8N that I thought was a 2N

[Soundguy]

The hat rims go for a pretty penny, sometimes you luck up though. Otherwise its a cut n paste job with torch and welder if there is enough to save

 

[Eyecatcher]

Just how expensive are these wheels? What should I expect to pay for a good used one? How about a donor?

 

[Soundguy]

they come up on ebay and craigslist from time to time. they usually go fo r more $ than new loop rims.

generally if the center band is all that is wrong with the hat rim, you can farmengineer fix it with sheet metal

 

[Eyecatcher]

Found a rim, had to make a pretty good trip to get it, but it's already sandblasted and primed, looks new! I think $100 was a little high, but needed it.

 

[Soundguy]

100$ for a good hat rim is a bargain!

 

[Eyecatcher]

Now I've got to get the rims swapped from the old rotted out one to the new one. Think I'll re-blast the new one and repaint, it has a lot of paint runs in it. I've got to decide on grey paint. Don't like the darker grey like the original 2n's. I've been painting all of the small parts taken off and blasted with Valspar Armor rattle cans, bright red. Bought a quart for the spray gun, hope it's the same color. The rattle can paint dries real fast, and seems to be pretty hard. The problem I've had with oil base implement enamel from the gun, using mineral spirits for thinner, is that it takes forever to dry, and doesn't seem that hard. I see a hardener additive at TSC, but it's about as expensive as the paint. Would I be better off to just bite the bullet and buy automotive type paint for the grey?

 

[Soundguy]

Hardener and a faster reducer help those issues. keep in mind some people are sensitive to the hardener

 

[Eyecatcher]

As I said above, I've been doing all the small parts with Valspar armor in rattle cans, hoping the canned enamel would match. Guess that was kinda dumb, but guess I'm committed now. We're stripping the rest with paint stripper, trying to get as much off as we can. I haven't used any primer on the blasted parts, I've had good luck in the past doing that, seems the abrasive gives enough tooth to work well without it. Do I need to prime the surface we have stripped? I see on some other posts where you use naptha for thinner. Is this faster than mineral spirits? What is a good ratio thinner/enamel? It's kinda cold, any faster reducer?I know you can't mix more of the hardener modified enamel than you are going to use immediately, and it looks like 8 oz does a gallon. how important is accurate measuring? How long can it stay in the gun? I've used hardener in the past, but it's been many years ago. I know this is a lot of questions, but SouNdguy, you are certainly the voice of experience.

 

[Soundguy]

naptha is certiantly much faster than mineral spirits. always make sur ethe reducer and hardner are suitable for your paint.

( for instance, carquest sells a quick cure hardner that is faster than the valspar hardner, but both work ).

technically hardend paint can last for 24 hours in a sealed container. 9 your gun has a vent ).

but if you do store it that long, or longer than an hour, when i poured it into the gun, i'd pour thru a paint strainer as sometimes it can skin, and also recheck reducer levels / viscosity.

And no. exact to the millilitre measurements are not needed.

I use the calibrated glug-glug method on reducer and hardner..

add reducer, mix, then pour to see viscosity. when it looks good, add to gun and test shoot on an old car hood or similar. if too thick, add some reducer, mix and try again. if too thin and running, add a lil more virgin paint.

i always prime bare metal.

if you have good paint to work over, especially on the cast, it's ok to paint over that usually, though do a test spot to make sure your new paint and reducer isn't orange peeling the original underlying paint.

PS. this is on a work tractor. on a show job, i'd bit the bullet and get the old paint off with a wire wheel, knotted cup, flap sanger, 3m abrasive wheel, chemical and heat strippers, needle gun.. etc.

 

[Eyecatcher]

Certainly not looking for a show tractor, but my pappy always told me if it's worth doing, it's worth doing right. I've got parts scattered all over the barn, painted and ready to go back on, sure hope I don't have any left over! I'm thinking now about how to paint the wheels. Hate to get them all done, and have them bunged up mounting tires. Is there an easy way to mask the tires so I can paint after they're mounted?
Trying to strip this thing, I understand why people sand blast them.