Dave's 1650 Project

[litlmikeyl]

You'll like the PPG paint, both the Omni line & their brand name line. Haven't had the best of luck with the MTK - single stage with clear in the paint - as it doesn't have the durability of the other types of paint. Even if you don't reduce it out (read: thin it out) very much the product is still too thin. The MAE - glorified bombcan paint - is pretty good if you have a good primer that uses a hardener underneath the color. I have this on my wheels & seat and I can't seem to scratch it regardless of what I do. MBC - Omni's base/clear - has the most components but will give you the best finish in the end. Its just as good as the main PPG line stuff is but doesn't have the choices of color & pearls that the name line does. Very durable if shot correctly and done with the right chemicals. The reducers make a big difference & have a fairly narrow temperature range that they will work in, so choose wisely given the day you're going to shoot. Also, by temp I mean the temp of the panels being shot, not so much the environment you're shooting paint in. PPG is also very good about giving instructions & tips for shooting all of their products. You can't mix & match the main PPG line with the Omni products with the exception of the primers as long as you seal the primer with primer sealer after the primer has dried but before you apply color.

The place you get the paint from should have PPG data sheets on every product PPG makes and should be able to give you a copy if you ask them for one. If they don't, let me know and I'll get it for you out of my personal stash and send it your way.

I apologize if this is information overload. If I can give you as much info as possible before you start painting then hopefully you'll have a better outcome in the end. Painting is a scary topic to most but if you have the knowledge prior and do your prep you'll have an awesome paint job in the end, whether it be a tractor or a vehicle and you'll have a good time doing it too.

Good luck!!

[CC1650Dave]

Mike, he did give me the P sheets with the package. And yes, reading too much about painting will scare you silly. I've just decided to have the experts hook me up with what matches what, and shoot it.

This paint line is called AUE-100. It's acrylic urethane enamel. I'm not familiar with all the other three letter types you mentioned, but what do you know about this one? One thing I noted is that it says it doesn't need a reducer, it's ready to shoot. I got some anyway just in case, and for prepping.

So do I need a primer sealer, or is that just if I'm mixing products? He didn't mention anything about needing one...

[litlmikeyl]

Mike, he did give me the P sheets with the package. And yes, reading too much about painting will scare you silly. I've just decided to have the experts hook me up with what matches what, and shoot it.

- Excellent! They should have all the info you need in regards to that product. Use the sheets to double-check what you have been told. Paint info/advice from someone (I'll admit to this too) is almost always subjective in nature, based on personal experience. The spec sheets won't steer you wrong.

This paint line is called AUE-100. It's acrylic urethane enamel. I'm not familiar with all the other three letter types you mentioned, but what do you know about this one? One thing I noted is that it says it doesn't need a reducer, it's ready to shoot. I got some anyway just in case, and for prepping.

- Not familiar with this product. Sounds like a more solid single-shot acrylic enamel than the usual stuff. Makes sense that you don't have to reduce it out, since you don't usually reduce out clear (which is urethane). Have a feeling this might spray out of the gun pretty nice and cover well too. You might want to use a tip in the gun that is sized for a top coat of a clear coat given there is urethane in the color. Typically we use a 1.5-ish for primers & sealers, a 1.3 - 1.4 for color (especially if there is metallic flake in the color) and a 1.2 for the clear since there is no solids in the clear itself. Using too fat of a tip may cause runs as well.

- Reducer is always good to have around. Any other type of thinner isn't very good in a paint gun as they will cause the seals to dry up and fail, possibly ruining a paint gun in the process. When you're done shooting color or changing in between products, such as primer to color, then color to clear, shoot some reducer thru the gun to clean it out. My Dad, who stores his guns upright in a rack, also leaves about a shot glasses' worth of reducer in the cup after he's sprayed some thru to keep everything wet and in good shape. He's never had an issue with one of the HVLP guns getting clogged or failing since he started doing this trick.

So do I need a primer sealer, or is that just if I'm mixing products? He didn't mention anything about needing one...

- Normal, straight primer is like a dry sponge essentially. Once the solvents have evaporated out of the sprayed primer, it will start pulling moisture out of the surrounding air. The more moisture the primer absorbs, the worse the product put on top of it will be. Paint doesn't stick to water. Primer sealer is just what is says, it seals the primer so that it can't absorb water. Those vehicles you see on TV that are driving around in primer are sealed with primer sealer that has been sprayed on top of the usual primer which is over the bare metal. This is best if you plan to get something sandblasted or remove the rust and not paint it right away. Prime the item & then seal it so that it's proteced until you get around to shooting color on the part. Most times the sealer needs to be scuffed before applying color so the color has something to bite into. For what you're doing, you don't need primer sealer. Shoot the recommended primer and once that's ready to topcoat shoot your color.

- Another thing to remember... Simple Green is great for cleaning up bare metal surfaces before you apply anything to them. A 10:1 mixture of water to Simple Green will remove all of the oils & contaminants that would have gotten on the parts while you were handling them. Blast the parts off with air and wipe them down with tack cloth and you'll be ready to spray.

[johncub7172]

Napa 3.5 Enamel gray Sealer is good stuff! About 23$ a qt. . And well worth it v.s what you will pay for spray can paint. part# cs279

[CC1650Dave]

Actually, I will need to spray primer on parts and then leave them for a while until I'm ready to paint everything, so I'll check in with the paint shop about a sealer.

[CC1650Dave]

AAARRRGGGHHH! I just made my dumbest mistake of the project.

I did the engine cradle mod on the 1450 using the oil pan as the "jig" to hold the engine mounting rails in place while I welded in the brace.

I went out and bought a little 90 amp, 120 volt wire welder this week, it was only $100 at Harbor Freight with a coupon.

So I knocked out the 1450 rails just fine, and thought I might as well go ahead and do the 1650 rails while I was at it.

I mounted the oil pan BACKWARDS when I jigged it up, and welded the crossmember in about an inch or so too close.

As soon as I was done, I looked at the engine mounting holes and thought "hey, that looks too close." Stupid...

So now I'm trying to grind out the welds and take the crossmember back out. My 90 amp welder isn't really rated to do 1/4" steel, but I'll tell you what, those crossmembers are in there.

I might just have to just pick up a used set of mounting rails. Dummy.

[Methos]

Doh!

[ACecil]

Dave, don't be so hard on yourself. We all make mistakes.

[Sugarmaker]

Dave,
Wooops! Now that sounds like something I would do!
They make some great thin cut off wheels for those $10 4.5 inch grinders at Harbor Freight. They work great for cutting off welds.
Hope you can get it corrected fairly easily.
I have the same welder and have laid some beads on the 147R.
Regards,
Chris

[vbob01]

I agree careful use of the cut off wheel, then grind flat and you will be ready to try again. Just think of it as practice with the new welder!