my hood and sheet metal. The guy that painted them for me was amazed by it too, and he's a retired auto-body guy. Said it was some of the best primer he had ever seen.

I've not had good luck with the Valspar or TSC paints, and have decided not to use them at all now.

I did not know how to paint when I bought my tractor for restoration. Surprisingly, the guys who I met, (Ed, you know who you are), told me they painted there tractors with spray cans, or "rattle cans". I was determined to give this a try, although in hind sight, I believe I had every thing going for me. As a mechanic, I've worked along side many a body shop. I've always been told that preparation was the most important part of any paint job. One thing for sure is, if you get the panels and parts sandblasted, or wire wheeled off in my case, make sure you are ready to prime the part right away before it has a chance to flash rust. I bought industrial tractor paint from PARTSASAP.COM, in spray cans! I started with the smaller parts priming them and leaving them to dry one day. The next day, after baking them in the sun before painting until the metal was nice and hot, I would shoot the parts with light coats until the parts got tacky or nearly dry before adding another coat. Start with the small parts, and work your way up to the tank and fenders. All told, 15 cans of red primer and 15 cans of gloss. About $150 total at $5 each. Good luck, have fun doing it.

I was told by a paint shop to use grey primer under red paint, it works better for color with fewer coats. To my knowledge, the "sand able" primer has some thickness to it to help fill in small pits, so good for sheet metal, not as useful on cast parts. But then, I could also be wrong....

I use marhide etching primer. it is ready to sprey out of the can. then I use a marhide high build sandable primer to filll pits. Put it on in a few thick coats after drying to the touch. then wet sand with 400 paper after curing for 24 hrs. been doing it this way for 15 years. I learned the hard way, do not use cheap paint and primers unless you want to do it again in a year or tow!

I've been satisfied w/the "self-etching" primer from Wal-Mart -grey color, followed w/IH Red (Valspar) from Farm & Fleet. Has held up for 6-7 years except where I let an umbrella get away from me and scratched the gas tank! My bad!! As said, good prep! Dusty B

For that paint I would just use the common gray lacquer primer. Sandable because you will need to smooth the surface. It is sandblasted so you should not need a etching primer. Most primers are not all that good at water protection so topcoat or keep the pieces inside. Need to scuff the paint prior to topcoat.

The sandblaster place should aready have suggestions since they would have done this before.

Two types of primer I've used are Epoxy and Laquer. Laquer is my first choice because it sprays easy, dries fast, does not require a catalyst, is cheap, and sands very easily. Epoxy is more of a sealer. Color depends on what's going on top. If you're using cheap urethane or laquer, use red oxide. Otherwise it really doesn't matter. If you have a compressor, don't use rattle cans. A quart of primer is cheap and 5 gallons of laquer thinner is $30. The laquer thinner is nice to have around for cleaning parts too.