Painting D180

[skinne344 2]

Getting ready to paint my 1975 D 180, I have purchased an HVLP spray gun, a quart of Vaspar IH red, hardner and some thinner. My question is, this will be my first time using a spray gun to paint something so if anyone can give me any pointers or suggestions I would appreciate it.

[WoodMotorsports 3]

Not a pro painter by any means, but I can tell you that if your using hardener make sure and use a good respirator. And I'm not the normal internet safety cop, but hardener can do far more damage to your lungs than normal paint. That being said, I've had much better luck getting a good final finish when I use it. Now I'll step aside and let some better paint guys than me carry on with this one.

[Zeek 2,298]

Used to be in the auto body business. How to do it is sort of an acquired skill, but most anyone can do it with some practice. Aside from the safety concerns WoodMotorsports said, gun set up/paint thinning is critical. I would watch as many videos as you can on the subject like

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You have to get the pattern and volume adjusted correctly for a nice job. Search YouTube for a little while for stuff like this

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Spray a few things you don't care about first to see how they turn out. :)

[skinne344 2]

Thanks guys, anyone else? How does everyone like the valspar paint?

[Tankman 3,525]

Best practice on something other than your Horse!

[tommyg 154]

Sprayed my snowblade on my 75 d-180 this past winter with an HVLP gun. Not sure the finish is what I would want on, say the hood or something. But it's hard to tell. The blade had some rust pitting, so I shouldn't have expected a smooth finish. I agree that thinning is important. The hardener helped it dry much faster and gave it a glossier finish. I used the IH Red at first, but it didn't match the rest of the tractor as well as I hoped. But I can't confirm that the PO used actual WH red on his rebuild. The Velspar IH Red seemed a bit to orange to me. I ended up using Rustoleum Royal Red which was a closer match.

Very interested in how it turns out for you, though. Post some pics when you get it done!

[1maidenfan 202]

The royal red is my choice of paint color also, I took a piece of metel off my tractor that I knew was not repainted and matched it best I could. Royal red matched best for me.

[JackC 617]

Did you mean Rustoleum Regal Red?

[Eboy 38]

Hey,

I used the Valspar and liked it. That being said, I don't use the recomended thinner, I use acetone. I do use the hardner. But acetone flashes faster, it evaporates faster than the thinner. No drips, sags or runs.