Painting the '47, What have I gotten myself into?

[MADSCIENTIST]

I recently finished a pretty thorough service on my 1947 Cub, and decided it would be a good idea to paint it while I had it apart and clean. I found a fairly painless system to remove the old paint. I paint everything with a thick coat of "Citristrip" and after the paint starts to bubble up, I blast it off with my pressure washer, takes it right down to bare metal. I have access to my factory's paint booth on the weekends, and we just bought a new Devilbliss (Finish Line model #FLG3) spray gun to use on smaller jobs, so I'm going to give it a try this weekend.
My intentions are to spray the tank/hood, the dash, the fenders and the battery box in the paint booth, and spray or brush the rest of the tractor with spray enamel from cans. I have all new "McCormick-Deering" decals -the mylar ones, and all the metal is prepped so I should be ready to procede this weekend. I compared the paint of the back of the wheel weights with a paint sample of "IH red" that a friend of mine bought at the dealer, and they do not match, the paint on the wheel weights is much darker than the IH red I compared it to. I want the paint to be close to original, not the ultra-perfect, glass shiny Mercedes-Benz quality paint jobs I see alot of people put on their tractors.
What paint do I need to buy? I read about all the different paint mixtures people are using, hardeners, reducers, special primers, wet sanding, infrared baking, etc, and all it does is confuse me. I'm pretty sure my tractor wasn't even primed when they painted it at the factory. I know they didn't have access to the painting technology available today back in '47, so why paint the tractors this way now? Where do you draw the line when it comes to paint on these things, I was talking to a guy at the Thresherman's Reunion in Pontiac, Ill, last fall who spends over $800!!!!! on paint alone whenever he sprays a tractor. Granted, his work looked awesome, but I don't want the paint on my mowing tractor to look better than the paint on my Porsche 928. What do you guys think? I thought I might try having Napa mix me some paint, or seeing if they have anything at TSC that would work. I'd like a nice shiny paint job, but I'm not gonna freak if it doesn't look like it came from a spray booth on biker build-off. It shouldn't be too hard to match the quality of a factory 1947 paint job should it? Advice?

[ScottyG]

Scientist,

I used Rustoleum IH Red rattle cans on my tractor. Probably not the most cost economical since you lose alot of product in the wind I couldn't tell you what would truly match the original paint, that will only come from most of the more experienced on this board. I do know that paint fades and darkens over a 50 year span and all of the modern paint manufacturers insist that current offerings are true. From what I've seen, the more expensive brands (those who are using hardners, etc and purchased from an IH/Case Dealer) are a bit more orangy if that makes any sense. Others that I've seen, Rustoleum, TSC, NAPA, all look identical to me. Fireenginey red.

I have a good friend of mine who just painted his A with TSC IH Red through a compressed air paint sprayer. I'm very jealous because I took my tractor apart, piece by piece, sand blasted each part and spent the better part of three months painting and putting it all back together. About 30 rattle cans of paint later (at $5.00 ea!), it looks good but not as good as my friend's A. I'm also chipping pretty badly. He masked off what he wanted to, coated the entire tractor in a weekend and went through about 2 gallons of paint. Looks real nice and I'm sure it will hold up better in the long run.

Just my two cents...

[George Willer]

M.S.,

I think you're on the right track except for one thing. There was a lot of variation in the original color... apparently depending on how well the pot was stirred on the paint line. Yes, these are tractors after all and it isn't a crime to paint them as was done originally. Implement paint can and will serve well, espacially if the tractor doesn't have to live outdoors in the sun.

The paint on my Mercedes is holding up well 21 years after I did it... a 14 coat process with the final coats of hand rubbed lacquer. but it isn't a tractor!

[Arizona Mike]

MADSCIENTIST, your wheel centers have probably been repainted at some time in the past. The OLD original paint that I've seen looks to have turned more of an orange color from fading. In any event since you have the right tools you might as well proceed with the right paint: IH 2150 is the color and it is available from DuPont. If you want a harder paint that is more chip resistant inquire about DuPont Centauri IH Red...

Paint your Cub the way YOU like it. I like to see a Cub with a slick finish, but would not want to work with one, and that's the fun part of having a Cub You will probably feel the same when you finish painting yours.

Post some pictures next week we all like red Cubs.

[Todd]

I would at least use a coat of primer before you paint

['60_Lo-Boy]

I would at least use a coat of primer before you paint

i second that


do it right the first time so u dont have to do it a second

sorta like measuring twice and cutting once.. sorta

[John *.?-!.* cub owner]

However IH didn't prime them.

[George Willer]

However IH didn't prime them.

Many of the low end primers are nothing but a different colored paint without the shine added. Might as well use another coat of the finish color.

[Michael Az]

I am sure there isn't one living sole that could tell you what the original color was, it was too long ago. Even if you find a NOS part in the box has probably changed shades. Like George said, they more than likely varied the shade sometimes. The only answer to how much quality that should go into your paint job is completely your decision. If it makes you happy, whether it is a rattle can job, or you paid somebody $15,000 to paint it, you made the right decision.
Michael

[rustynuts]

I have been thinking the same thing for a while . I started on my 8N mechanic's first brakes,sleeves,rings, main bearings and everything inbetween. I even bought the paint and primer and decals. But I'm gonna be box grading and bush hoggin and making ditches, and pulling stuff and basicly chipping and gettin it muddy and dirty all of the time. I got the Van scycle paint and it turned out real nice so far I sill have a few things left to finish up on. But my point is I didn't want to have a show piece that I didn't want to use on the farm that kinda defeats the porpous of having a trusty old tractor!!! So I have almost left my cub the grass cutter alone other than fix all thi things that need fixin or paintin and just be happy havin it and gettin a wave or a thumbs up when an old feller drives by when I'm cuttin the 4 acres in the front!!! My three cents.........RustyNuts

[Super A]

Has anyone noticed how the original IH paint from the '60s tends to turn a sort of burgundy over time? My Super A was repainted in '61 (according to the old receipts I found) our 424 is a '67 and never repainted, and one of the Cub's I used to own had been repainted at a later time. They were all sort of a burgundy-ish color. I kinda like it thought nothing can match the beauty of 2150 red!

My "favorite" way to find a pristine, untouched Cub is one that has never been repainted, but has turned a sort of brown. Sometimes it's surface rust causing the brownish sheen but I've seen some >>originals<< that were this color. It just looks like it has a story to tell!

Al

[Buzzard Wing]

My 50 looks to have the original paint on most everything but the platform.