Preparing a Tractor to paint what do you do?

aggressive Wire cup on a 4" angle grinder. just don't hold it in place for extended periods or it will leave scratches in the metal. start out with a mild onne then once you get the feel for it go to the aggressive one. I take it so mare metal. I reccomend you where thick pants/muck boots and gloves, aswell as eye protection and a long sleeve shirt though because when those wires fly off that cup at 12000 rpm they hurt like hell. your best bet is taking the sheetmetal to bare metal and the rest just gettig the loose stuff and like you siad with the wet sanding. spray a coat of primer on everything before you paint to give the paint something to grab to or it will peel right off.

For the sheetmetal I use a chemical stripper.  Goop it on and let it sit overnight then scrape it off with a plastic scrapper.  Final step is to use a scotch brite and scrub off the remainder using warm soapy water until bare metal.  Sand any rusty spots and then wipe it down with denatured alcohol then hit it with primer.  Sand the primer with 320-500 grit sand paper and wipe it down again with the alcohol then shoot the paint to it.

Edited by Stan IL&TN - 01 Sep 2011 at 7:12am

Sand blasting works best. I pack grease and then wrap duct tape around seals or other entry points to keep the sand out. If you you use a wire brush on an angle grinder, make sure you wear a respirator to protect from the dust. Pretty much all implement enamels back then were lead based.

I tear it apart far enough to make it easier to handle and move parts around and then get it sandblasted. After that I tear it apart the rest of the way to do repairs and get the sand out of it. Here is a pic of my IB that hopefully will get blasted this Saturday. Using the engine stand and dollies I can roll everything outside pretty easy but still it's tore down enough to get the tight spots done. 

C Tucker great link thanks.

Good point Tim. No brass, bronze, copper or aluminum. Most of the info I read about electrolysis tells you that if you read it all.

Edited by CTuckerNWIL - 01 Sep 2011 at 8:02pm

To be honest...Sandblasting scares me. I am afraid of getting sand in the wrong places. But I have a friend who has done it and he might help me.
I sure appreciate all the ideas so far and any more ideas I hope others will share. Thanks for the good link on Electolosys Chuck. Thanks for all the ideas. I have never seen a needle scaler work before in person.   
Another question...
After you get the paint and rust off, how do you treat it so you know the paint will stick good and stay?

And what kind of paint did you use?

Thanks alot friends,
Pastor Mike in Iowa

To clean the bare metal you can use denatured alcohol or they sell a prep cleaner at the paint store but it's more expensive.  Then you spray primer on the bare metal.  The primer is made to stick to bare metal and give a good base for the paint to stick to.  If you spray paint directly on bare metal then expect it to come off when you wash it.

I use electrolysis on the parts I can get in my larger rubbermaid tub  and oven cleaner  ($1 a can at dollar General) on the bigger parts.  if the old paint is  realy tough to get off, scuff with light sand paper & prime over it.  Nothing sticks like the old lead paint.   NOTE: be sure to check your Primer. some have to be top coated with in 24-48 Hrs or top coat will not stick.  this is especially true w/ automotive paints.

AC WD45, reading your post made the hairs on the back ofmy neck stand up. Those wires do hurt!

These are the steps I use . First pressure wash with a powerful washer even if you need to rent. Then I remove all the sheetmetal and scrape off all the dirt oil and grease then pressure wash for a couple of hours again. Then I use a wirebrush on a grinder and sand blast all the removed parts. I use stripper , grinder and some blasting on sheetmetal. When the wire brush starts to get wore and throw a lot of wires replace with a new one. I also use a wire brush on a small die grinder for tight places. My next tool will be a needle scaler. Old paint and rust gives me a very bad head ache. I use good masks and wash my face often.If your wife finds sharp pieces of wire brush in the carpet or her foot you're in trouble. Have fun.