To paint, or not to paint

[thekevin 51]

I just picked this up and I after I power washed it I can't decide if I should paint it or clear coat it the way it is.  I have a few days waiting on electrical and fuel parts for it so I need to decide.

 

 

 

Edited October 16 by thekevin

[kpinnc 15,931]

Your pictures didn't load. 

[thekevin 51]

I think I fixed them

[kpinnc 15,931]

Yes you did. 

 

I'm the worst for always painting my tractors- with varying degrees of success. 

 

But if I was gonna go with the patina look, I'd probably just paint the wheels and leave the rest as is. So long as you can protect from rusting more...

[Racinbob 12,285]

Looks great. What did you use?

[ebinmaine 74,925]

In short... don't paint.. yet.  

 

If you really can't decide,  wait a year.  

 

Several points to consider: 

 

It's only original ONCE. It isn't like these are super valuable vehicles or pieces of great art but they ARE a part of our history. 

 

Here in our Herd we have both fully restored and original "work clothes" tractors. 

 

For a looooonng time I've been a "fresh paint" person. So has my S/O Trina. Over the years we've done half a dozen full frame off restorations and several mechanical only builds where we painted only what was necessary. 

 

We've both come around to appreciate both types.  

 

TIME is going to be a HUGE consideration for you. In order to properly paint a whole tractor you'll need to partially disassemble. Even a "quick repaint" takes many hours to accomplish properly. 

 

"Patina" is rust. Period. Rust needs to be stopped. You're already headed the right direction there.

 

We were pleasantly surprised to see how much positive difference wet sanding alone makes.

 

DO wet sand it now. 

 

That'll be another positive step because it needs to be done either way.  

The top coat is your option. At the recommendation of the folks here on Redsquare we've tried Flood Penetrol. Excellent results. 

 

 

 

IMHO..... wait a year.  Let your mind wrap around what you're desires are for the tractor and the amount of work it takes. 

 

Maybe you'll get totally enamored with the "work clothes" look. Maybe you'll be completely sick of it by then...

 

[SylvanLakeWH 29,485]

[953 nut 62,561]

We all like fresh RED paint,  but we LOVE an honest patina original paint .  In my opinion a clear-coat demises the beauty of patina, just use some WD-40 and fine steel wool to remove oxidation and knock down the rust a bit while celebrating the experiences your Raider has had.

[peter lena 9,492]

@thekevin  personally like the original patina look  on the older units, always bring back what's  there , like penetrating oil first  , for a days long  soak in , then a mineral oil rub down , clean oiled cloth . have a multi stage  recovery  used on all my stuff , most important is , don't  rush it , you can easily try a spot / area  for effect . regularly  maintain my paint  , with lubrication . pete

[Lee1977 7,418]

Rust don't take a day off around here. Can't remember the last measurable rain, maybe three week ago.  Got a fine mist some time last Sunday, noticed a little moisture on the north side windows.

Just checked the Humidity meter 56% and climbing.  If it less the 1/2" thick and you want to keep it around we paint it. Can't say it helps much but I paint it. The only tractor I haven't painted was my 520-H

95% of the original paint was still there. I did treat the rusted spots and patch paint thoes. I even sanded and painted the inside of the wheel covers.

[thekevin 51]

6 hours ago, Racinbob said:

Looks great. What did you use?

scotchbrite pad and some purple power.  It’s wet in the second pic.

[Ed Kennell 43,312]

Looks great as is.  Don't cover that beauty with paint.  Maybe a massage with light oil.

[Handy Don 14,858]

2 hours ago, thekevin said:

scotchbrite pad and some purple power.  It’s wet in the second pic.

Even I, a “paint first and ask questions later” guy, think that one looks good in its work clothes. 

[1968Commando 170]

13 hours ago, thekevin said:

I just picked this up and I after I power washed it I can't decide if I should paint it or clear coat it the way it is.  I have a few days waiting on electrical and fuel parts for it so I need to decide.

 

 

 

I’d honestly just keep it EXACTLY how it is I think it looks cool 

[JoeM 9,033]

I say leave it and wiper her down some kind of shine juice.

[ACman 7,673]

I’d just do a Comet/Ajax wash or use 0000 SOS pads then just whatever shine juice you want to protect the that beautiful patina . There’s also satin protectants offered by different companies that are made if you don’t want the shiny look . Here’s a good video of such company and he explains how everything works together . WWW.SWEETPATINA.COM
CODE:  COTTENCANDY for a discount . 

 

[thekevin 51]

I did a quick wet sand with some 400 grit today and pressure washed it again.  I wiped it down with Flood Penetrol and like the way it came out.  I didn't do the floor boards because I think I am going to tape them off and spray them with bed liner paint.  

 

Under the seat there is quite a bit of rust and hand sanding it didnt really do anything.  I may have to hit it with the orbital and paint it.  If I do I may just tape off a square and paint it black under the seat.

 

I pulled the dash out and it was pretty rough too.  You can't see any of the original lettering really so I will probably just sand it down really good and paint it too.  Was it black from the factory?

[ebinmaine 74,925]

4 minutes ago, thekevin said:

the dash

 

5 minutes ago, thekevin said:

Was it black from the factory

 

Not sure on original color. 

I've done them in the wheel color. We use Rust-Oleum 2X Cottage white. 

 

Or, @Vinylguy Terry sells a decal to cover that metal plate.  

Used them too.  

[kpinnc 15,931]

On 10/16/2025 at 10:21 AM, Lee1977 said:

If it less the 1/2" thick and you want to keep it around we paint it.

 

Absolute truth for NC! 

 

Covering a tractor in a tarp here is the same as parking it in 5 standing feet of water. Humidity is a monster about 330 days per year, regardless of season. 

 

 

[Wheelhorse#1 1,882]

Personally I’d clean it up and paint the wheels and maybe a fresh set of decals .

Nothing like a nicely painted horse but sure is a lot of time and work to do it right.

 

Personally I like the look of a well used horse, shows age,toughness of these ole machines.

 

[rjg854 12,589]

@thekevin we need some updated pictures 

[thekevin 51]

I will get some pics of it tomorrow.  I haven't done much more to it.  I have been working on getting all of the parts to switch it over to points and get it running.

[Bar Nuthin 1,601]

I grew up painting cars - so I'm constantly thinking about painting my tractors. 

But then I hook up an attachment and put them to work and realize what a beating a fresh paint job would be taking.

Or worse yet, when I'm working on one and realize I have tools and parts laying on every flat section of the tractor. 

Now that I have a few tractors to play with, I might choose one for mostly light duty and slap a decent paint job on it.

 

I say get it running and use it for a summer/winter and decide if it's going to be for show or work and choose accordingly. And remember, there's plenty of middle ground between Original and Restored.

Edited October 20 by Bar Nuthin

[MainelyWheelhorse 2,142]

If any of my stuff still had a good paint job on it I wouldn’t paint it.
My 308 was rusty but overall in pretty decent condition. The paint was chipping off over the rust so I thought I’d paint it.
That thinking was the same for my 312 especially after I replaced the mashed in hood with a newly painted one.

The C-141 on the other hand was extremely pitted. I figured I’d spruce up what was left of the paint and even it out with the newly painted dash and shifter plate. The majority of it had already been quickly touched up by a PO by the old spray bomb/brush method.

None of mine are show quality but they are presentable. 

Edited October 20 by MainelyWheelhorse

[c-series don 10,681]

Last time I thought I was going to do a freshen up I ended up stripping down to this, then it became a full blown restoration!