New member

[Dan Page]

Hello all, I have found your forum while looking for information on cub cadet tractors. I purchased a 1968 102 with a barely used 36" snowblower and two mower decks. With some make shift repairs I have made the tractor usable but there is a lot of work to do yet. I also purchased parts from another hydrostatic tractor and have a third on it's way a 70's model not sure exactlywhat model as of yet but it has dozer blade, mower and rotor tiller.

I live in Canada and the cub cadet tractors intrigue me.

Thank you

 

[jbaker]

welcome, lots of good advice on here

 

[Dan Page]

Thank you.

 

[wh cc guy]

Welcome. Glad you joined in with us. Sounds like you jumped in with both feet. Lots of work ahead.

 

[kmcconaughey]

Dan, WELCOME!

 

[Dan Page]

Thank you both. Yes I have jumped in. I really like Dan Hoefler's crawler. I have an extra frame and that may be a project I will tackle after my 104 (my mistake I have been looking at so many tractors I mistakenly typed 102 above) is ready for winter. I worked in the collision repair industry for 27 years and my youngest son is a machinist.

 

[mgwin]

Welcome to the forum!
With your experience, you should be able to put some really nice paint jobs on your cubs!

 

[Dan Page]

Thank you. Yes I could. It depends on what you want. A good paint job requires the right prep. If you want it to last and look good you need to media blast it first, clean it up and apply some epoxy primer. Then apply some two part primer urethane and then sand it, block sand if you want it straight. Then you get to apply the paint. Base coat clear coat has been the industry standard for approximately 15 years on passenger vehicles. That I wouldn't recommend for something that is going to be used. I use everything I own, if I can't use it I get rid of it, so I will probably put some urethane on them. It looks good and is durable, more durable than the enamel they would have come with originally. Thanks for the comment

 

[mgwin]

I use "Case IH Irongard" on my cubs after sandblasting and auto primer.
I know just enough about painting that I can get a decent look on those garden tractors. "You get out of it what you put into it."
When you paint one, share your process along with some pics, so we can learn.
Here is a pic of under the hood on my most recent one.

 

[Dan Page]

Nice job, it looks really good. I will share photos and the process I decide upon when I repaint but I am more interested in getting the equipment running at this point. Once I have everything working A1 I will dismantle them and paint. Definitely will be using some epoxy primer, it adheres better than anything else. When I ran a shop and we occasionally repainted classic vehicles we always use epoxy primer. It will hold out better against rust than almost any other. Now I live on the est coast of Canada and for the majority we are surrounded by salt water, you are never more than 20 minutes from the ocean. In addition the roads are salted in the winter with pure coarse salt or a salt water brine making it hard to keep paint on vehicles and keep them from rusting. If you live in a dryer less salt saturated climate it is less of a concern.

The Irongard what type of paint is that, enamel maybe? And where did you purchase it?

I have some photos, I will start a thread and post some.

 

[mgwin]

Yes, enamel. You can buy it at most Case/IH dealers.
Goes on real well for amateurs like me! LOL

 

[Dan Page]

I will look into that. Do you use it with or without hardener? Regardless of the paint there’s a nack to it. You did a nice job. You sprayed it I assume. Did you use a suction cup gun or gravity feed? I have a cheap gravity feed hvlp that has a 1.8 fluid tip if I remember correctly. I used it for a primer gun and odd paint job but the 1.8 is like trying to paint with a garden hose. You have to move fast.

 

[mgwin]

1 oz. hardener, 2 oz. thinner, 16 oz. paint. Used a small gravity fed sprayer from Lowes. Seems like I may have increased the hardener a little this last time.

 

[Dan Page]

That would work nicely as long as it isn’t too hot out. We had baking lights at the shop. Well they still do. I sprayed a metal floor furnace grate and baked it. Same thing enamel. It came out perfect.
I might try some powder coating on small parts. It is supposed to be really durable as well. You are just limited on colours.

 

[mjame]

I powder coated my entire 72. (Except the transmission)
The colors are a perfect match to the Iron Guard.
For me that’s the way to go. Plus, I’m getting lazy in my old age.

 

[Dan Page]

lol.

 

[mgwin]

Dan,
I have done some painting when it was pretty hot outside. The paint turned out ok. Educate me on why it may have not turned out ok. I do know humidity don't agree with paint.

 

[kzintner]

MJame

With regards to the powder coat, what type of shop performed the powder coat?

 

[mjame]

I will PM you the name of the powder coat shop.

 

[Dan Page]

Here there is a store called Princess Auto. You can buy the system and the powder and do it yourself. They only have three colors though. You have to bake it but most people use and old oven. You can buy an oven from them but it is just a toaster oven. There are plenty of places t get powdered paint however.