Paint jobs. Big money, big time sink, lots of preparation and materials needed on even the smallest jobs. I’ve had my hands on a few paint jobs, from taping and masking to some basic shooting. And I’ve done plenty of rattlecan paint jobs for people who couldn’t live without the truck going flat black. I’ve only ever had two cars properly painted, however: one was the Mock One Mustang, which got it’s tailpan blacked out with some graphic work done, and the “Warhammer” Dodge Diplomat I owned back in the day, which is the only car I’ve paid for a full paint job for. The Diplomat was down for a month, the Mustang a couple of weeks if I remember right. Both jobs came out gorgeous and well-sorted. Time, money, materials, preparation.

The Big Bud 525/50 that Welker Farms is restoring has more surface area than the Mustang and the Diplomat combined, and not by a little bit. When a full-size man has to crawl into the barrel of the wheels to spray them down, that’s a big mother to work a spray gun over. That’s where you bring paint in five-gallon cans and you mix big batches and spray like there is no tomorrow. We honestly wonder just how much money went into the prep, primer and paint on this tractor. Something tells us that dollar amount would make us shed one honest tear, but we’re curious anyways!