This past weekend I completed painting the orange parts for my '59 Dexta. My golden retriever, Gracie, had patiently waited for things to be done. When I wasn't getting the hint, she picked up her tennis ball and took over my masking paper:
I also finished the ugly task of scraping lots of hardened grease and oil from the wheel weights, and decided to paint them an almond color:
Having spent over 30 years in the design and crafting of furniture, I've learned quite a bit about finishing. But, I learned a new trick this week. It is possible to mix lacquer thinner with acrylic enamels and hardeners (instead of the usual mineral spirits). By doing this, the paint dries much faster - even in cold and damp weather. I use a 7 parts paint/3 parts lacquer thinner/1 part hardener mixture with good results:
It's coming together, slowly but surely.
Don
Orange Aid
Re: Orange Aid
Don,
Nice work. Look forward to seeing more pics
All the best
Those weights look heavy! how much do they weigh?ddoan wrote:I also finished the ugly task of scraping lots of hardened grease and oil from the wheel weights, and decided to paint them an almond color:
What paint are you using?ddoan wrote:I use a 7 parts paint/3 parts lacquer thinner/1 part hardener mixture with good results:
Nice work. Look forward to seeing more pics
All the best
Bensdexta - 1961 working for a living!
Ian,
Yes, I have used diesel fuel, also. It does work well for softening grease and oil. The stuff on my tractor, however, was more like asphalt. Hard as a brick and lots of it. Ultimately, I found that my paint stripper, Jasco Paint and Epoxy Remover actually worked better than anything. I do keep a 5 gallon pail of diesel fuel handy for soaking small parts in for a day or so before cleaning. I haven't tried lighting up the parts, yet! Sounds like it might be effective.
Ben,
I don't know exactly how much the wheel weights weigh. I'm guessing that they are 600 lbs. plus. I don't dare let them fall over - I'd never be able to get them upright again. There are more pictures of the weights in my Dexta Restoration Albums:
http://picasaweb.google.com/tractorNstuff
For paint, I've used mostly acrylic enamels with hardeners as top coats, over the primer coat. Various brands: Rustoleum, Valspar, and some custom makes. For the money, Rustoleum's hard to beat. For my N-Series tractors, I buy my paint from a company in Indiana, USA, called N-Complete. I wish they offered Dexta colors. Maybe I can talk them into it!
Don
Yes, I have used diesel fuel, also. It does work well for softening grease and oil. The stuff on my tractor, however, was more like asphalt. Hard as a brick and lots of it. Ultimately, I found that my paint stripper, Jasco Paint and Epoxy Remover actually worked better than anything. I do keep a 5 gallon pail of diesel fuel handy for soaking small parts in for a day or so before cleaning. I haven't tried lighting up the parts, yet! Sounds like it might be effective.
Ben,
I don't know exactly how much the wheel weights weigh. I'm guessing that they are 600 lbs. plus. I don't dare let them fall over - I'd never be able to get them upright again. There are more pictures of the weights in my Dexta Restoration Albums:
http://picasaweb.google.com/tractorNstuff
For paint, I've used mostly acrylic enamels with hardeners as top coats, over the primer coat. Various brands: Rustoleum, Valspar, and some custom makes. For the money, Rustoleum's hard to beat. For my N-Series tractors, I buy my paint from a company in Indiana, USA, called N-Complete. I wish they offered Dexta colors. Maybe I can talk them into it!
Don
Dexta Paint
Don,ddoan wrote:For paint, I've used mostly acrylic enamels with hardeners as top coats, over the primer coat. Various brands: Rustoleum, Valspar, and some custom makes. For the money, Rustoleum's hard to beat. For my N-Series tractors, I buy my paint from a company in Indiana, USA, called N-Complete. I wish they offered Dexta colors. Maybe I can talk them into it!
How would the acrylic paint you've been using compare with New Holland Q-Coat, which alot of us use over here and is I believe alkyd based (I'm not sure what that is?)
All the best,
Bensdexta - 1961 working for a living!
Don,
You did some fine work on your tractors.
I'm kind of curious as to why you didn't steam off all the dirt and grime off your Dexta restoration before you started taking it apart?
Looks like you have a nice area to work in with plenty of room.
Liked the chest and table work too!
You did some fine work on your tractors.
I'm kind of curious as to why you didn't steam off all the dirt and grime off your Dexta restoration before you started taking it apart?
Looks like you have a nice area to work in with plenty of room.
Liked the chest and table work too!
See ya
Mark
When all else fails, get a bigger hammer
Mark
When all else fails, get a bigger hammer