If there is one thing that most tractors I have come into contact with have in common, it’s that the paint is usually shot to hell. They’re work vehicles, not show rigs…getting down and dirty is part of the program, whether you’re ripping up a field, bush-hogging, cutting hay or, as many of the farmers near my house are doing right now, you have the necessary evil job of spreading manure. And what a job that is…the air is thick right now. Long days in the elements, infrequent cleanings, dirt and dust and bumps and all sorts of other influences leave an old tractor with an aged appearance that only fresh paint can overcome. But how many tractors get treated to fresh paint? Locally, not many.
Lucky for us, the Welker family is in the middle of restoring one of their Big Bud tractors and here, you’ll get to see the work that they are putting into the brightening work on this big rig. In addition to sanding down the old paint to prepare for the new coats, the hydraulics need attention, some stairs need to be fabricated, and a new clevis hook needs to be fabricated to replace one that was torn off of the one-inch thick steel body plate where it was mounted when the tractor buried itself with it’s wheels halfway deep in soft soil a couple of years ago. Restoration on a grand scale, this one is.
No gloves or other PPE while dealing with the used chemicals… Enjoy your cancer and nervous system damage…