THE RESTORATION PROCESS

At the tractor makeover company we offer varying levels of restoration from complete nut and bolt restorations to simple mechanical and electrical repairs or even restoration of individual panels.

The level of restoration is dependent upon individual customer requirements, the basis of which are:

Step I: Remove all Tinwork & Run up till warm to ensure no leaks!

Remove Bonnet, wings, footplates, Instrument panel etc to expose main chasis and running gear.  Run up to operating temperature to identify any leaks

Step II: Mechanical Repairs

As time served Mechanical Engineers we have both the facilities and technical expertise to carry out mechanical repairs or complete rebuilds on all areas of the vehicle:-
Engine, transmission, hydraulics, brakes, steering

Step III: Strip down & Mask out

Prior to blasting, the following parts are removed, leaving a base chassis ready to blast: - Tinwork, wheels, hydraulic arms, seat, steering wheel, gauges, fuel tank, radiator starter motor, dynamo, wiring loom, coolant hoses. All relevant areas are masked out thoroughly using specific blast masking tape in order to ensure no blast media enters any areas it shouldn’t....

Step IV: Blasting - Indoor dedicated blast booth

We have an indoor dedicated blast booth to blast chassis and all relevant parts / panels separately.  The chassis is mounted on stands during the blast process to ensure access to all areas. The blast media that we use is Chilled iron grit - renowned for superior surface preparation properties ensuring excellent paint adhesion.

Step V: Blow out & Re-mask

Following the blasting process, whilst still in the blast booth the chassis and parts are blown out to remove blast media from all areas prior to removal of masking.  The chassis and parts are moved to our Spray booth and re-masked prior to final preparation and degrease.

Step VI: Apply paint - in dedicated spray booth

We have recently invested in a spray booth previously used in the automotive sector.  This has major benefits such as prevention of dust ingress to the booth, high volume vapour extraction and of course superior lighting to see the job properly!  With many years experience of paint spraying in the automotive industry we achieve a high standard finish using the following paints:-

• Etch primer - Rust inhibiting 
• High build primers
• Top coat – a minimum of 3 coats are applied of either 2 pack or enamel paint - dependant on customer requirements.

Step VII: The rebuild
All parts including chassis remain in the spray booth following paint for a minimum 12hrs in order to allow sufficient time for paint to fully cure prior to handling. The following parts are then fitted:

•  Wiring harness, starter motor, dynamo, belt, battery
•  Radiator, coolant hoses – coolant applied at this stage
•  Fuel tank is fitted, piped up and the tractor bled.
•  Tractor is started and run up till warm to ensure no leaks
•  All remaining parts are fitted, including new parts as required.
  
                            THE FINISHED PRODUCT