Paint for "newer" Cubs

[blackcloud77]

Hi all. I'm finding it a little difficult to find community experience painting later model Cubs. Plenty of discussion about the classic IH models, I've read a lot of that and learned a lot from it too. I'd love to have me a classic IH Cub, but the 2166 is what I got for now.

TL/DR: I'd like to get specific paint brand/color suggestions from anyone who has painted their early-2000 era Cub.

Details for the masochists out there, I'm just going to throw my thoughts out there for any response...

I found the thread that has the Cub-branded paint codes including later models. That's a start, but only gives me the Cub branded paint. I have some reservations about using that.

• Nobody seems to be talking about experiences using it (spraying the Cub branded quarts), so that tells me there are better options out there.

• $60/quart is a bit on the expensive side unless someone can tell me the it's good paint, colors are pretty close, it lays down easy, and I can do the white and yellow tins plus the deck with just 1 quart of each color.

I am leaning towards spraying with the oft-mentioned purple HVLP Hazard Fraught gun. Still open to rattle-cans, but it just seems that the better paints come in quarts and gallons. I'd be convinced if I saw a spray can job looking good after a couple years. The priority is a good looking and durable finish with pretty close color match. We're not talking about a flawless automotive finish here, or paint that needs to hold up on a bulldozer. It is after all, a lawn tractor.

Saw lots of mentions on multiple forums about Valspar Farm and Implement paint. They don't seem to be making that product anymore. Too bad, that sounded like a good option.
Plenty of comments of the deragatory variety about Majic paints from Tractor Supply. Saw one solitary post of someone saying it worked well. I'd be skeptical but willing to listen.

A number of mentions about Rustoleum Farm and Implement. Still carried by Tractor Supply, which is convenient. Only Cat and JD yellows available (EDIT: New Holland Yellow and Transport Yellow also available), no off-whites or almonds in Rustoleum whatsoever. Can't find information about it on the Rustoleum website, maybe it's on its way out too? EDIT: It's here.

Little to no mention of Krylon Farm and Implement, which is well represented on their website, and a number of color options. International Harvester White is available, as well as 5 yellow options including JD, New Holland, old and new Cat, and School Bus. Both the School Bus and IH White were available at the first O'Reilly Auto Parts store I checked. This Amazon page has a review with a user photo. Still researching as I'm writing, this is looking like a good option. A few Amazon reviews mention premature fading, but these reviewers never mention their prep or painting process, whether they used hardener, or what the exposure conditions are. I suppose after all, it's a $16/quart paint.

There's almost no info at all (that I found) regarding putting anything more than a rattle can job on a later model Cub. Even on YouTube or other forums. Hopefully we can change that.

Thoughts?

Check out the attached photo for color comparison below. Neither tractor is mine, just images grabbed from the internet. Left is obviously a 2166 and the right is an Amazon user that posted their spray can job using Krylon Farm and Implement School Bus Yellow. Close enough for me.

[Ozcub]

If you cannot get the colour codes for matching the beige/almond and yellow take a piece off the mower and get them colour matched at a paint supplier




oz

[R Bedell]

I don't think it is case of color matching, but the price of the paint. After all, Cub Cadet does sell paint for their products.

[ironman]

Originally Posted by blackcloud77

A number of mentions about Rustoleum Farm and Implement. Still carried by Tractor Supply, which is convenient. Only Cat and JD yellows available, no off-whites or almonds at TSC. Can't find information about it on the Rustoleum website, maybe it's on its way out too?

Googleing "Rustoleum Farm & Implement" works wonders
https://www.rustoleum.com/product-ca...-and-implement
ratio 5-2-.3 (15 ouinces paint, 6 ounces acetone, 1 ounce hardener)

[Ozcub]

Originally Posted by R Bedell

I don't think it is case of color matching, but the price of the paint. After all, Cub Cadet does sell paint for their products.

Roland , Gold bars are cheaper than Cub paint in Australia that is why I made my suggestion
Oz

[R Bedell]

My point was the correct colors are available.

[blackcloud77]

Thanks for all the replies.

It doesn't appear that anyone is or has repainted their later model Cubs; at least with a spray gun. I guess I will be the guinea pig. That's fine, whether it comes out good or bad, both will be good information, right? I'm gonna get some pictures going as I get deeper into the project. It'd be nice to have this documented.

Ironman, you're right...I should have just used Google to find the product pages. Like an idiot, I assumed I could find one of their products from their product search page. What was I thinking? Being a web designer myself, I'd expect that as a design requirement. Looks like the SEO team took up the design team's slack though.

Sure, just about anything is possible at the paint supplier's counter, and maybe I'll get to that point. I wouldn't be surprised to find prices at the counter where it would just be simpler to order the Cub branded paint. Feedback on that welcome, I haven't yet called the paint counter to see what their budget, durable finish options are.

Right now, I'm between the Krylon and Rustoleum (both "Farm and Implement"), but leaning towards Krylon. Here's why, open for criticism:

• I'm trying to stay within the bounds of paint systems designed by the manufacturer to work together; due to my inexperience with painting. I know enough to recognize there are no shortages of chemical incompatibilities in the consumer paint market. Both Rustolum and Krylon have primers for their F&I paints. No points awarded.

• The color match to later model Cubs doesn't appear close enough in the Rustoleum options, to my eye. Closest is probably the Caterpillar Yellow, but still not enough orange. Krylon School Bus Yellow looks spot on. Point, Krylon. I feel like this might be the deciding factor.

• The Krylon colors are stocked at O'Reilly's Auto Parts, Rustoleum at TSC. Similar pricing too. No points awarded. But the Krylon primer has to be ordered, which is dumb. It will take 3 days to arrive, but that's not a big deal. But it might be a consideration for someone else looking to make the same decision. Rustoleum primer is stocked at TSC, point Rustoleum.

• Even if Rustoleum had a good color match (looks like there's also a "transporter yellow, probably supposed to compete with "school bus yellow"), the fact remains there is no beige/off white available to stay within the same chemical ecosystem. Point Krylon.

I have the right fender off and stripped to bare metal. I used a stripper disc on a grinder. Worked pretty well, but wore out one disc on one panel. At $10 per disc, I will have to either switch to cheaper Amazon varieties or try something else. Also, couldn't get into the nooks and crannies so ended up buying a $16 wire cup as well. I think I will try chemical stripping on the next panel, save the discs for just the rusty bits. I understand these panels are powder coated, not painted, right? I haven't stripped powder coating before, I assume it's not much different than paint? Another forum post suggested using Jasco Paint and Epoxy Remover. $45/gallon. I think chemical is definitely the way to go when I get to the mower deck. It's either that or a Hazard Fraught sandblaster and rent a gas powered compressor from Home Depot. Even at $45/gallon, the chemical is probably cheaper and easier than renting a compressor and buying blast media.

Dilemmas of the day:

• The Krylon primer indicates it's a sandable formula. Research suggests sandable primers should not be applied to bare metal. Now we're into another primer coat, then Krylon or Rustoleum primer, then color. The Rustoleum site doesn't mention anything about being a sandable primer, or whether or not applying it to bare metal is recommended (of course the marketing dept will say spray it on anything). I feel like Rustoleum would be more of a gamble, not knowing what type of primer theirs is.

• I think either of the brands' primers would be fine over a quality epoxy primer, but mixing and matching other types of primers starts to get sketchy for me. For instance maybe I should be considering an etching primer for bare metal, or even a "rusty metal" primer...both probably being cheaper than an epoxy. But then, we're getting back into mixing and matching chemistries that I'm not in any way schooled on.

Next steps:

• Decide on bare metal primer...epoxy? Rusty metal? Etching? Something else?

• Decide on primer & paint brand; which seems to come down to color match vs community experience. Krylon vs Rustoleum

• Degrease panel and prep for bare metal primer

• I think that's plenty enough for now.

[Oak]

I painted the deck for my 1999 3205. I used PPG products and I'm happy with their stuff.
I used 2-3 coats of 2k primer and then shot the color.
DSC03996.jpg DSC03998.jpg DSC03999.jpg


When I did my 374 Haban deck a few years later I took it down to bare metal and then used epoxy primer. After that cured I scuffed it with a scotch pad and laid another coat of epoxy down then scuffed and shot the 2k primer. The 2k primer was wet sanded between coats and then the was sprayed with the color. That's how I will probably do all my paint jobs in the future.

I also use the high quality $14.99 purple spray gun from Hazard Freight. That sucker works good for the money.......well, good enough.

[Ozcub]

Does anyone have the matching codes for Cub yellow i.e. start with white/tint base and add certain proportions of other pigments to achieve the correct colour , similarly the beige
Just like the spray painters do to match vehicle colours even to the point of matching the fade due to age
Oz

[blackcloud77]

I painted the deck for my 1999 3205. I used PPG products and I'm happy with their stuff.

Oak, thanks for sharing that. At first I winced at the idea of considering PPG products because of the cost, and this is just a tractor...I am certain they are better quality. But now I'm questioning the "Farm & Implement" paints altogether, and if the price points are going to give me one of the most important things, longevity. I probably didn't mention that as a requirement because I assumed it would be a given with something called "Farm & Implement." It could very well be that my requirements don't line up with my arbitrary and admittedly vague pricing objective. Oak, which specific PPG products did you use? EDIT: It's in the photos, nevermind.

Does anyone have the matching codes for Cub yellow i.e. start with white/tint base and add certain proportions of other pigments to achieve the correct colour , similarly the beige
Just like the spray painters do to match vehicle colours even to the point of matching the fade due to age

Oz, I am not sure what you mean by "codes" but by your description I assume you are asking how much of which pigments are used to make a particular color. I've never seen anything that specific discussed, usually it's a specific color name mentioned, and generally folks let the paint shop worry about how to mix the color. Matching faded paint would also best be done by the folks at the paint counter, unless you have access to the pigments yourself and you can spray a mess of test cards. There are plenty of examples on this forum and others about color names from various manufacturers that match up nicely depending on the year, maybe that combined with pestering the paint shop would reveal some information? I'm liking the various iterations of "school bus yellow" in different brands, so maybe that's a starting point for the yellow. For the beige, Nason #4976ID A for 1969 Ford Lime White looked amazing on a picture of a Torino so I am tempted to use that as a color reference on my 2166. I'm less worried about how well the beige matches than the yellow though, I guess I feel it's not as much of a signature color, so to speak. Before doubting the "Farm & Implement paints, I had planned on just accepting the Krylon "IH White," however that came out. Sorry I don't have a better answer.

So the reason for my doubting the longevity of so-called "Farm & Implement" paints:
In the first few minutes of poking around on the topics of primers this morning, I happened upon a thread on another forum where there seemed to be at least one very knowledgeable individual providing primer guidance. Great. Later in the thread someone asked about "alkyd oil based enamel primers" sold at Tractor Supply. And then went on to comment about "Tractor Supply enamel top coats" and now I'm really listening. And it doesn't sound good.

Rather than repeat it all, check it out - 4th post from the top of the page.

At least Rustoleum provides a TDS, which confirms it's an oil modified alkyd enamel. I have not yet been able to find Krylon's TDS on the product in question, only a technical support phone number. Point Rustoleum, but the point may be moot. It's probably safe to assume the Krylon F&I is of the same type; I think it's highly unlikely at the exact same price that it would be something entirely different.

I don't have a garage to keep the tractor in, so if the lifespan of "Farm & Implement" paints is in the range of what he's suggesting (as little as 6 months), then it would be a complete waste if I spent hundreds of dollars, a bunch of time and labor for it to look like I never painted it in less than 5 years. Granted, "Paint Guru" is talking about automotive finishes which I did say that wasn't what I was looking for...but I do want the durability/longevity of an automotive finish. I just don't need the finish of a classic or custom automobile (deep color, mirror gloss, etc.), which is what that forum is focused on. It's just a tractor, but I'd say the paint needs to stay in "very nice" condition after 10 years stored outside.

I admit it is a bit extreme to veer off the path so quickly and sharply, so if any of you have used the F&I paints and it still looks pretty nice after plenty of years... speak up!