Cost to repaint/recondition excavator

[AzIron]

Around here equipment would never get parked inside and paint gets rough after 10 to 12 years by 15 years people assume you run junk because the paints shot

I have an 06 314 in similar boat it needs about 20 grand to get the cab sheet metal and a few rams plus paint job

So for 20 grand I can have a like new excavator on a machine I own out right I cant loose I just need an extra 20 grand I wont miss

 

[JD955SC]

You're exactly right! I just purchased a 1998 D5M cat. My favorite thing about it is the cable for the throttle!! No buttons or potentiometers!

Does it have the fingertip steering clutch/brake controls though?

 

[CM1995]

Around here equipment would never get parked inside and paint gets rough after 10 to 12 years by 15 years people assume you run junk because the paints shot

I have an 06 314 in similar boat it needs about 20 grand to get the cab sheet metal and a few rams plus paint job

So for 20 grand I can have a like new excavator on a machine I own out right I cant loose I just need an extra 20 grand I wont miss

No DEF = keep 314.

I wouldn't hesitate to put the money in and keep on trucking.

 

[Don.S]

Where i work we have a 35d with 6500 hoirs and my boss just did all the pins and bushings and painted it its like a new machine. We have a 75d that just hit 10 000 hours. Last winter they did a few pins and freshend up the engine and it runs like a new machine. It will be getting paint this winter. This winter we will also be painting and doing pins on a 10 000 hour 135d. All those machines run every week and make money. They actually have less down time then the new machines we have.

 

[Welder Dave]

Way way cheaper to replace the seat than get the old one redone. I took the seat from the grader I recently bought to an upholstery shop and it would have cost $400 to $450 just to redo the seat cushion and just about as much to do the back rest. Ultra Seats is about 45 minutes away and I got a new seat for $360. They had to use an additional strap for $14 to mount it to the existing suspension. Even nicer was they drilled some additional mounting holes and mounted it on the suspension for me no extra cost. I'm waiting for arm rests to come in that are $38 a side. They have a couple fancier arm rests but I just went for the economy ones. I think they have very good pricing for aftermarket seats. Looking on their website I see their prices went up very recently (likely due to covid) but still way cheaper than redoing the existing metal pan seat.

Home (ultraseat.ca)

 

[Tyler d4c]

Your looking to do a good job of it being a paint job and fix all the little problems.
Take about 6 months of evenings and weekends and 15000ish imo

 

[CM1995]

Way way cheaper to replace the seat than get the old one redone.

Maybe in Canada but the upholster shops here in AL are very reasonable. Several years ago I had the seat on our 533 compactor redone for $135 including the foam and vinyl. A new seat from Cat is $1365.40 according to SIS pricing. I'm sure Ultraseat could beat that number twice over but shipping from Alberta to the southern US would be more than the seat would cost if you could get a truck to deliver it in todays screwed up supply chain.

 

[Welder Dave]

Maybe in Canada but the upholster shops here in AL are very reasonable. Several years ago I had the seat on our 533 compactor redone for $135 including the foam and vinyl. A new seat from Cat is $1365.40 according to SIS pricing. I'm sure Ultraseat could beat that number twice over but shipping from Alberta to the southern US would be more than the seat would cost if you could get a truck to deliver it in todays screwed up supply chain.

I know Ultra ships all over the world but don't know if they have special shipping rates to the US or a warehouse in the US. If they did would be worth looking into. I almost fell over when the upholstery shop said $400+ just for the seat cushion with new foam. Ultra is much cheaper than Kab and other aftermarket seat suppliers. Funny the same upholstery shop made me a new seat cushion complete with a new wooden base for the 931B for about $200 several years ago. The flip over seat for the backhoe was discontinued by Cat and making a new seat base to replace the rotted out one was about the only option. It was a pretty basic square seat base but I was shocked how much it would have cost to have the grader seat done. Prices in Canada can be ridiculously high compared to what the same thing costs in the US.

 

[chidog]

Paint job cost, hire some friends and friends kids to help clean it and sand it. I bet it could be done for under $1k.

 

[Welder Dave]

A good paint job requires sandblasting or some heavy sanding with an angle grinder. A nice shiny paint job from a far can look worse than just normal wear and tear. It needs to be down to bare metal.

 

[fastline]

Man, tough crowd over here on painting! OP, I have done it. Two of my best friends are career auto painters, and another does a ton at home and has a paint booth.

No, I would certainly not get nuts with the prep. If you have any serious gouges, either blend the smooth with a flap wheel or bondo those areas. masking is easy. 3M also makes some plastic wrap that sort of sticks to everything and I would be much easier for hydro lines. Wipe entire machine with a strong keytone. This will remove grease/oil, and break any shine on the old paint. When I say wipe, I don't mean buy a gallon and use paper towels. I mean get 5gal, rubber gloves, a bucket, rags, and respirator. It will not take long but it will do wonders to prep the surface for paint.

I would not even waste my time to scuff the machine. OEMs sure as hell don't! the secret in this is the paint! You don't need extreme epoxy paint unless you really want to, but you do want a qualified DTM. You also don't want bargain barn Alkyd crap! At least a high end Acrylic. Urethane is MUCH better (all cars painted with it). It will shine and gleam but you may not like the price. OEMs use an epoxy paint because the paint is also a severe duty protection layer. Think running machines through tree branches and such.

I highly recommend you do your own paint work. It is not complicated and when you see one that looks bad, that is usually someone just buying bargain paint, zero prep, and zero plan. Generally the equipment DTM paints are single part (open can and shoot) but do NOT do that. Work with someone who specializes in quality paint and request a hardener. It will make the paint flash faster and the paint will be harder and more durable.

Do NOT roll the damn paint on!!!! This is a spray job all the way! The only way I would do it is get the biggest nozzle you can in an HVLP gun. You can now get them at harbor Freight. I would NOT paint a car with one of those guns, but I'd sure paint equipment with it! I would not even waste the time to move machine to an indoor facility. Pick the right day, right after a rain, very low wind, and run a hardener. She will flash in 15min (not tacky).

I will never be in the "it's old, it should look like crap" camp. Fresh paint says you care about your equipment, you likely care about the job.

 

[JLarson]

Yeah you're not doing a show car. Good wash and degrease, knock off any rust, blend as needed with a DA or RO and blow and wipe it off. Mask with good tape, plastic and tin foil and go. I've used a lot of Napa's house brand paints with very good luck. Along with those Hobo Freight HVLP guns, nice thing about those is you can get a few devote to each color you shoot and if one gets real messed up trash it get a new one.

 

[Coaldust]

“Fresh paint says you care about your equipment, you likely care about the job.”

True Dat, Mr. fastline.

 

[Coaldust]

You don’t even have to paint the entire machine. Just the areas that need attention. Rear doors, counterweight. Just stay up on it. Make it a maintenance thing, vs a capital project.

good golly! Has anyone purchased paint lately, Or, even found paint to purchase?

 

[JLarson]

All the tractor supplies out by us seem to have a pretty good stock of the implement paint they run and that stuff isn't bad either, so is the rusto farm stuff.

Industrial specialty coatings, not going to happen right now. All the majors have just said nope. I've had to put some stuff off or explore other options cause the coatings just aren't there.

 

[Coaldust]

That’s why I asked. Interesting times. Tried to get some premium SW for a bulk tank project I’m working on. No way. The spray pain isle at the Wasilla Wally World is empty except for bbq black and krylon mauve.

 

[Welder Dave]

I was going by paint jobs where you clearly see patches of old paint in the new paint. If you have patchy old paint it should be sanded and/or blended out so it is not so noticeable.

 

[chidog]

I have done many heavy equipment paint jobs in the past. You do want to clean it good with a pressure wash. You do want to sand it some so the paint will grip it. Blow all the dust out from sanding. And then wipe it down with xylene or what ever thinner you are using. Then a primer. Then the color. Unless its a show piece or a factory restoration there is no need to bondo or trying to make it too fancy, it will look just fine.

 

[Tinkerer]

Has anyone used a professional quality airless paint sprayer to paint equipment ?
I have sprayed a lot of gallons in buildings, but often wondered how it would work on equipment with the proper nozzle.

 

[skata]

Has anyone used a professional quality airless paint sprayer to paint equipment ?
I have sprayed a lot of gallons in buildings, but often wondered how it would work on equipment with the proper nozzle.

No way. You'd waste a lot of paint filling the lines and pump, plus it would be a nightmare to clean the machine.