The Forestry Forum

I finally fixed my dozer and got my powerwasher moved down here to belben camp.. While its all apart id like to blast on a cheap coat of paint.  Its a komatsu but ita been painted already and i dont care about a perfect match.  A sub $100 brush on 40ft decent job is fine.  Dark machine gray rustoleum rattle can is a nice match for the gray portions (maybe what was used last time) but i need a yellow.  Majic's deere yellow is too bright.. Rustoleum safety yellow is way too bright, like a fluorescent highlighter.  Im looking for a thicker, tougher paint by the gallon thats a hair more orangey goldish, closer to cat/case.  

What ya suggest?  

After hours of chipping and scraping

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Then hours of power washing

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The dash and the drippy top post are safety yellow.  Bottom of post is JD yellow but i dont care for either.  Too watery, phantom colors beneath it.

Lowe's has an oil based tintable paint that is about $25/gallon they will make it in any color you want. I did my Franklin 170 skidder with one gallon. I stretched it pretty thin to make it work but that was probably 4 years ago and it still looks pretty good today.

Do you remember the brand?  We have a lowes in town

It's under their own brand of paint label, which I can't think of the name of off hand. 

At the time it was right next to the Rust-Oleum gallons.

If I was doing that much work, I'd get some machinery and implement paint from automotive paint supplier.  Single stage enamel, but made for the job.  Something that uses a hardener.  A good two-part epoxy primer to start.  NAPA carries some good automotive paint, or some go to some other local source of your choice.  They usually have knowledgeable staff that can put you on the right track.

With the amount of labor that goes into prepping and painting, it's worth a few extra bucks to get good paint.  

Tractor Supply sells some implement paint and the hardener that goes with it.  Most of the colors are standard machinery colors, but you won't find any good advice there usually.

Just my $.02

Most of TSC help don't even have animals.

Couple weeks ago I went to TSC to buy a bush hog, my old was was just not worth fixing again, walked in, told the girl at the cash register I wanted one of their 6' bush hogs, blank stare, told her I wanted a 6' rotary cutter, more blank stare. She asked me to take her to it, which I did, she then asked what those "big things" are used for...  

Mike... if you where making another run thru NY I would recommend "ponsenello" which is a big paint place in Albany, they will blend any color in marine quality paint pretty reasonable, what we have been using lately. 

 Southside- have you ever been to a "running's" ??? There is one in Gloversville, had about destroyed the local tractor supply, everything you could ever want under 1 roof... 

Nah no more trips eric.  Kids back in school so my cinderella license is over.  I made 3 runs with them and did get some important bits moved down.  I wasnt far from you when i ejected that trailer axle, be glad i didnt call!

Truthfully, im doing a little testing here to see if i want to start painting equipment for a brief summer gig now that i have some daylight without kids.  I got my hose maker and dies down, got the power washer, have a sandblaster up north, year or so ill have basic machine shop, have good hydraulics shops nearby to supply packings and such. Have the tools.  I could pick up and drop off medium sized equipment and we do have a few larger equipment auction joints toward nashville.  Maybe theres an old horse trader waiting for me to do the hard part.. I dunno. 

So old iron rehab is kinda up my alley and cleaning/painting rounds that package out pretty well.  You gotta pull everything apart to get at hoses and pins.  If you got a power washer its much more pleasant to work on a cleanish machine.  not that much further to paint.  So i wanted to just have an idea on time and water/electric cost to do a dozer, and if i do mine i will have some pics for an ad.  Gonna see what bottom of the barrel gets me.  Its a yard machine that im keeping, nothin fancy.   Ill do as nice a job as a customer wants to pay for.  

I do have to figure out a much longer pressure hose, a good and cheap degreaser and getting my heat coil rebuilt.  Cold spray just doesnt have the snot.  I want to melt stickers off, not scrape them.

I've done some higher quality restorations and also alot of fast and nasty quicky paint jobs. Paying a little more for quality paint is well worth the money. For equipment I have been using PPG's performance series industrial paint. They have hundreds of different colors to chose from and I'm sure you'll find something close. It covers excellent, sprays great and seems to really hold up. Most professional paint shops carry this series. It should be somewhere in the neighborhood of 75 a gallon.

 I walked into TSC went to the implement paint shelf and picked up a gallon of cat yellow. It goes on with a paint brush doesn't leave brush stroke lines.I don't remember what it cost but I know it was less than $100.

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 This is after 4yrs.

Mike,there is a company out of New York called "magnet paint" that i have used for years. It will stick to anything,they have several styles of paint(both 2 part epoxy and single part) ,they will send it to your door,and they have a large selection of colors, and they are priced very reasonable.
 The only problem is it tends to fade after several years if left out in the  sun.

TSC has worked for us for years.  If you want it to be really durable add hardener.  I've heard that Magnet Paints are very good and have thought I'd try them on the next old tractor I paint.

Thanks for the info fellas.   

Now what to run through the pressure washer for a cheap degreaser?  Dawn was good on the loose oily stuff but some of it is closer to a baked on tar, chisel only type crud.  

I wish there was a way to inject an abrasive through it like salt or wash powder to hammer the trash off. 

They sell abrasive injectors for power washers.  I don't know how well they work, but may be worth a try.  I could use one myself.  Obviously if you're using abrasive you have to stay away from sensitive stuff.  Not sure if I have the discipline to do that.

I've experimented with a lot of different degreasers. Some of them are pretty harsh.  Choose wisely.  Seems like most times I need to dilute them to get the right mixture at the nozzle and not use them up too fast.  Simple Green isn't bad for lighter work.  I've also used something called "The Brown Stuff" that's good for hard to clean machinery.  It's got a long list of things to stay away from though.  Sometimes I pre-treat with Gunk foaming spray.  I haven't found a single easy solution to the problem.

Like you said, hot water would be better, but I don't have that in my tool box either.

The silver water fire extinguishers make great degreaser applicators. The stuff will foam like mad coming out under pressure and gets into all the nooks and crannies.

Welp, thats that.  EZ bake oven cleaner destroys the worst baked on tar grade grease and dirt goo.   Purple power had nothin on ez bake.  Just gotta be careful not to breath it or get splattered, nasty caustic stuff. 

This engine was BLACK.  One coat of oven cleaner and one wash later

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I think the original paint is real close to cat yellow, then someone put that fisher price highlighter coat on top.  

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CAT yellow is pretty close to Komatsu colors from that ear.

Were gettin there

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Looks great ! 
I'll have to remember the oven cleaner trick.

What a difference, lots of degreasing and some fresh paint makes!  Mike that things gonna look so new, Komatsu may just send you a new payment book ;D

Well im hoping to pass the payment book to the next guy actually!

If i can flip it for a good profit i'll buy a bobcat 873 then sell my 742 and try to find another 6 way dozer with winch that needs work.  But if i cant get good enough money for this one im happy to keep it.  Great machine, and now im 5x more likely to jump under and keep it fixed since its not covered in grime.  

Looks great. What did you go with for paint?

Its tractor supply's "majic" brand cat yellow with hardener, came out same price as genuine cat with no hardener.  Also thinned it a bit with naptha to flow easier.  I gave a quick scuff and fluff with 100 grit then air and finally acetone wipe, then brushed or rolled it on.  Took 2 coats to block out the prior layer.  

Dried quick, like 2 hours.  Unfortunately every gnat in town flew into it before then

Looks good. You just jacked the price up 25%.

 
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 Iam next please!

D21?  Does it have wet clutches or dry?  Inching valve?  Is there a hydraulic "clutch" pedal on far left?

While you have the idlers out, weld up any trough worn in the front of the track frame tubes where the idler guides run.  Enough slop in there and you can kinda half throw a track even with bottom all in pretty good shape, under some circumstances.

That's gonna look fabulous!  Bringing the old iron back to life with fresh paint is always the most rewarding part of the restore.  I posted a trick for degreasing a while back that involves mineral spirits, a compressor and a HF blow gun that works really well and it's non toxic.  Cheap too. Not sure how to repost it, but it's in the system somewhere. (?) Great work though!    

Quote from: mike_belben on August 15, 2018, 10:57:36 AM
D21?  Does it have wet clutches or dry?  Inching valve?  Is there a hydraulic "clutch" pedal on far left?

While you have the idlers out, weld up any trough worn in the front of the track frame tubes where the idler guides run.  Enough slop in there and you can kinda half throw a track even with bottom all in pretty good shape, under some circumstances.

Sounds like you guys need full floater rock guards that'll help with tossing tracks. The yellow sure looks like the old Dresser yellow ;)

Here it is.
poor man's engine/parts cleaner in Forestry and Logging (http://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=95267.msg1468894#msg1468894)

Thanks cfarm, appreciate it.

Quote from: sandersen on August 15, 2018, 12:23:24 PM
That's gonna look fabulous!  Bringing the old iron back to life with fresh paint is always the most rewarding part of the restore.  

Thanks.  It came out pretty nice from 20 feet or so, but up close its still lipstick on a pig.  That said, i prefer my pig in lipstick.  

Skeans,  i dont really have any rocks to deal with here in clay country, but if im doing a real steep sidehill and need to turn on it, the high side track can slacken and start to climb off the idler.  My tracks are pretty snug, new rails, sprockets, good rollers etcbut theres a lot of wear in the idler guides, so thats all i can see to chalk it up to.  I am gonna weld them up later when i pull the blade to do the rod seals and rebush the main pivots.  


its only happened while cutting a bowl around big deep stumps.  Maybe just poor practice on my behalf.

Full floater rock guards really don't do much for rocks but they will help keep the track from walking out on you at any point it's under the roller frames, now for the top you need bear claws they keep the top from walking off the idler which would help with the small idler support dresser used.

What do you mean by full floating?  Are they on springs or something?

It's just what they are called the rail can only float between the inner and outer rail vs being able to walk out when turning a must for any brush work. The bear claws go up top to keep the rail from walking off the idler.

Mike, my late dad, a veteran tractor mechanic of 40+ year preferred oven cleaner to anything else for heavy duty degreasing except brake parts.

The only other thing ive seen nastier than oven cleaner was in the marines, i ran a hazmat locker for a while and the paint hangar used an incredibly caustic paint stripper that im pretty sure would dissolve a body, and probably shouldnt be available to the public.  The guys that worked there always had blisters on their forearms from little splatters.


There was also an epic rust convertor i would kill for. 

Quote from: mike_belben on August 15, 2018, 10:57:36 AM
D21?  Does it have wet clutches or dry?  Inching valve?  Is there a hydraulic "clutch" pedal on far left?

While you have the idlers out, weld up any trough worn in the front of the track frame tubes where the idler guides run.  Enough slop in there and you can kinda half throw a track even with bottom all in pretty good shape, under some circumstances.

yeah d21, dry clutches, inching valve. I was welding up rails and idler guides in that picture!

Nice! Im not certain if that has a hydraulic steer valve at the back like mine (those two shiny spools in center at back of machine)  ...if so..

If your steering pedals dont easily uncouple drive and then apply brakes with little pedal effort, get into the linkages.  Worn out pins, clevises and rollers on mine made it so the steering valve spools werent relieving the fluid pressure which clamps the drive plates. Sometimes yes and sometimes no depending on the slop stackup as parts rotated.. So id smash the pedal to steer and the brake would come on fully but the drive is still driving right thru the brake.  Engine should never load when you hit a steer pedal.  

The other major issue i had was a cooler return line leaking into the muddy pan, combined with too much slop in the "C" studs threaded into the fwd/rev/speed spools.. I had no reverse until both were fixed.  The cooler circuit is part of the reverse lubrication system and the control valve couldnt work right with the loss of pressure.  

But mine is a d31 so i dont know how much carries over.  I just know to stay ontop those worn down linkages now!

And on the subject of paint, too much hardner will make it flash and harden before the gloss can bubble to the surface.. And itll also lock up more brush strokes.  Makes a nice hard flat paint if thats what you want.  If you want the gloss, back off the hardner or switch to a slow evaporating thinner instead of a fast.  (Naptha vs xylene for example.) Time to flow out before hardening will make a shiny-er smoother surface finish. 

We have a Runnings nearby
200% better than TCS
Top guality tools

Quote from: Bruno of NH on August 16, 2018, 07:12:16 PM
We have a Runnings nearby
200% better than TCS
Top guality tools

The closest one for me is 63 miles, I could do 80% of my shopping there. 🤣

Barge
They have lots of stuff.
I find most things are very high quality. 
Tools,tool boxes,sand paper,power tools,guns and hardware.
They have lots of sales.
I'm saying clear don't want to spend any money right now.
I'm busting up my own stuff bad the last to weeks. 
Stick through the lower panel on the tractor.
Bent the bucket moving big rocks.
Hit the tarp bracket loading firewood in the dump trailer.
I like my Mahindra 3540 Cab tractor but the buckets a joke.

Quote from: mike_belben on August 16, 2018, 12:09:53 PM
Nice! Im not certain if that has a hydraulic steer valve at the back like mine (those two shiny spools in center at back of machine)  ...if so..

If your steering pedals dont easily uncouple drive and then apply brakes with little pedal effort, get into the linkages.  Worn out pins, clevises and rollers on mine made it so the steering valve spools werent relieving the fluid pressure which clamps the drive plates. Sometimes yes and sometimes no depending on the slop stackup as parts rotated.. So id smash the pedal to steer and the brake would come on fully but the drive is still driving right thru the brake.  Engine should never load when you hit a steer pedal.  

The other major issue i had was a cooler return line leaking into the muddy pan, combined with too much slop in the "C" studs threaded into the fwd/rev/speed spools.. I had no reverse until both were fixed.  The cooler circuit is part of the reverse lubrication system and the control valve couldnt work right with the loss of pressure.  

But mine is a d31 so i dont know how much carries over.  I just know to stay ontop those worn down linkages now!

(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/21468/016~0.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1534518873) Very similar to yours, mine has levers to disconnect clutches and apply brake.

Quote from: Bruno of NH on August 16, 2018, 07:12:16 PM
We have a Runnings nearby
200% better than TCS
Top guality tools

Bruno,
Which Running's are you close too?  I looked them up yesterday after you said there was one in NH and saw one in Claremont and one in Hinsdale.  Either way it's a bit under 2hrs for me, but then again place sounds like it would be worth the trip!

I go to the one in Claremont 
It's worth the trip

  Been a hectic summer have not had much time for catching up with the forum. Sure is great to see you making such progress.  8) 8) 8)

Thanks buddy, i threw the batteries back in today to ensure i got some leaks solved before the rest of the tin goes back on.  Pushed a few piles out in the rain.  Felt good.  Workin on my turnaround.  Hopefully theres a shop in the middle before i hit 40.  Gettin tired. 

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This is just a little stretch of my total property.  Last neighborhood i lived in, thered be 6 houses on that one spot. Livin like goldfish is for the birds.

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This poor kid doesnt know what kinda iron problem hes in for. 


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I painted a wheel horse garden tractor with TSC paint and noticed that it started to fade. Most of the time it is in a dark building. See's very little sun light.

I actually chose the TSC stuff on my own junk so that i could monitor that.. Id like to know how it holds up for future reference.  If it was on a customers dime id definitely have bought the cat branded stuff for just a little more and probably added hardner.  Just to give them that warm fuzzy cat value feeling to go wuth their window sticker, mudflaps, hat and boots.  

;D

Quote from: Puffergas on August 24, 2018, 12:16:14 PM
I painted a wheel horse garden tractor with TSC paint and noticed that it started to fade. Most of the time it is in a dark building. See's very little sun light.

I go one of them one wheel tractors painted it with rattle can still looks good today. But it stays inside except for a little use in the spring of the year.
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Those things are pretty neat.  You use the sweep for weeding or opening a furrow to plant into?

If you have every followed a mule behind a plow it works much like and Ol George a stalk or that what my dad and granddad called them I have many of the old plows that work with it. Yes I use it to make rows layby corn and middle bust. It is fun to watch a greenhorn try to use it. :D You can holler Gee or Haw and it still goes off in the corn but it want bite the tops out just plows them up :D
 

No sir, cant say i have.  My dirt is so bad youd have to pay to have it hauled off.  Raised beds and compost have been doin good.  Saves me a lot on mule maintenance i guess. 

Bwstout, nice machine. The older TSC worked nice for me. A few years ago they changed brands.

Thanks some rattle can paint works pretty good