. Notes" from the Gathering of the Green 2006
The following notes were collected from the tractor metal and painting preparation presentation conducted by Dave Nelson. The session was another person's approach to beautify your tractor restoration. Dave's back ground included body and paint work on cars so his philosophy is to create a tractor with a luxury car paint finish. Dave indicated that anyone can learn to paint but the secret to a fine paint finish is the metal work.
Metal Preparation- Rough Out
When working on hoods the crown lines should be corrected first. Start in the middle and move to the edges. Use a dolly on a stick. Use the "last dent in the first dent out" approach.
Body file needs to be arched to cut. Dolly is to be placed on top of dent and hammer under the dent. When welding use a MIG welder. Do not weld over a ¼" at a time before allowing metal to cool. HEAT IS YOUR ENEMY!.
Sand Blast
Use white silica sand- not heavy brown. Do not use over 80 lbs. pressure at the tank. Sand blasting can totally ruin sheet metal. Best pressure is 60 to 80 lbs. Nozzle should be held at a 45 degree angle or less. Straight up causes too much heat. Run blaster evenly across metal. Don't slow down for rust spots and not closer than 18" Use 1/8" nozzle and no larger.
Metal Prep
Rustmort/converter is Dave's preferred rust neutralizer.  Use Scotch Brite pads to rub in solution. Apply 3X to kill rust. Important to dry metal between applications.
Final Metal Straightening
If welding use MIG or stick weld no more than 1/4" at a time. Don't be too aggressive! No big hammers. Use an epoxy base primer such as DuPont Corlar. Conversion protection and filling (1 coat) For filler work use Evercoat and put a little on at a time and sand. When mixing don't mix in a circular motion. Knead mixture to reduce adding air to the filler. Make jigs for hoods for ease of sanding.
Paint stir sticks are handy for sanding. Use short stick for wet sanding and long stick or dry sanding. No sharp edges on sanding block. Sand in X direction not straight. Ping up metal around bolt holes for bolting in. 1/2" pipe for radius on hoods is handy. Use C clamps. Metal Glaze-Evercoat is good for pin holes or minor imperfection. Use abrasive no rougher than 80 grit and finish with 180 or 220 grit.
No Armoral in building. Any silicon will keep paint from sticking.
Primer Filler
When sanding, bare metal will occur so touch up with Marhide in spray can.
Solvent base paints not good. Urethane based paints best. Use 1.5 nozzle, gravity guns at NAPA cost around $60. Use  low pressure( 12 to 15 lbs) Three coats of filler primer. Trace paint is usually black in a spray can. Block sanding- Use paint stick for sanding. Long stick with 220