D@MN RUST BUCKET!

[jim_wilson]

I spent 6 years working for a company that manufactured spray painting equipment for auto and industrial applications and learned quite a bit about painting along the way. If the paint on your tractor is peeling off then it was not applied correctly - there is no other way of looking at it. The rust that other posters have written about seeing around the welds on the ROPS does not surprise me - unless the welds were sandblasted or were cleaned out thoroughly with some sort of industrial strenght cleaning process before the ROPS was painted welds are usually one of the first places you can expect to see rust. Seeing as how I just ordered a new BX23 on Thursday all this talk about paint falling off doesn't give me the greatest feeling. If the paint starts falling off I guess I will have to pull out the spray gun.

 

[beenthere]

jim
How would you prep a tractor that is peeling paint like described here (for re-painting, that is)?

Hi pressure water? scrape loose paint off? paint remover?

Seems like a lot of prep work to get this ready for painting, seeing as a primer would be desireable.
/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[Rainbow6]

I recently emailed Kubota Corp service dept about something and got a reply from a service manager saying it would be looked into. When no further reply came I again emailed him and he called me at home to apologize that his techs had not contacted me. He says I will get the info I need Mon or heads will roll...I bet if you do the same you will get some help or advice on your problem. Use this link to email em compacttractors-implements@kubota.com

 

[jim_wilson]

I guess my answer would depend on whether or not you want to repaint just a small area or an entire piece. Paint is all about the prep work - proper metal prep and proper priming before applying the final paint is what determines whether the paint will stand up over time. In general for thicker gauge metals nothing beats sandblasting for prepping the metal. It is not however a good idea to use sandblasting for thinner gauge metals because the heat generated during the process can warp the metal. I have heard story after story of people sandblasting their car hoods during restorations and then they find out the whole thing was warped afterwards. This can happen with thicker gauge metals too if the sandblaster used is powerful enough but any common consumer level sandblaster should not cause problems on thicker metals. After the steel is sandblasted avoid touching it with your sweaty hands if possible and dont get it wet - it will start to rust very quickly if you do so. For thinner gauge metals there is a number of things you can do - to strip it totally down you can use strippers but that is messy and time consuming, car restorers use dip tanks that strip everything off, and there is plastic media blasting. Plastic media blasting uses a ground up plastic stuff instead of sand - this avoids the metal warping on the thinner gauge metals. The other thing I have used for stripping paint from sheet metal is Scotch Brite wheels. They go on a chuck that goes into a regular drill and they strip off paint very well without leaving grinding marks on the metal surface after. Check them out . . A good place to go for metal treatment products is Eastwood - they have a great catalog - (get the print version , it is easier to look thru than online). You can also use different methods together - sandblast the rusty areas to get rid of all the rust , and then use the Scothbrite wheels to clean off the areas where the paint is still good. If you use the Scotch Brite wheels you want the black ones - Eastwood sells them - at least they used to.

Once you have a clean piece of metal the paint is next. Just about every paint I have ever seen requires a good primer to work properly. If you were trying to paint your tractor with the absolute best possible solution I would recommend going with polyurethane and epoxy primer like the Imron system by Dupont ( info ) or the equivalent from PPG or other paint manufacturers. This stuff is nasty though - it is recommended that you use a forced air breathing mask when applying it. You could probably find a auto body shop to do it but that is going to start costing real money. For pieces with small areas on something like a tractor you can actually get a very good job using spray cans. If I was going to repaint the ROPS for instance I would first get the metal clean as detailed above and then I would use Rust Oleum Zinc Sele for the primer coat. Zinc Sele is a galvanizing primer that will protect the metal and stop it from rusting just like a galvanized coating would. Then find an appropriate color grey and paint the color coats. A couple of warnings - I believe the Zinc Sele cans will say that you are not supposed to paint over it - I have however successfully used Zinc Sele as a primer under Rust Oleum for years. I painted the entire suspension on one of my cars when I restored it using this method and the pieces stood up to New England roads for years. My father took the trailer hitch from his Ford Expedition , sandblasted it down, and then Zinc Sele'ed and sprayed it with black Rust Oleum epoxy about 6 years ago and there is not a spot of rust on the thing yet. I would not however recommend using this method for body parts unless you think you are very good with a spray can - for larger areas if you want a " factory" look to the finish you will have to go a real spray gun applied finish. Hope this wasn't too much information /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[TresCrows]

I have done a bunch of painting. I don't know exactly where your paint is peeling but if it is a new unit--take it back--period.

Good paint and good finish cost money and time.

I would bead blast the parts by removing them and taking them to a shop that does that. I would then immediantly wipe it down with a metal prep that stabilizes the metal and kills rust such as Dupont Metal Prep for ferrous metals. I would then shoot it with a light coat of Dupont Variprime self etching green primer. NOW--shifting gears, I would then shoot it with a light gray primer such as PPG DP50 Epoxy primer. Several cross coats--let it flash--shoot on PPG acrylic enamel with the gloss hardner additive--OR---buy the professional Kubota Orange II available in cans (not the stuff in spray cans) and intended for full repaint. It is a pro grade paint, two part etc.

You will need a prograde gun like a Binks 2001 or DeVillbiss or Sharpe witha good water free compressor and good oil filter. I like those end use filters--they are very good at removing oil and water drops.

Put your flame decals and whatnot---shoot a quality clear over it--this step optional. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif J

 

[TresCrows]

Not just you but the others as well----can we have some pictures. I want to see pictures so we can fully understand the nature of the problem and how to fix/avoid it and also to see exactly what y'all talking about.

Just did a rust survery /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif on the 2410. Nope--no rust or peeling paint, be going over the 2200 in a month when I go home.

You know what, if it is the ROP or the 3-point arms I would just remove what paint comes off with a 400 grit paper and then repaint with the Kubota Gray in the spray can. If this is the hood--fenders---I would take it to the dealer if new--if several years old then I would fix it myself with a proper repaint. I don't think you have orange paint peeling off the tractor. The implements--maybe--I wore most of mine off the Kubota boxblade so I would not know if it were peeling or not /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif. I have not had any peeling paint on the loader--again--if a new loader is peeling paint from the arms I would take it back--the bucket--forget it.

I have scrapped a large amount of paint off my ROP going under trees. It has gotten rather scuffed up. Next year I may have it powder coated gray or sprayed with Line-X.

You will never have rust free top link and three point arms if you use the tractor. They get serious abuse and they may well be painted in a poor manner knowing full well the paint is not going to stay on anyway--it gets worn off. Not a good philosophy but maybe that is how it is.

Pics please. J

 

[rwsr50]

Can't show pics, I just retouched mine yesterday. Probably should have taken pics just to support any warranty claims later. Most of the spots I am complaining about were around welds that can be seen under the seat on the piece the top link hooks to, and parts all over the back of the tractor around the 3 point hitch.

I realize parts of the tractor are going to get chipped up from using, but a good paint job will be more resistant to chipping.
I haven't even used the 3PH yet and the paint is off and things are rusting.

When I tried to do a quick wire brushing of the spots prior to touching up with the Kubota gray spray paint is when the paint started coming off in sheets. It obviously isn't stuck to the metal beneath.

And all the above methods of redoing the paint are great, but how could you do all that without pretty much completely disassembling the thing. It was hard enuff just keeping the spray where I wanted it, although I'm not concerned about things like runs or anything, just getting the bare metal covered to prevent rust. I hit the spots with Mar-hyde rust converter prior to the Kubota gray paint.

If the tractor were 20 years old and you were restoring it or something, that would be one thing, but you shouldn't need to be doing all this on a brand spanking new machine, especially one that cost what these do. If it was a cheapo Walmart tractor or something, I would expect as much and wouldn't be so upset about it.

 

[Junkman]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( ................
When I tried to do a quick wire brushing of the spots prior to touching up with the Kubota gray spray paint is when the paint started coming off in sheets. It obviously isn't stuck to the metal beneath. )</font>

A thought just came to me why you are finding bare metal underneath and the "paint" is coming off in sheets. It is my guess that what you are referring to as "paint" is actually powder coat and if that is the case, then it will look just like bare metal underneath. I believe that the ROPS on my BX22 tractor is powder coated grey. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

 

[rwsr50]

Where it was coming loose in sheets was on the 3 point somewhere if I recall, not the ROPS.

I always thought the whole idea of powder coating was that it was more durable.

The modular office furniture I work around a lot has a super finish on the metal. It gets used and abused, takes a lickin and keeps on tickin. It is a real slippery finish too. I know these furniture parts get thrown around on top of each other, walked on, dragged around, etc. and you hardly ever see a scratch or nick in the paint. I'm no paint expert, but I always assumed the furniture was powder coated. Tuff stuff whatever it is.

 

[Rainbow6]

This is starting to sound a little like BS, sorry. I'm outta here for a while. Good luck.............