crazyangel
Gold Member
Over the Winter I was fortunate to have the opportunity to purchase the prototype Wicked Grapple from Everything Attachments, and I scooped it up before the deal slipped away. It was built and tested by EA without paint, but I wanted to give it an added layer of corrosion protection before putting it into service. It took a few months to get the project started though because I don't have a heated shop and NY Winter is just too cold for painting. When the weather turned this Spring the project got under way, and I snapped a lot of pics along the way. Here is a summary of the project....
Since the grapple had been put through its paces on Ted's tractor during the trials, it needed to be cleaned and have some surface rust removed before priming. It still had some of that fantastic red Carolina dirt on the teeth when I received it....
So I disassembled it and used a power washer to clean it up.
To clear the surface rust off the welds and such I brushed on a rust remover I came across online called "Rust release SuperGel".
It worked great. Brush on. Let sit for an hour, and then power wash again to rinse off the gel. Here is what it looked like afterwards....
With the hardware cleaned and rust free it was time to move on to the primer. I chose Duplicolor self etching primer in a rattle can, and was happy with the results.
I also wanted to add some grease fittings to the hinge points. So before top coating, I drilled and tapped the jaws for 1/4-28 zircs.
For the top coat I chose to go with the Kubota brand Bright Orange II paint. I thought long and hard about picking up a HVLP sprayer for the job, but at the end of the day I had to admit to myself that I don't have a lot of use for it. It would be cool to own one, but it would have added expense to the project. I just couldn't justify it. So I picked up a bunch of rattle cans and went to town on it...
After letting it cure for a couple days it was time to reassemble and put it to work.
Here it is in action, and I couldn't be happier!
Thanks EA for designing a fantastic product. On top of that your service can't be beat. I am really grateful that I was able to purchase the prototype, and look forward to getting a lot of work done in short order as I clear the lot for our future home. Happy tractoring all.... :tractor:
Since the grapple had been put through its paces on Ted's tractor during the trials, it needed to be cleaned and have some surface rust removed before priming. It still had some of that fantastic red Carolina dirt on the teeth when I received it....
So I disassembled it and used a power washer to clean it up.
To clear the surface rust off the welds and such I brushed on a rust remover I came across online called "Rust release SuperGel".
It worked great. Brush on. Let sit for an hour, and then power wash again to rinse off the gel. Here is what it looked like afterwards....
With the hardware cleaned and rust free it was time to move on to the primer. I chose Duplicolor self etching primer in a rattle can, and was happy with the results.
I also wanted to add some grease fittings to the hinge points. So before top coating, I drilled and tapped the jaws for 1/4-28 zircs.
For the top coat I chose to go with the Kubota brand Bright Orange II paint. I thought long and hard about picking up a HVLP sprayer for the job, but at the end of the day I had to admit to myself that I don't have a lot of use for it. It would be cool to own one, but it would have added expense to the project. I just couldn't justify it. So I picked up a bunch of rattle cans and went to town on it...
After letting it cure for a couple days it was time to reassemble and put it to work.
Here it is in action, and I couldn't be happier!
Thanks EA for designing a fantastic product. On top of that your service can't be beat. I am really grateful that I was able to purchase the prototype, and look forward to getting a lot of work done in short order as I clear the lot for our future home. Happy tractoring all.... :tractor: