[Shawn]

Yes, I'm off the subject again, but I was wondering what kind of paint (enamel, lacquer, etc)should I use when I repaint the '67 lawn tractor I'm restoring? I want it to look original, I've seen BC/CC used and it's way shinier than the original paint, not really what I'm going for. Just so you can picture it, the color was very close to Chevy red-orange used on engine blocks. I'm not sure what type the original paint is, it's either lacquer (but has no checks and isn't dried out like lacquer usually does)or enamel, but it isn't that thick. It's somewhat shiny, and has a slight orange peel in it. Anyone?

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1970 Chevy Custom El Camino
Originally was & will be Green Mist & Silver w/Green Vinyl Top (now black)
350ci/300HP 4bbl & Dual Exhaust
TH-350 - 2.73 Posi Rear - Factory PS, PDB, PW, Tilt, A/C & More
My El Camino Home Page
Other Restorations -1969 Snowco Trailer & 1967 Sears Custom 600 Tractor
Team Chevelle Member #995

 

[sevt_chevelle]

I would go with base clear or even single stage urethane. Lacquer paint will need to be buffed to get it to shine. Paint it enamel if you want it to look like crap in a few years. Ive restored two tractors for my dad, a 1945 john deere b and an early 30's farmall and currently working on the third, another farmall.

The first one was painted with PPG Omni a single stage paint. That was four years ago and it still looks as good as the day I got done painting it. The John Deere was painted with enamel which was agaist my wishes, I wanted to use base clear but someone told him that base clear just wouldnt match the original paint. That was painted two ago years and now it looks like dog breath. The shine is dull and the paint is dying back or lossing its color. We got into a big fight over painting this one with enamel, I knew it would look bad in a few years but he didnt believe me, and now he wishes he had listened. And if you dont believe me how bad it looks compared to what it did I can send you pics of how it looked three hours after it was painted to one month ago and the difference is big time.

To me if you are going to take the time to tear it apart and restore it, take the extra time and money and paint it with a quality paint dont cheap out. You can have the nicest car or in your case lawn tractor, but if the paint looks bad the whole thing looks bad, and it reflects on the whole. Go with base clear or even single stage and you wont regret painting it with enamel just my opinion...Eric

[This message has been edited by sevt_chevelle (edited 01-08-2002).]

 

[Shawn]

I'd probably go with the single stage urethane. Is there anyway to tell what type of paint the original stuff is by looking at it? I'm pretty sure it's the same type that's used on any kind of current lawn equipment, and no primer was used originally, so I can't tell. I'll take into consideration your advice on the paint type, I painted it once and what was bright red is now purplish and looks terrible.