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Touch Up Painting a 51 Cub

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Gary1959
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Zip Code: 19029
Tractors Owned: 1951 Farmall Cub

Touch Up Painting a 51 Cub

Postby Gary1959 » Tue Oct 31, 2017 10:44 am

http://www.tmtractor.com/new/sp/2150fp.htm
Cub Deteroiated Paint2.jpg

Cub Deteroiated Paint1.png

I just finished cleaning up and "rehabbing" our old 51 Cub. I used some degreasing products to remove 65 years of grim and now have a tractor that looks "alive" again. Now I'm debating whether to:

Leave it as it with some areas where the paint has come off (oil pan, tow bar, and many other "worn" off spots) and others with hard to get to grease/dirt remaining. This approach shows it's age and represents that it is still a "working tractor" (which it still will be...no parades/shows). Or, whether a "better look" would be to use the above "Farmall Cub Red" paint to touch up some areas that have lost most their paint like the oil pan or the hood itself. The 60% of hood paint is gone or deteriorated and the letting on side of hood is all but gone. I'm thinking that I should give this hood a light protective coat using a spray can of the paint so as to provide the color but not to the point where that "new look" contrasts badly with the rest of the "old look" tractor. Would this require a primer coat first or not necessarily?

Once I start, I'm afraid it will be hard to stop. The wheels could use wire brushed and then painted. But that would probably mean that I'd have to prime it first (I'm not an expert on painting either so not sure if priming is a must).

I guess what I have to decide is although I don't want at this point to create a "show tractor", I do want to preserve this for future generations to enjoy and that will mean that I should protect the exposed metal surfaces from further deterioration. One of the questions is then if I do start to apply paint, is this aerosol can application acceptable versus using a compressor with a spray gun (I have no experience in feathering on a nice coat but I'm willing to learn!). Then IF I do that, should I prime those surfaces first and if so, what's a good primer to use? Another detail is that some spots just need a light "touch up"...surely people use aerosol can paint to do that and don't first "prime" those area. Also, if I do the entire hood, that would mean sanding off the paint that's left... then priming and painting. Maybe I should just keep this a "Working Tractor" and go back in side and watch TV.

Feedback will be appreciated!

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Willy
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Tractors Owned: 1951 Cub Lil Red
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Re: Touch Up Painting a 51 Cub

Postby Willy » Tue Oct 31, 2017 11:06 am

The old Jeep guys call the worn & rusted look "patina". When I first saw my 51, it was all patina. I like the patina look, but mine was overdoing it when ,my father in law brought it home. He had it repainted with new decals so I guess I get to add new patina to it. Already lost some of that new paint just unbolting stuff and bolting it back on. It's going "working tractor" now.

Some of the Jeep guys will spray some kind of something to stop the rust from spreading and then clear coat it all to save the patina. Those guys are usually driving an old Jeep that's been in their family for years and figure the dent and paints as part of it's history. One guy had to replace some body panels and then figured out to add "patina" to it to match the rest of the Jeep.
Waking up the ol' Cub

Nah, it's not leaking oil. It's just marking it's territory.

ntrenn
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Re: Touch Up Painting a 51 Cub

Postby ntrenn » Tue Oct 31, 2017 8:21 pm

I used to work for an old man whose favorite saying was ' a coat of paint will cover a multitude if sins'. You put forth a tough conundrum....it won't hurt to do what's needed for the hood. Rust perforation does nobody any good. Whether you choose full repaint or just extend and clear...at least do something. Even light sanding plus brushed topcoat doesnt look bad from 10 feet...

Gary1959
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Joined: Mon Sep 18, 2017 11:13 am
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Tractors Owned: 1951 Farmall Cub

Re: Touch Up Painting a 51 Cub

Postby Gary1959 » Wed Nov 01, 2017 9:50 am

Good feedback...thanks. I now plan to sand, prime, and repaint just the hood and gas tank leaving the rest of the tractor "as is" which shows it's age a little. If I don't do this, rust will really degrade this otherwise very nice little tractor. I'll have to read up on the forum a little on how best to proceed, e.g. grit sand paper, type of primer, can or paint gun, etc. There may be a little clash of the vibrant new paint versus the duller original paint but that's okay...it'll look good and be protected.

Anyone whose reading this who has any great leads/links or opinions, I'd appreciate your sharing them.

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Glen
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Re: Touch Up Painting a 51 Cub

Postby Glen » Wed Nov 01, 2017 4:56 pm

Hi,
Below is a listing at TM Tractor for the decals to use on a 1951 Cub. You can look and see if you want them. I think they are made so the red paint on the hood shows through part of the decal. :)

A 1951 Cub uses the decals that are the 2nd from the bottom of the page. :)

http://www.tmtractor.com/new/de/de_005.htm

http://www.tmtractor.com/new/de/dek271.htm
Last edited by Glen on Wed Nov 01, 2017 6:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.

staninlowerAL
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Re: Touch Up Painting a 51 Cub

Postby staninlowerAL » Wed Nov 01, 2017 6:18 pm

Gary1959 wrote:Good feedback...thanks. I now plan to sand, prime, and repaint.........Anyone whose reading this who has any great leads/links or opinions, I'd appreciate your sharing them.
I recommend a rust inhibitor (OSPHO is one brand) after the sanding and cleaning and before any painting. This will help to encapsulate any places that you can't get to with the cleaning/sanding and will help prevent flash rust until you get some paint on the metal.
Stan in LA (lower AL)
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Jim in SC
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Re: Touch Up Painting a 51 Cub

Postby Jim in SC » Wed Nov 01, 2017 6:36 pm

Good advice above! Sand, prime, and paint your '51 Cub! The primary purpose of paint is, as you yourself mentioned, to preserve the metal. It also looks nice.

As to rattle cans versus spray gun application - well - I sanded, primed, and painted my 1951 Cub entirely with rattle can paint. If you take your time and practice, it will turn out fine. Mine did. Here are my before and after pictures. Oh, yeah - my Cub is a working tractor as you can see in one of the pics.

Good luck and post pictures!
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Willy
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Re: Touch Up Painting a 51 Cub

Postby Willy » Wed Nov 01, 2017 7:24 pm

On the decals, don't do like who ever put mine on did. The light switch has a 4 position decal on a 3 position switch. And the ignition has the 3 position light switch decal.
Waking up the ol' Cub

Nah, it's not leaking oil. It's just marking it's territory.

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Drfting1
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Re: Touch Up Painting a 51 Cub

Postby Drfting1 » Tue Nov 07, 2017 8:07 pm

Patina is nice, lets the old girl tell her life story, but if she has been already repainted and you want to preserve her... I'd go with with re-painting, I usually use base coat / clear coat when I restore old cars or vending machines, but when I did my cub, I wanted something a bit more durable since I plan on using her around yard, I used rustoleum IH red thinned and shot through a gun, tractor supply has a majic brand IH red which I used on an old tiller I restored and had a fading issue, rustoleum has held up nice, did some touch up on spots on rims yesterday and cant even see difference. I used rattle can on a few small parts when she was apart, but to me, paint out of the can is thinned out a little too much, get metal nice and cleaned up, prime it, pick up a quart of paint.... thin it, use a gravity fed gun and have fun.. toss some new stickers on her and her metal is protected and she'll look good .... link to mine viewtopic.php?f=122&t=95772
Bill Longeill

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Re: Touch Up Painting a 51 Cub

Postby k hutchins » Tue Nov 07, 2017 8:57 pm

My '48 is a work horse and it shows. It's 90% original and has always been kept indoors. There is still a lot of original paint, but it has it's share of patina as well. I'm afraid that if I cleaned him up and painted him I'd be afraid to use him. He might not be pretty but he gets it done. Kinda like me.
Why is there never enough time to do the job right, but always enough time to do it over. :?:

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Drfting1
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Re: Touch Up Painting a 51 Cub

Postby Drfting1 » Wed Nov 08, 2017 10:12 am

Mine was in too rough shape.. Your 48 sounds perfect... If I had something like yours... I would leave him just the way he is
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Dale Finch
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Re: Touch Up Painting a 51 Cub

Postby Dale Finch » Sun Nov 12, 2017 10:35 am

I had a '55 that sorely needed paint, but I was not prepared to "do it right". What I ended up doing was remove the hood, doglegs and grill, mask off/remove what I didn't want painted (plug wires, distributor cap, etc), then attacked the tractor with cans of Rustoleum Rusty Metal primer, which is a "rust-colored" red. It provided the protection I wanted, and gave the tractor a nice even look. Then I spent a fair amount of time stripping, sanding, dent-filling, sanding, more sanding, priming, sanding, then finally painting with Rustoleum IH Red. I did do the hood/fuel tank, doglegs AND the grill, which gave a nice front-to-back, even look.
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Drfting1
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Re: Touch Up Painting a 51 Cub

Postby Drfting1 » Sun Nov 12, 2017 3:28 pm

Wife was jealous of the one I did..... She made me paint one for her...... :cry:
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Drfting1
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Re: Touch Up Painting a 51 Cub

Postby Drfting1 » Sun Nov 12, 2017 3:33 pm

......only kidding lol

Was playing with new photo editor :D
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