semi refurb on 100

[cub1961]

Bought this one along with another one and a bunch of parts. it runs and mows good and the plan was to just clean it up and do some tuneup and a quick touchup of the paint to make it looks nice.

 

[cub1961]

well that went south pretty quick when i powerwashed and degreased it and tried to do a touchup. there was a layer of crappy paint on top of another layer of crappy paint and it all started peeling like sunburned skin. i figured then that i would pull the fenders, front end and hood and redo them nice and try and do something with the rest of the paint.

 

[cub1961]

and that too went south when i forgot the number one rule of working on these things and that is to disconnect the negative on the battery. when i started removing the voltage regulator the wiring started smoking and was cooked into a blob by the time i was able to get it disconnected. so i ordered a new wiring harness and proceeded to break it down a bit.

 

[cub1961]

long story short is there was no good paint. all crap and rust. i do not have a compressor sufficient to run a sandblaster, or a sandblaster for that matter, nor the patience, time, space, skill (yet) to do a full nut and bolt resto, so i figured i would do the best i could. i completely degreased and powerwashed the frame and other visible parts and spent days and days with a grinder and stiff wire wheel and stripped every bit of paint and rust off of everything i could reach. what a chore that was in the hot sun with a respirator, goggles and ear muffs. but i got it down to bare metal and primed it and put a thin first coat of irongard on it

 

[cub1961]

i let that cure for a couple weeks and did a wet sand and 2nd coat.

 

[cub1961]

the hood had some bent edges so i took it to my brothers place and we did the best we could with his sheet metal brake. it turned out pretty good. i really took my time on the hood and stripped it completely to metal and primed and put on 2 thin coats of irongard with wet sanding in between. it is looking really good and needs one more coat.

 

[cub1961]

So far i am pretty pleased with this project. i know it is not show grade or anything but this is just supposed to be a worker unit for my camp. i also know that the unfinished engine is going to stick out like a sore thumb but oh well. i could see things going way south if i pulled the engine. we had a term for that in the AF and that was mission creep. gotta know when to say when.

i think the majority of the visible parts will look good. i need to sand out some paint runs in the dash tower and do the final coats of paint when its warmer this weekend.

Other things i discovered i need to do along the way besides the wiring harness is i need to do something about the steering slop. i started another thread on that in the other forum and got some really good advice on that. need to order some new parts for that.

fortunately the deck is in real good shape so i just need to repaint the ends of it to match since they are green for some reason. need to change the fluids, paint the wheels and weld and strip/paint a pan seat i have for it.

i have waaaay more into this project than i planned so not sure if i am going to splurge for decals or not. i will wait to see what the final product looks like first.

 

[cub1961]

one thing i know for sure is that this will be my last rattle can refurb. holy moly the price of this stuff. i am going to get a paint gun from harbor freight and use the quarts from now on. if anyone has a good suggestion for which gun to get at HF, let me know. i have a good enough compressor for that.

i will post some more pics as i progress.

i am also going to seriously consider buying a blaster capable compressor but those are not cheap. might need to sell some excess bang sticks to fund that. but this wire wheel stuff on a project like this is for the birds.

 

[-CӞ]

keep up the good work!

 

[dxsmith]

Nice work on the 100 so far. My 100's are my favorite. The green on the deck ends looks like Rustoleum self-etching primer to me. Someone probably had a can around and just touched the ends up with it. Keep up the good work!!

 

[mgwin]

Been there, done that. Wire brushes are what made me invest in a compressor. Tractor Supply did have a Ingersol Rand for around 8-9 hundred bucks that works great. It is a two stage, 80 gallon, 220 volt compressor. Lowes has a finish spray gun for about 40 bucks.
Tractor looks nice!

 

[dfrisk]

MARTY - Do you know the house power of that I-R compressor to blast with at Tractor Supply? A 5 hp is not quite big enough. I almost bought a 7-1/2 hp I-R but they wouldn't lower the price so I bought an 80 gallon 7-1/2 hp Porter -Cable compressor, my 40# Harbor Freight sand blast pot exceeds the duty cycle a bit when the blasting gun nozzle gets worn. But it makes EVERYTHING look like new steel.
On H-F paint guns, I bought an all metal high volume low pressure gun, actually I bought 3. Avoid ones with the plastic cup & lid, the reducer or thinner attacks the cup & lid and they grow, the cup more than the lid, so the lid won't go on. My Detail gun has a stainless steel cup & lid, the cup could be bigger but the included nozzle is too small, it's difficult to get the paint on heavy enough so it shines. There "standard" gun I was most satisfied with. SON shot some Base Coat and clear Cost in his '93 Lightning F-150 pickup and the finish was really good I thought. But one windy day the wind blew over an empty trash can and it slid into the painted front bumper and chipped a chunk of paint the size of the palm of your hand all the way down to bare steel. The Base coat/clear coat probably wasn't the right choice of paint for a bumper, but the HF paint gun was the right choice to apply it.
I had a co-worker who restored a couple antique ag tractors years ago, He plumbed his 5 hp upright compressor with his 1 or 2 hp portable compressor to sand blast with. Once you get the pressure low enough they both are running it works fine.
I will say the work you've done on that 100 is GREAT! (In my best impression of Tony the Tiger)

 

[mgwin]

Mine is an IR 5hp (3450 rpm), 2 stage, 230 volt, 80 gallon compressor. works fine for me. I have done three complete tractors, two plows, and several extra parts with it so far.
I am in the process of doing another tractor currently.
It would probably not work if you were going to blast all day, but two or three hours should be no problem. It also takes some time in preparing the parts for blasting, especially the bigger stuff.
Also, I like to clean the parts and prime them the same day to help avoid any flash rust. My blast cabinet does not use as much air volume as my blast tank, and can be used longer continuously.

 

[cub1961]

did another wet sand and coat of irongard on everything and now i just need to let this cure for a few weeks before reassembly. irongard takes forever to pass the fingernail test for me.

and i posted this on the thread i opened about fixing the slop in the steering of this 100 but i'll put it here too. once i started comparing the slop to a tight one i have, i thought that it was in the steering knuckle. the drag link was moving forward but the knuckle did not engage for about a 1/4 of a turn. i saw that the knuckle had been butchered up by a previous owner. no idea what he was trying to do but he had drilled a hole in the top of the bracket that connects the drag link to the steering knuckle and welded a threaded piece on top of the knuckle shaft. it was flush with the top surface of the bracket though so i could not figure out what he was trying to accomplish. i put a spare knuckle on that i had and also found that the slop was because the roll pin was broken off too short and allowed a lot of play before engaging the knuckle. driving in a new 5/16 coiled roll pin and now there is virtually no slop.

might actually get this one done before the snow flys but we'll see. i need to get it out of my shop and down to my camp so i can free up some space. there are other projects patiently waiting in the wings.

 

[cub1961]

Starting reassembly. Long way to go before i push the starter button

 

[PACub100]

Oooooo ..Shiny!!

 

[-CӞ]

Starting reassembly. Long way to go before i push the starter button

View attachment 151681

Impressive!

 

[cub1961]

Oooooo ..Shiny!!

ya a little too shiny for my tastes. i prefer the faded look. but this one will be a mower so i know its not going to look good for long. next step is putting the front end on and then wiring harness. i find i am spending a lot of time cleaning bolt heads and chasing threads. still debating whether i want to paint the bolt heads or leave them bare. it will actually depend on how much yellow irongard i have left once i do the final touchup. i really do not want to splurge for another can. this stuff is way too expensive and in my opinion sprays like crap. some cans are ok and others are clunky no matter how much i shake them beforehand.

 

[cub1961]

cruising through my new favorite store, harbor freight, and i saw a jug of this stuff. i was skeptical but they had a small jug for 8 bucks so i bought it. soaked some various fasteners and other rusted up parts for a couple days and it really works. it will now be a consumable around the shop along with pblaster, antiseize and marvel mystery oil.

just a PSA in case anyone is looking for an easy way to get rid of rust. theres probably some home remedy that will work as well.

https://www.jegs.com/i/Evapo-Rust/399/ER012/10002/-1

 

[Mark Evans]

So far i am pretty pleased with this project. i know it is not show grade or anything but this is just supposed to be a worker unit for my camp. i also know that the unfinished engine is going to stick out like a sore thumb but oh well. i could see things going way south if i pulled the engine. we had a term for that in the AF and that was mission creep. gotta know when to say when.

i think the majority of the visible parts will look good. i need to sand out some paint runs in the dash tower and do the final coats of paint when its warmer this weekend.

Other things i discovered i need to do along the way besides the wiring harness is i need to do something about the steering slop. i started another thread on that in the other forum and got some really good advice on that. need to order some new parts for that.

fortunately the deck is in real good shape so i just need to repaint the ends of it to match since they are green for some reason. need to change the fluids, paint the wheels and weld and strip/paint a pan seat i have for it.

i have waaaay more into this project than i planned so not sure if i am going to splurge for decals or not. i will wait to see what the final product looks like first.

cruising through my new favorite store, harbor freight, and i saw a jug of this stuff. i was skeptical but they had a small jug for 8 bucks so i bought it. soaked some various fasteners and other rusted up parts for a couple days and it really works. it will now be a consumable around the shop along with pblaster, antiseize and marvel mystery oil.

just a PSA in case anyone is looking for an easy way to get rid of rust. theres probably some home remedy that will work as well.

https://www.jegs.com/i/Evapo-Rust/399/ER012/10002/-1

You did a grate job SIR and old School all the way but no bug can pump paint spraying, like in the 1950’s and my hat off to you SIR !!!!!