paint em up

[treevet]

I like to keep my stuff looking sharp like we all do. I am just not very good at it.
To spend 3 grand or more on painting a tree truck, well, I just cannot do it.

So what I do is half as it myself. I tried painting off of a compressor for a number of years and some days it was too windy or too humid or just plain raining and sometimes rained on the fresh paint and destroyed it. On a hot day it was hard to keep the breather guard on so if I went without, I had orange hairs inside my nose telling me that nasty stuff was getting to my lungs. Also it became just plain illegal to spray paint outside.

So next we have been just taping em up and rolling and brushing it on and it looks decent to the eye from a distance which is really all we are trying to accomplish....a professional look.

The problem I have is when I sprayed the color seemed to last a lot longer and stayed shiny. The rolled and brushed paint, although the same product just oxidized quicker and looked good the first, ok the second year and the third year it was faded in color and sheen.

Was wondering how you all handle this task and if anyone has professional insights to this necessary evil in our trade. Here are a few picts of our latest effort.

Just purchased 99 BC 2000

 

[treevet]

 

[tree md]

I've never painted a chipper but I'm just wondering if you could use an airless to apply the paint? I had one that hooked up to my compressor but it seemed to work my poor little compressor too hard. I quit using it before I burnt the compressor up.

 

[treevet]

I had the same prob with my $750 gas compressor. I have also considered airless and the units are quite inexpensive. Seems like they would have to be legal as they are used on house exteriors.

Here it is prior to taking off tape and putting on decals and new deflector bonnet we got. Also added new flaps in intake chute as they were shot.

 

[tree md]

Yeah, they're legal. They work on a motorized pump and pressurized hose. Watch out for over spray though.

Your running the same colors as me.

 

[treevet]

international orange? Are you using the airless or what are your methods tree md?

Here it is without some finishing decals and detail stuff. Within three years the reddish in the orange will have faded.

Is this because of lack of clear coat finish. Why does the paint job on a new truck last for 20 years and I get 3? Multiple coats .....density of spray?

 

[treevet]

Here is my other rig (83 f600) bc 1250a,

we did a month ago.

 

[tree md]

I have used the airless a couple times painting interior and exterior of houses. Not by choice, I got rooked into doing it by my folks on some of the properties they were working with. It is fast as hell but you have to make sure you get everything masked well. If you are not used to using one there is a hell of a lot of overspray. I know guys who spend two days masking and a couple of hours painting. I am not a painter though and I made a hell of a mess when I did it, lol. Spent 3 days cleaning overspray.

Yeah, my chipper is INT orange. My 2 ton dump is white. I am wanting to get a 1 ton dump and switch my colors to red (on the truck) and orange on the chipper.

 

[PurdueJoe]

Dave,

I'm just spent the last day prepping my bucket for a new coat bright white and luckily the only thing I have to worry about when it comes to over spray are a couple rows of corn. I used Valspar brand truck and trailer paint for my chip truck body which I brush and rolled and have very good luck with the paint staying shiny and "new" looking. So far in the last 3 years of painting either wood or metal everything still looks great.

 

[clearance]

Looks good treevet. A better color than Vermeer yellow and not as bright as Asplundh orange. Nice.

 

[treevet]

I have used the airless a couple times painting interior and exterior of houses. Not by choice, I got rooked into doing it by my folks on some of the properties they were working with. It is fast as hell but you have to make sure you get everything masked well. If you are not used to using one there is a hell of a lot of overspray. I know guys who spend two days masking and a couple of hours painting. I am not a painter though and I made a hell of a mess when I did it, lol. Spent 3 days cleaning overspray.

Yeah, my chipper is INT orange. My 2 ton dump is white. I am wanting to get a 1 ton dump and switch my colors to red (on the truck) and orange on the chipper.

I can handle the over spray but did it run from quantity? I am famous for running all down the side and that is why my gm does it.

 

[treevet]

Dave,

I'm just spent the last day prepping my bucket for a new coat bright white and luckily the only thing I have to worry about when it comes to over spray are a couple rows of corn. I used Valspar brand truck and trailer paint for my chip truck body which I brush and rolled and have very good luck with the paint staying shiny and "new" looking. So far in the last 3 years of painting either wood or metal everything still looks great.

Maybe I am just using too cheap of paint Joe. A buddy of mine used to swear by "emron(?)". Stuff I use is "Town and Ranch" $32 gal.

Wish I was in the country for more reasons than painting but is this Valspar expensive? How come you brush and roll painting the chip box when you can spray?

 

[treevet]

Looks good treevet. A better color than Vermeer yellow and not as bright as Asplundh orange. Nice.

Thanks clearance. Wanted to look dif than Asplundh and the vermeer yellow does not stand out very much. This orange makes your eyes hurt when painting in the sun prob because because of the red in it I guess.

I have said before, I wanted to make my lot look like the "Hell" in that Clint Eastwood movie where they painted the whole town red before the bad guys attacked them. haha

 

[tree md]

I can handle the over spray but did it run from quantity? I am famous for running all down the side and that is why my gm does it.

Vet, it will run if you set it to spray too much. You can adjust it to spray however you want. It takes some experience to get it right though. Mine did run in places and I had to roll it in. My buddy's brother paints for a living and I've seen him spray a perfectly even coat. I tried spraying on a board to get the volume set right and did decent but I still had some runs. It's just like tree work. If you want a perfect job with no flaws you got to hire a pro.

 

[ATH]

.........Is this because of lack of clear coat finish. Why does the paint job on a new truck last for 20 years and I get 3? Multiple coats .....density of spray?

Some paints need clear coat, others do not. Go to a "real" paint supply store - preferably an automotive paint supplier (some good locally owned parts stores do paint well). They will help you find the right paint.

Also...surface prep has more to do with end results than quality or type of paint. You truck will have long lasting paint (unless it is a Dodge) because they prepared the surface, primed, cured, painted, cured, top coated, cured all in a VERY controlled environment. It is probably not worth our time sanding down to bare metal (as a body shop would), but you have to recognize that this lack of surface prep will result in lower quality results as well...

As for air vs. airless: HVLP (run by compressor) is probably the best bet. Most compressors designed to run general air tools probably don't have/make enough air to keep up. I think you need better than 20 gallons. Gravity feed air sprayer is probably next followed by a suction gun. Airless sprayers are generally designed for thicker paints (latex). You can usually buy smaller tips for them.

Regarding legality: I am no expert here, but I am thinking releasing VOCs into the environment is the problem. That has more to do with the paint and less to do with the sprayer. That release happens regardless of what type of gun you are using. So I doubt that an airless is any more or less legal than HVLP...

 

[ATH]

Vet, it will run if you set it to spray too much. You can adjust it to spray however you want. It takes some experience to get it right though. Mine did run in places and I had to roll it in. My buddy's brother paints for a living and I've seen him spray a perfectly even coat. I tried spraying on a board to get the volume set right and did decent but I still had some runs. It's just like tree work. If you want a perfect job with no flaws you got to hire a pro.

Yep. Practice on a board - or maybe even better - on the inside of your chip truck...

 

[PurdueJoe]

Dave,

Until last year the area that I kept my equipment at was near houses and people that wouldn't appreciate the mess of over spray or at least I didn't want to find out how they would react. Now where I'm located the story is much different and a little more laid back to say the least. The Valspar is available at Tractor Supply for $27.99 a gallon.

 

[treevet]

Vet, it will run if you set it to spray too much. You can adjust it to spray however you want. It takes some experience to get it right though. Mine did run in places and I had to roll it in. My buddy's brother paints for a living and I've seen him spray a perfectly even coat. I tried spraying on a board to get the volume set right and did decent but I still had some runs. It's just like tree work. If you want a perfect job with no flaws you got to hire a pro.

That is true. I could never set up the gun I bought and it was a high end with the can in one hand and sprayer in the other. We gunked it all up, kinda like running a saw in the dirt I imagine.

 

[treevet]

Some paints need clear coat, others do not. Go to a "real" paint supply store - preferably an automotive paint supplier (some good locally owned parts stores do paint well). They will help you find the right paint.

Also...surface prep has more to do with end results than quality or type of paint. You truck will have long lasting paint (unless it is a Dodge) because they prepared the surface, primed, cured, painted, cured, top coated, cured all in a VERY controlled environment. It is probably not worth our time sanding down to bare metal (as a body shop would), but you have to recognize that this lack of surface prep will result in lower quality results as well...

As for air vs. airless: HVLP (run by compressor) is probably the best bet. Most compressors designed to run general air tools probably don't have/make enough air to keep up. I think you need better than 20 gallons. Gravity feed air sprayer is probably next followed by a suction gun. Airless sprayers are generally designed for thicker paints (latex). You can usually buy smaller tips for them.

Regarding legality: I am no expert here, but I am thinking releasing VOCs into the environment is the problem. That has more to do with the paint and less to do with the sprayer. That release happens regardless of what type of gun you are using. So I doubt that an airless is any more or less legal than HVLP...

That is a lot of info I was fishing for ATH. Thanks

I bought the paint in a commercial paint store but you gave me more info here than I have gotten from them over the years. Prob not interested in teaching an amateur a pro job like we would feel the same way.

 

[treevet]

Dave,

Until last year the area that I kept my equipment at was near houses and people that wouldn't appreciate the mess of over spray or at least I didn't want to find out how they would react. Now where I'm located the story is much different and a little more laid back to say the least. The Valspar is available at Tractor Supply for $27.99 a gallon.

Good source, I buy all kind of stuff at TSC.