95 replies to this topic

[MailmAn]

I know it is a bit after the fact now and plus you've already seen it (partly) together in the video above, but here are some more photos of the 850, just in case there wasn't enough for you already :

Here are some photos of the new deck pulleys, belts, tensioner spring, etc. before I put the cover on to hide all of the "inner workings"...










Oh, and a nice set of sharp, NOS Bolens blades to go underneath as well! Grass beware!!





Here is a random photo of the right rear wheel on the tractor. I think I took this photo since I painted the lug studs red as well to match the wheel rim. But I'm not quite sure now...





Here are some more "work-in-progress" photos of the dash and hood:




Dash all masked off and ready for some black paint...




The first two coats of paint on the hood did NOT come out very well at all. Painting with a brush on complex metal surfaces SUCKS!!! The paint runs and glops up in areas and it looks like total garbage for how much time I've spent on this already!!





I'm not very happy with this outcome at ALL! Well, time to spend another couple of days wet sanding the hood and fenders down before attempting to do a light top finish coat of white to see if that will do the trick. There is a LOT of runny paint build-up to try to sand down smooth though. Ugh!!!



Now, you already saw it in action in the video, but here are some photos of the 850 with the mower deck on before I shot the video. It's starting to come along, though!!








I can't wait to see it with the hood and fenders on with new decals!! I just hope that I can clean up the butcher job I've done so far on the hood and fenders and make it at least look presentable...

I'm also upset because since I took these photos and I took the tractor for a couple of test runs, I must have scraped the left side of the deck on something (like the fence, most likely) as the nice new paint is scraped off of the rounded part of the deck already!!! I would have THOUGHT that "Tractor and Implement Paint" should be a lot tougher than that! I guess I'll have to touch that area up a bit while I'm painting the hood again, but why is the new paint so delicate even after letting it sit and cure for a week or so before I put the deck on the tractor? Grrrrrr...

[MailmAn]

I know it has been a while since I've updated this thread, so time to resurrect it for a few photo updates!

I used some much needed time-off from work early this week to finish up sanding down the first two coats of paint I put on the hood and fenders. I have to say, it seemed like it took FOREVER to sand down the paint smooth! Just going to do a final wet sand with 400 grit to get it nice and smooth before I paint it (hopefully today). Here is what the hood looks like now after dry sanding it with 150 grit sandpaper:








It still doesn't look really PERFECT, but I did manage to sand down a lot of the paint runs and high areas. There are some imperfections in the metal as well as you can tell by shiny areas of the paint that didn't sand down smooth. These are areas where the metal is indented slightly. Don't feel like applying Bondo to try and smooth it out or anything, so it will have to do as it is.






Hopefully the next coat of paint will hide some of those imperfections. Here is the fender:






You can see some bad areas of the fender where it got scuffed up from being laid down on the edge when I was trying to sand it. I hope the paint will cover some of that up! I did sand those areas pretty smooth too, it just looks worse than it really is right now I think.




I hung the fender up to dry after wet-sanding it and cleaning off all of the sanding dust residue off of the surface. I'm also going to paint both the hood and fender off of the ground this time by hanging it from the garage door tracks. I ran into too many problems trying to paint them in stages by painting one side, letting it dry, and then flipping it over to paint the other side. That is in part how I got such bad paint runs last time that I had to sand down and fix. So, I'm going to try to paint the whole thing in one step by hanging the hood and fenders up with some string so I can control the paint runs. I hope it works and it comes out a lot better this time!!!

Edited by MailmAn, August 07, 2012 - 02:09 PM.

[MailmAn]

CRAP!!! Turned out horrible again! I guess that will teach me to use old paint... It was only a couple of weeks old and kept in the can with the top on, but evidently it was bad enough. Had to run out to NAPA and grab a paint filter to try and filter out some dried up paint bits that were in the paint. Still, despite this, it seemed to be very sticky going on and was like drying as I was trying to apply it. It didn't want to go on evenly and left some hideous looking waves and runs in the paint. Oh well.... so much for saving money (or time) with the quarts of paint from TSC. I think after spending another week sanding this crap off once it dries I'll pony up the extra buckage and get some rattle cans of paint to finish it off with!! (Even though 2 cans of spray paint = 1 quart of paint price wise, yet covers less than 1/10 of the area! )

Edited by MailmAn, August 07, 2012 - 10:44 PM.

[ncb]

CRAP!!! Turned out horrible again! I guess that will teach me to use old paint... It was only a couple of weeks old and kept in the can with the top on, but evidently it was bad enough. Had to run out to NAPA and grab a paint filter to try and filter out some dried up paint bits that were in the paint. Still, despite this, it seemed to be very sticky going on and was like drying as I was trying to apply it. It didn't want to go on evenly and left some hideous looking waves and runs in the paint. Oh well.... so much for saving money (or time) with the quarts of paint from TSC. I think after spending another week sanding this crap off once it dries I'll pony up the extra buckage and get some rattle cans of paint to finish it off with!! (Even though 2 cans of spray paint = 1 quart of paint price wise, yet covers less than 1/10 of the area! )

You might feel like you are bangin your head against the brick wall but you have picked the best way to learn. the best paintjobs i ever did was over the first coat that i screwed up.I have never put paint on anything with wheels with a brush or roller though. highly recomend you get even a cheap hvlp if you plan on doing more painting in the future. if you go that route a water trap/filter is mandatory,although water drops blowing across your metallic silver color coat can produce a really neat effect it wasnt the look i was after . you have about the best project piece to learn body and paint as you could find. even my "failures" looked ten times better than what i started with and at worst i considered practice. from what i can see in the pictures i would take the time now to learn to do a basic bondo skim coat and block sanding,shiny paint has a way of making every little flaw stand out. heres my 5 hour quickie sand ,body and paint on my $35 dollar regular lawncutter





painted that 9 oclock at nite half dark,half blind,bugs everywhere out in the open back yard. couple of runs,ran out of clearcoat 3/4 of the way through the opposite side in the pictures.....its all good .it was 5 hours and 50 bucks worth of leftover paint that was on my shelf from a previous "learning" experience. good luck with whatever you do .

[MailmAn]

Another side question here: The local TSC stopped carrying the Valspar Tractor and Implement paint, so I bought some of the Majic Tractor, Truck, and Implement paint in the same IH White color to finish painting my tractor. Has anyone else had any experience with the Majic paint before? It is a bit more expensive than the Valspar was, but IDK if it is better quality than the Valspar and will resist fading more. I'm looking to buy some spray paint to finish off the tractor as it will be cheaper than trying to buy an HVLP sprayer to apply the paint they sell in quarts. I already used some of the Majic paint in quarts, so I think I should finish it off with the Majic spray paint. With this type of tractor paint, do you just leave it as it is or can you spray clear coat over the top of it? I have a couple of cans of Rust Oleum clear I could spray on, but will this make my paint job look bad or otherwise harm the paint? The only thing I can think of is that the farm paint may take a few weeks to fully cure and putting clear over the top might make it never setup fully? My thought was that the clear would help protect the finish more and keep it from scratching or fading longer. Does anyone have experience with this that could help me out? Thanks!

[Newpaws493]

Sorry about the beat down you seem to be taking with the paint. IMO, spray is most likely the nicest finish you can get, but each method needs prep and control.
Back stepping to brush & roll; tight areas get the brush flat surfaces get the roll. One method, involves thining the paint and keeping it well mixed during process. Using foam roller,rather than hairy stuff (and 3 to 4 inch, not the type for wall jobs.) Having and using the straining bags to keep paint clean from junk is better than trying to pick it off what you just rolled. The batches to be used 'today' are in
small tubs(cut pots, plastic buckets) about the size of the gallon can or smaller with metal or plastic screen which hooks or leans on edge. (all reuseable) pot never needs to be full, just enough to cover roller when it's resting. Roll off excess paint on screen before going to piece. A common 2nd hand yard sale hairdryer,yep I said it, set on cool, can be deployed in other hand to control each light, thinned coat as you apply. Crazy right? early partial dry while you're working. Gentle sand between coats and mineral spirit/ rag rubdown and one might be surprised at results. I used DTM, which I had on hand for its industrial strength, rust prevention and fast dry qualities. It's sat for years in the can, but before using it was shaken, stirred and strained then thinned and stirred. But that's me and my finish top coats were rattlecanned and clear coated. Bottom line whichever way you choose, the paint is in or on the hands of the painter. Good luck, the more you do, the more we can learn.

Far from perfect, should've prepped way more closer to bare metal or at least totally smooth surfaces before paint, yet with 8and more total coats on I think it'll hold up a bit.

Edited by Newpaws493, August 08, 2012 - 10:44 AM.

[Bolens 1000]

I'd say that the key to a good paint job is all in the prep work (body work, sandblasting down to bare metal, using a good primer)
I would say using a paint gun is a Must if you want to have a good looking finished product.
I'm not knocking anyone's work but I dont think I have ever seen a tractor painted with a brush turn out as good as ones that were sprayed with a gun.

[Newpaws493]

Checkin in; how are things going on the project?

[MailmAn]

Not too well, Newpaws! I haven't had much time lately to paint anything due to work and when I'm not working my "regular" job I've been mowing lawns, since the rain has been back and the drought is over and the grass is growing again! Not that I'm complaining because I need the money. Especially since it cost me $75 to have the broken cast iron piece on the rear axle welded back up this week. I broke the housing trying to take the free wheel pin out of the rear axle. But at least it is fixed now and the pin can move freely so I can roll it when it is not running! (Mine has a cotter pin in it now, but was it supposed to have a quick-release hairpin/cotterpin in it instead to make it easier to move in and out? Just curious...)

I'm also trying to get the decals to complete my tractor if I ever DO manage to finish up with the paint... I've been having a hard time coming up with some of the decals to replace on my tractor as well. (See another thread... http://gardentractor..._15#entry198409 ) I also wanted to put a somewhat "original" looking serial number on the decal for my mower deck, but I can't find anyone to tell me what theirs is, to get an idea of what the number range might be, and the decal on my deck is too far gone for me to get any numbers off of it! So, I just keep striking out it seems!!

I guess that is just my kind of luck as of late... Like today I was working up in Saratoga and after work I stopped off at the Racino (Racetrack/Casino) to play some video craps. I put in $20 and was up at one point to over $100, but I stupidly didn't cash-out in time and I ended up losing it all as the dice went "cold" and I either kept craping out or hitting 7's at the MOST inopportune of times!!! I was trying to roll my winnings over and hopefully double them up to $200 before cashing out, since I needed the money and I was technically playing with the House's money... Oh well, that'll learn me!! But anywho, this is all anyways!!!

So, how you been coming along with your 650?

Hopefully I'll have some more updates on my progress soon though... thanks for checking in!!!

Edited by MailmAn, August 15, 2012 - 01:25 AM.

[fonz3482]

mailmAn, Hopefully your luck will change. Theres always those rough times in tractor fixing! But they always seem to lead to tractor fun times eventually!!! Those free wheel pins are a pain! Alot of the Bolens I've bought have the free wheel hub welded, repaired or just plain out broken. I make a specail pin to fix them. Takes some time to fab. it up, but it seems to work. Hope everything from here on out goes better for you, try a ny powerball ticket for tonight, 320 million if you hit it. If you win the powerball, you might want to consider buying the Bolens franchise back from mtd, and rebuild the Bolens name with tough, strong, real gts like they made them in the good old days! Not these cheap pop can, throw away tractors that mtd slaps the bolens name on!

[Newpaws493]

Don't bum out just yet, these things happen. The bright spot, as I see it, is where you're actually putting your machine to task. You're not the first to break something like that, it's now a strong reminder as to Do's/Don'ts...
I think there are two or three sources that guys around here use for their decals, I haven't made that move yet. I see from that link you posted, you've got some leads. Hey, just remember gettin these GTs is the adventure, not just the destination! The 650 gets to watch me tickle the 1050 I picked up a couple o' weeks ago, I wanna get that running too. http://gardentractor...and-a-roadtrip/

When I hit the wall with the mechanical, I go to the cosmetics. I did learn from your examples and went to bare on the sheet metal, I'll start a thread, but here's a peak...Hang on in there!

[MailmAn]

You're not the first to break something like that, it's now a strong reminder as to Do's/Don'ts...

When I hit the wall with the mechanical, I go to the cosmetics. I did learn from your examples and went to bare on the sheet metal, I'll start a thread, but here's a peak...Hang on in there!

Well, I guess I'm glad at least others can learn from me... even if I'm just more of a cautionary tale than anything else!!

Yeah, I'm really glad I went down to bare metal on my bodywork. It was a lot of extra work, but I think it will be worth it in the end. Are you planning on scraping off the decals on your hood before painting it or are you hoping to save some money by scraping the paint around the decals, masking them off, and painting it so you don't have to replace them? I suppose if the decals are in good enough condition to reuse... mine were just absolutely shot! But the hood decal in your picture doesn't look right. It looks like a mower deck decal on there and not the hood decal with the tractor model number on it.

The only thing that sucks though is working so hard on prepping it for paint, doing a couple coats of primer, sanding and getting it smooth, and then botching up the first few coats of finish color!! It is very frustrating! Even more frustrating is sanding down the messed up paint and chipping a small piece off down to primer so that now my finish coat will be uneven with a couple of small pits in it!! As Charlie Brown always seemed to say... "AAARRRRGGGGHHHHH!!!!" Of course, as my brother (and a few others) have said, "Don't worry about it so much, it's just a tractor, not a museum piece!" But, one of my downfalls is I think I have OCD a bit or at least if nothing else I tend towards perfection as much as is physically possible with the tools and experience I have, so that leads me to spend WAY more time on something than most people would think necessary trying to get it "just right". But then I usually get upset because I'll spend so much time getting something looking nice (like the mower deck) and then something will happen to it to damage it shortly after I finished it!!! Like when I first took the tractor out for a test run after I just finished painting and reassembling the deck and I scraped off the paint on the corner of the deck rubbing it against a fence. NOOOOOOOO!!!! I'm sure once I get the hood and fenders done and decaled up, the first lawn I mow with the tractor they will get all scratched and dented up and I'll want to just kill myself! (Not really, but I won't be happy about it either...) But hopefully I'll at least have some nice pictures of it when it is all finished before I go and destroy it!

Yeah, I can also see why Bolens went with GREEN for their deck color and not white... After just a few mows with my freshly painted deck, the bottom of my deck is just a nasty greenish-yellowy-brown color from all the grass stains. Not much white left on it anywhere, really... At least it seems to work well and it cuts great!! I haven't found any end-play on any of the blade drive shafts or anything and it all seems to be holding up okay. I try to clean off the deck as frequently as I can, especially underneath.

Edited by MailmAn, August 15, 2012 - 08:59 AM.

[Bruce Dorsi]

I broke the housing trying to take the free wheel pin out of the rear axle. But at least it is fixed now and the pin can move freely so I can roll it when it is not running! (Mine has a cotter pin in it now, but was it supposed to have a quick-release hairpin/cotterpin in it instead to make it easier to move in and out? Just curious...)

Yes.

[Newpaws493]

As you said, from reading other guys posts, I learned about using caution around the free wheel pin. I did opt to mask the decals and can't say for sure if their right or not. I don't expect to get everything perfect this go round, my focus is more or less on stabilizing the conditions overall and making them functional and somewhat pleasing to my eye. Save money? thats a good one, yes I'm on a quite limited budget and picking some battles knowing some are coming whether I like them or not. Extra work? IMO, if there's passion in what we do and some rational purpose in the labor, I wouldn't consider any of the cumulative learning process as waste, nor would I expect anyone outside the game to see it and have a clue or sympathy for that matter. I'm a first year student and graduation is a loooong way off. Cashing in my chips and giving up, also not visible on the horizon. You're not alone, cut yourself some slack.

[MailmAn]

UPDATE TIME FINALLY!!! YEAH!!!

So, I was mowing my lawn a couple of weeks ago and towards the end, my 850 started making some absolutely atrocious noises (some partial video hopefully to come soon to show you...), so I shut it down immediately. I was worried at first something inside the engine let go! But after a quick inspection and oil change for no reason (but you can never be too safe...), I isolated it to the old, beat Starter/Generator that could barely even turn over the engine in the first place.

So, I took it down to Con-Rel Auto Electric to have them rebuild my Delco Starter/Generator. I just got it back Wednesday morning after they had it for a week. It cost me around $125 with tax (the tag in the photo shows $119, but without tax...) They told me the bearings in it were totally SHOT and they could hardly even turn the pully by hand anymore! (That might have been zapping some horses from my little 8.25HP Wisconsin then!!) It also needed a new armiture and some other stuff, but basically it is a new starter/generator on the inside now. They even cleaned up the case and painted it so it looked like new! Better than a reman starter you'd buy off the shelf even and for a bit cheaper (although I can't imagine a reman starter/generator for some of these would be much more than $150-$175 if you could find one, so I don't think I was saving all THAT much, but they did do a really nice job!!)

So, here's the pictures of my Starter/Generator when I got it back from Con-Rel:








They did SUCH a nice job on it and it looked so nice, I hated to even do anything to it before I put it on my tractor! But while it did look nice with the Black and Grey
paint job, I thought it would still look odd on my Bolens when everything else on it is brown. The guys at Con-Rel said they didn't have any brown paint like what was
on it when I gave it to them, otherwise they would have painted it that color for me already! (That would have been nice of them...) But, anyways, I ended up kind of
reluctantly spraying it down with some Rust-Oleum Dark Brown paint anyways before installing it:






I also took the time while I had it apart anyways to ditch the old belt and throw on the new cogged belt I bought from...

..from...

well, from *SOMEONE* on this board, I won't say whom...

(The old belt was kind of slippery on the "V" part where it runs in the pulley groove. Probably got glazed over a bit from slipping around the
almost totally seized up starter/generator pulley all this time! Not good for it at all...)

So, here is the newly painted starter/generator mounted on the tractor:













All I can say right now is that the new Starter/Generator works great and turns over the engine much easier and faster now! It starts up in no time now! The ammeter
even seems to work more normally now and doesn't flop around as much like it did in a previous video I posted. I'm assuming then that it is charging the battery better
now than it was (or wasn't) before. The engine seems to have a lot more power now too and it runs much better, especially at lower throttle above idle. It doesn't seem
to bog down as badly like it did before either. I just mowed a lawn today with it that was fairly long in mostly 2nd gear, Hi-Range and it only slightly bogged down in some
of the heavier grass, but wasn't even that noticeable. It didn't have any issues with not cutting grass or "streaking" either that I had some problems with before.

It is just hard to imagine that there were so many problems caused that ended up being traceable to the old Starter/Generator being bad and once fixing that, so many things have improved with this tractor's performance now! The one nagging thing that persists is the engine knocking and the governor/throttle is still a bit touchy and hard to control, but other than that, this thing has just gotten so much better now that I fixed the Starter/Generator!


Hopefully more to come soon, maybe a few more videos of it running, and eventually it will be all together with some new decals on it too!!! Here's hoping!!

Edited by MailmAn, August 30, 2012 - 10:24 PM.