Best Paint Finish

[RedNed]

I just finished my first powder coating job.I just recently got a Harbor Freight powder coat gun and was messing around with at work. I took a old Battery top from a cub that was in the shed. I blasted it with glass beads to remove all the old paint and rust.Cleaned the metal with Dupont Metal cleaner and scotch- Brite.Rinsed it with water and let dry.Hooked up the powder gun and used some red powder that comes from Harbor. Sprayed the piece to a opaque red oxide look.I hung the piece in the oven( we have a big industrial oven) to a temp of 400 degrees for 15 minutes.After the 15 minutes I shut the oven down and let the the piece cool down.The battery top came out like a red mirror. I can bolt this on right away too.I do not have to wait for it to dry.Incredible!What a difference.I wish my camera was not broke(I droped in a snow bank blizzard of 05)Any of you Gents have questions about powder coating ?Oh by the way the Harbor Frieght red powder matched IH2150 perfectly

[Paul_NJ]

RedNed

I'd imagine it would work well on manifolds . . . I sent my Cub's intake/exhaust manifold out to be powder coated and it looks great. How much was the Harbor Freight kit? Do you think I could bake it in my home oven, or are toxic gases released or something I'd not want in my kitchen? Does it have to be steel, ie can you powder coat a carb - now that would be something!

Paul

[John *.?-!.* cub owner]

Paul, I think that kind of heat would deform your carb.

[RedNed]

Paul
The gun is really inexpensive.The problem is the oven.It kind of keeps the hobbiest out of the loop.Toxic vapors and explosive gases just to mention a few.The finish is by far superior than any thing I've used.For instance my draw bar is banged up and chipped with regular IH 2150 and dupont centari.As far as the carb getting painted.I do not think it would be a problem,400 degrees for 15 minutes.Maybe try 300 degrees for a half hour.I still have to play around for a while.To see what works.I am telling you guys this is great.The paint cost is approx. $10 for a lb. can of powder.It will cover 50 sq. ft. If I get my camera fixed or I will borrow a friends I will post some pictures k. I just took the breather top off my cub to do tomorrow. I decided to try this because watching all those shows on cable.

[Lurker Carl]

DON'T use your home oven for powder coating unless it's not in the house!

[RedNed]

Absolutely Carl
Reminds me of a story .Putting Aircraft dope on my son's radio control planes wings in the house.My wife yelling whats that smell.I replied "what smell"..............

[beaconlight]

Dope and those other highly volitile paints can cause things that go boom in the night or day.

Bill

[Jim Becker]

I think you said the powder came form Harbor Freight didn't you? Does the powder container have any information as to who produced it or any number other than the H-F catalog number?

[RedNed]

Hi Jim
I'll check the can.The can has the typical "mfg. for Harbor Freight".Big Red sticker circle on can's lid.I think it was $10. for 8oz. can .I bought the white can too.I will look tomorrow to see if i can find anything else. H.F just calls it red.I talked to my local Auto paint Dist.It seems ppg makes powders for the guns too.I have to special order them.They seemed to be pretty interested in what I was doing.How I was preping and what the cure time was.They have a color deck to choose from and texure paint and cermic coatings also.The Red(ruby seems to match IH extremely well).Mirror finish with 90 precent gloss.Cost about under $20. a lb.This finish is ideal for agriculture and Marine uses.Beats the heck out of Imron and all that messy clean up.I cleaned up today in 5 minutes.

[Jim Becker]

From your pictures, it looks like a good match for the rest of your tractor. The other paint that it matches is from Case-IH isn't it? which is why I was curious. H-F has to be buying it from some large supplier. Other than PPG, the big powder manufacturers I know of are Morton and Tiger Drylac. I'm sure there are others.

[RedNed]

Yes, the hood was Dupont #96766 and the rest was Case/IH 2150 (Ironguard) Grill white, also Case/ IH. Just a quick question on the white.It seems to me the white on the old IH tractors,was a little bit whiter than this off white.My 1957 350u should have the white rims.Should I paint them with IH or go for somthing more of a brighter white.

[Jim Becker]

I have not found anything specific on the white paint. The Cub Cadet guys at http://www.ihcubcadet.com/cubpaint.htm have a good grip on the whites used on Cadets. I have no reason to think that different whites were used on Cubs and Cadets at any specific time. Before the Cadets came along ('56-'60), my guess is they were using something like 901 (color used on first Cadets). The 350U came from a different factory so I suppose it could have been a different shade.

In any case, I don't think any of the whites were very white. I think a lot of restorations are too white. For the little bit of white on a Cub, I used a rattle can of Krylon antique white, which seems to be a pretty good match.

[beaconlight]

Here we have been talking powder coat. It turns out we now have and expert on the subject on the forum.
3AcreCub
Welcome aboard. There has been some talk on the subject. Perhaps you can give us some expert advise on the subject. Every one on the forum has helped me learn a lot about cubs, maintanance, repairs and rebuilding.

Bill Sorensen