The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Tractor Supply Paint

Can I thin out Valspar(tractor supply)primer for the spray gun, and what would be the right mix. I painted the truck with a good paintabout 5 yrs. ago. Paint job failled due to MY bad primming (damp days with windows open and ex. fan pulling in damp air. Now I'm looking for a decent paint job for my farm truck, it's just a toy and I'm getting a little too gray and don't want to use the ex. stuff. Thanks, Paul

Try thinning about 15% with naptha and adjust the mixture accordingly.

Thanks, will try it as soon as it warms up a little more.A lot warmer down here then back up in Jersey! Paul

I would think it would say on the can what u could thin it with, or what it suggest for clean up.
Lacquer thinner would work also but thin to 10% first and see how that is before u thin it out too much.

If you don't care a whole bunch on how it looks, you could just skip the primer and shoot a good acrylic enamel on it.
This is often done with farm machinery and it works well for the long haul.
One of the reasons primers are used is to create a uniform color below the surface of the top coat so no color variations show up in the top coat,but I don't get concerned about that on a trailer or farm piece
A good acrylic enamel can be had for 30 to 50 bucks a gal. and two good coats could have your truck looking like new.
It's all about what u want in the end and the bucks you want to spend really.

Dan

lacquer thinner will be too hot for tractor enamel. You will need mineral spirits for your thinner. My truck is completely painted with Van Sickle Farm and Tractor paints.

You use an enamel reducer NOT lacquer thinner to reduce enamel based paints which is what most all tractor paints are.

Mixing lacquer and enamel is a BAD idea!!

Lacquer thinner will do the best job of cleaning your gun after wards.

Eurathane reducer works very well with tractor paint. I slows down the drying time and allows the paint to flow out and you won't be plagued by over spray. The paint slows down enough to absorb the over spray. I use nason medium speed reducer.

Frank Cox
Cox Custom Cars

I thought he was asking about a primer not a top coat when I mentioned lacquer thinner.
Concerning the enamel top coat, it would say on the can what to reduce it with and that would be mineral spirits, but I have reduced the same paint with enamel reducer with no problem.


As far as the BAD idea of mixing lacquer with enamel goes, I'm wondering, WHY ? Not that I'm suggesting anyone should do it, but here's the thing.
I've got a car which in 1988 was shot with Centari single stage acrylic enamel thinned with Lacquer thinner.
Ya, I questioned it at the time also, but the idea came from a buddy of mine who painted and did body work for a living.
So I asked him why he did that, he replied, " It's cheaper"

So the car was shot his way and now over 20 years later the car is out in my garage still looking good.
I wondered about the longevity of the paint job but I can't argue about what I see. Go figure ?

Dan

Thin Valspar enamel with Naptha like the manufacturer recommends. Naptha dries slow and therefore the paint flows out smooth. No one knows their product better than the manufacturer so take their advice.

As for thinning, it's not all that critical. The way you apply the paint IS critical. Spray it on wet enough to flow but not so wet that it runs. You can control how wet it goes on by the distance you hold the gun from the target - the farther you get from the target the more thinner will evaporate before it hits the target.

The best thing you can do is a little test. 15 minutes of hands-on experience will get you familiar with the product. Valspar is good paint, been around forever and ain't going anywhere any time soon.