Fordson Major Painting

This forum is for the Fordson New Major, including the Super Major and the Power Major.
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icom102
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Fordson Major Painting

Post by icom102 »

Hi im thinking or painting my FSM over the summer i have seen a lot of newly painted ones that has everything painted blue but has anyone any color pictures of a major when brand new to see what was and what was not painted?

peter2
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Re: Fordson Major Painting

Post by peter2 »

Hi,

my dealer said they came new "like bathed in blue color". So everything was painted blue including injection pump etc.

Peter
1963 Super Major

icom102
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Re: Fordson Major Painting

Post by icom102 »

Some people said that others have told me no i want to do mine soon if we could see a color picture of one new

oehrick
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Re: Fordson Major Painting

Post by oehrick »

Good question and likely a controversial subject :yikes: :yikes:

I've never been convinced (from memory and some of the older pics I have seen) that all Majors had a blanket spray over everything, especially exhaust silencer, starter motor, (sometimes even solenoid) and particularly radiator core :scratchhead: Simms injection pumps appear to have been painted but not the injector piping. I'm all for spray painting but only when things are masked off appropriately, quite a number at the recent Norwich show had had the 'spray it on all over' treatment, close by were others which while sprayed had details like these not in blue and looked 'right'

Mine (1958, with us since about 1962) still has originals of these electricals (bar solenoid) and rad, none of which have been painted.

Maybe practices changed as a result of the move to Basildon and the 'Fords' - or perhaps even during the build run of the Supers as ISTR some of these appeared to have been dipped in paint !

Brian will probably be able to shed more accurate light on the subject and help you to find an authentic finish.
Best regards
Rick - Bogside on Bure


1958 Diesel E1A Mk2 s/n 1470165 - still in working clothes

icom102
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Re: Fordson Major Painting

Post by icom102 »

I agree i don't think a blanket all over spray looks right maybe it is right but i need to know before i do mine im sure someone has pictures of a major when new or near new?

BearCreek Majors
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Re: Fordson Major Painting

Post by BearCreek Majors »

As Oehrick pointed out, things changed during the production run. I have seen pic's/vidios that look like the entire tractor was painted including the injection pump, starter, gen, and muffler, I'm thinking these were the earlier tractors. Ford Fordson on film vol 6, the 500,000 tractor looks to be an all blue paint job. some of the pic's show the tractor coming down the assembly line fully painted but still missing the sheatmetal and radiator. Later on in production I think some of these parts were installed after the tractor was painted and were left the color as supplied from the vendor, I have several radiators, starters, and generators that have only black paint on them.
Do a search in Google images and for videos on YouTube, there is a lot out there of original pic's and footage from Ford. And don't forget that the colors changed on the US Super Majors........and the grills were never painted orange. :shock:

Pat

icom102
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Re: Fordson Major Painting

Post by icom102 »

I did a google search i only found restored tractors hence why i asked here

peter2
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Re: Fordson Major Painting

Post by peter2 »

Hi,

maybe this video can help: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gz8IqKV6GVU It's a trailer for a DVD with old advertising films by Fordson. After the intro with rebuild tractors starts a film about the Super Major (from 0:30 to app. 1:40).
On DVD the Super Major film is about 12min long, on youtube it's only a teaser.

For me it looks like "bathed" including exhaust, but interestingly without rear wheelnuts.

Peter
1963 Super Major

Brian
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Re: Fordson Major Painting

Post by Brian »

This question come up time and again because the people who do not know and have never seen a brand new tractor, go by what they see at shows and in the magazines. ( See all the endless posts on grill colours. :curse: :run: )

The Major was totally Empire Blue on EVERYTHING, hoses, exhaust, wiring, fanbelt and in the early days, grills! They were painted as a skid unit in blue and the wheels were added after the painting. It was normal paint on the manifold and exhaust pipe that used to burn off after a few days of hard work. They were also covered in "Orange peel" spray and "runs or sags" in the paint, not a perfect finish as seen at shows now a days. Remember these tractors were tools not "Showroom Queens". Even tractors that were prepared for the Smithfield and Royal Shows had blemishes in the paint on the castings and tinwork.

That is why the export tractors to the US, in later days, looked so good to us in the dealers, with the white tinwork and blue grills and castings.

Disclaimer

I reserve the right to comment on any tractor I see at a show with deviations from the above but on the other hand it is your tractor and you can paint it purple with orange spots if you like. :D
Fordson Tractor Pages, now officially linked to: Fordson Tractor Club of Australia, Ford and Fordson Association and Blue Force.
Brian

AdrianNPMajor
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Re: Fordson Major Painting

Post by AdrianNPMajor »

Hello Brian
This rebuilt NP Super (please see link) is currently for sale on a well known auction site. The owner has done a great job. Could you comment on the colours? I'm still confused about the right shades of blue and grey. I resprayed my wheels to preserve them, but I'm pretty sure I got the colour wrong. I haven't done the electrics yet (not my forte!) so I haven't remounted the headlamps, but looking inside them the original colour looks like a shade of beige rather than what I would call grey. I didn't care for it much so I went for a similar colour to the tractor in the ad. The blue of the tractor in the ad also has me wondering about what a new coat of Empire blue looks like.
You'll notice that I have bonnet and nose cowl from a 54 Diesel Major. The mudguards are from a Super.
Best
Adrian :thumbs:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FORDSON-NP-SU ... 25903b4783

[URL=http://s1216.photobucket.com/user/ ... .jpg[/img][/url]

oehrick
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Re: Fordson Major Painting

Post by oehrick »

"They were painted as a skid unit in blue and the wheels were added after the painting."

Makes complete sense from what I've heard of Fords production ethos and couldn't come from a more reliable first-hand source - thanks Brian :clap: (BTW I'd vote for 'respected Sage' to be added to grumpy) :beer:

I have seen some minor colour changes in my early transparencies (late 1960's), especially on Kodak or Fuji stock but was amazed at the early green Major pics in the Haynes 'manual' - both the extent of colour shift and that the publishers didn't take the opportunity to correct this pre print. (desn't help with colour but I still use B&W for serious archive stuff - materials are getting harder to find now but digital is not long term yet :cry:

Sorry for any typo's, having given me a wide berth for the last couple of days following a serious scissoring of clumped up fur, smoky, our oldest moggie (16) has suddenly decided I exist again and is 'helping' me type if I stop making a fuss of him

So thats good night from me and meow from him...........
Best regards
Rick - Bogside on Bure


1958 Diesel E1A Mk2 s/n 1470165 - still in working clothes

Brian
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Re: Fordson Major Painting

Post by Brian »

Adrian,
A number of the restored tractors you see are painted white and not "Grey", you are right in saying that it was slightly beige not like the grey of the later tractors. I believe it is still available from CNH or I have seen a company that produces it. Think it might have been BarryM that asked me about an old paint company that made the paint for Fords and will still mix it from their old records.

The blue was not Empire Blue either on the New Performance tractors and again, it was not the same blue that came later. It was a slightly lighter colour.

At the Eastern Counties Tractor Show I was talking to another "Old Ford Mechanic" from another part of the country and was heartened to have him confirm his dislike of the colour schemes used on some restored tractors. Thought I was a loan voice in the wilderness! :eyes:

Rick, you are not alone with the cat problem! We have two around 14/15 years and both are long hair. They spend all summer in the yard, not letting you near them, only coming indoors in the evenings to demand food. Then we spend most of the Winter getting the knots out of their fur so they look pretty for the Spring when they go outside and get it all knotted again. :cry: Good job we do not have the same problem with the beards! :D :D
Fordson Tractor Pages, now officially linked to: Fordson Tractor Club of Australia, Ford and Fordson Association and Blue Force.
Brian

Brian
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Re: Fordson Major Painting

Post by Brian »

OK, found the company from my e-mails, Gittings and Hill, Birmingham. They are long gone but the company that they evolved into is still going.

http://www.indestructible.co.uk/news/issue5/
Fordson Tractor Pages, now officially linked to: Fordson Tractor Club of Australia, Ford and Fordson Association and Blue Force.
Brian

AdrianNPMajor
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Re: Fordson Major Painting

Post by AdrianNPMajor »

Many thanks, Brian. I'll follow up on that link. I'm working up to giving the old girl a proper coat of paint. I did this on my 54 Major in the nineties, then parked it carelessly and unforgivably in the corner of a field for eight years whilst I went off to work in the Middle East. When I came back, it was overgrown with brambles and covered in green algae/mold. However, the freshly repainted tractor look was completely gone - it looked very nicely aged. Plus the new coat of paint saved my tinwork, which today lives on on the Super (as does the early type exhaust, which produces a nice bark!). Time for another repaint to make sure the tinwork continues to live on.
Best
Adrian :thumbs:

[URL=http://s1216.photobucket.com/user/ ... .jpg[/img][/url]

icom102
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Re: Fordson Major Painting

Post by icom102 »

What happened to the tractor you left parked up in the field?

AdrianNPMajor
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Re: Fordson Major Painting

Post by AdrianNPMajor »

I came across a 63 NP Super that had no tinwork. Plus my circumstances changed. So I sold my two diesel Majors and kept the bonnet and radiator cowl off my original Major, the one I'd had the longest. I still don't know how I was able to say goodbye to it, but two important parts from it are still with me.
Best
Adrian :thumbs:

[URL=http://s1216.photobucket.com/user/ ... .jpg[/img][/url]

icom102
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Re: Fordson Major Painting

Post by icom102 »

Aww i hoe the new owner didn't scrap it

liam
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Re: Fordson Major Painting

Post by liam »

Hi Adrian ,Old 20 parts have new performance grey which looks about right.the blue is lighter than the later ford blue. I will be getting paint for my new performance in the next few weeks so i will know more soon .Liam.

AdrianNPMajor
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Re: Fordson Major Painting

Post by AdrianNPMajor »

Cheers Liam. :beer:
Best
Adrian :thumbs:

Evos3960
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Re: Fordson Major Painting

Post by Evos3960 »

Hello ,
There is much discussion about the correct colour for the Super np isn't there.
Before I painted my Sper np I made extensive enquiries on this subject and I discovered that Fords used to buy their paint from a company named Masons. However Masons sold out to Axo Noble some years ago so I got in touch with them and they were very helpful and came up with the correct paint reference numbers for paint that had been supplied to Ford for the np's The Gray is FLUK7368 and the Blue is FLUK50046.

I hope this is helpful

Peter

icom102
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Re: Fordson Major Painting

Post by icom102 »

Hi Peter

Whats the code for the Orange on the Super Majors ?

Paul

jan
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Re: Fordson Major Painting

Post by jan »

Hi all,i used L20D Clementine Orange from Volkswagen.It is the exact match to the original Orange that Fordson used on the wheels.I compared it with an Colorspot from the inside of the rims that had not often seen the sun.Try it and you will see ,it is the same color.Hope that will help you and other with the typical "Orange" problem.And it looks very fine with the original Empire Blue from CNH.

mbg Jan

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