TRACTOR PART VI - PAINT JOB

Feliz Navidad!

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas yet my lounge still looks like Santa’s woodworking workshop. Not good.

There's no room for Santa

At times like these, I’m almost glad our family Christmas has been deferred to the new year when hopefully normal lounge service will have been resumed.

The tractor clock is ticking down as I rush about throwing paint here, there and everywhere with gay abandon like the Jackson Pollock of West Sussex, desperately trying to avoid splashing the Crimbo tree or baubles in the process. I wish I had a proper craft room to work in. Santa, are you listening?

Prime the inside and outside of both the tractor boxes with white primer. Remember to sand off any raised grain between coats. Take care that no paint drips down from the domed screw heads.

Prime the inside first

Then prime the outside

I keep the boxes off the floor by propping them on top of tins - baked beans, chopped tomatoes, whatever is to hand in the pantry.

Whilst you’re at it, varnish the base panel, make fajitas for dinner and sort out the plumber who’s busy removing the radiator in the hallway. Aaah! So much to do, not enough hours!!

Where do you want this rad, missus?

Then when you’ve done all that, check the internet for design inspiration for your tractor’s lovely paint job. Guess what? It’s over to the John Deere website to ogle at tractors. Again!

So many tractors to choose from, it’s almost as bad as going shoe shopping. After hours of inspecting and comparing mean machines, I’ve finally picked one to use for design inspiration.

I like this one

You’ll never believe it but when we asked for John Deere green at the paint mixing counter in B&Q they actually had a recipe on the computer which they’d mixed up for a previous customer. Clearly, we’re not the only weirdos in the paint aisle!

Do you have any John Deere green?

Armed with a 750 ml sized tin of luscious green paint, I’m super excited. Can’t wait to start coating the boxes with it but before I do, the paint job design needs to be marked out on the primed side panels of our tractor.

Draw this clearly on your white primed bits so that you can work out what to paint in different colours – in this case green, black and yellow.

Then go for it!!!

Start by painting the insides of each box

Then paint the outside green 

Use black for the front of the engine box

Pick out tractor trim in yellow paint

Add design details in black to the side of the engine

Its beginning to look a lot like tractor

And now to roast the duck ready for the great Christmas feast.  Whatever you're doing, have a good one!