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Mattystang · 01-21-2012, 02:52 PM

I needed my first riding mower this summer when we moved into our house and was able to pick up a used Craftsman YS4500. There was a small spot of rust under the steering wheel so I decided that since I had to take care of that anyway I may as well "spruce it up" a little at the same time.
I'm a big fan of Formula 1 racing and the Vodafone Mclaren Mercedes team so I came up with a design to replicate their car.
I am taking pictures to document the project as I go and here is what I have so far.

In between each step I run a space heater in the basement for a little while to keep it warm until the paint smell is gone, then I bring it upstairs and put it in the closet over a heat vent for at least a week so it can cure and not be disturbed (little kids in the house).

First I stripped the hood down to bare metal, washed it, de-greased it, wiped it down with mineral spirits, primed it and taped off the areas that were to be painted red.

This is how the red came out.

This is the start of the Vodafone logo on top.

Here are the Vodafone logos on the sides.

Next weekend I'll finish the Vodafone log on the top and start work on the Mobil 1 logo.
After that I should be good to add the chrome.
I have vinyls for the Vodafone, Mobil and aigo text that will go on last.

Thomas · 01-21-2012, 03:17 PM

Got good feeling your project going to be one sharp ride.

Mattystang · 01-21-2012, 04:09 PM

Thanks, this is the inspiration.

BelarusBulldog · 01-22-2012, 06:40 AM

That's going to be AWESOME!

You do realize that we now expect this mower to look as if it's going 100 mph, even when stopped!

But I bet you're up for the task, looks great so far. Keep up the great work, looking forward to more pictures.

**dangeroustoys56** · 01-25-2012, 05:38 PM

Sharp colors - I noticed at Sears they carry chrome hubcaps for tractors now - only problem is thier price - 8" ones are like nearly $40 a pair- i bot a set of golf kart hubcaps for dirt cheep at a flea market a few years back - could be another option .If traction isnt a issue ( no hills) - you could swap some 8" golf kart tires ( smoother tread)on the back and smooth ribbed front tires ( like on older riders- just like on my profile pic) on the front for more of a indy look as well .

I 'custom' painted my 80's LT craftsman- dark blue with black chassis, center of hood where its raised is also black - i put chrome paint on the rims- it needs a re spray since its basically sat for a few years - i plan on building a deck for it, also bot some blue neon lights, tailights , blue headlight bulbs and some chrome foil for looks - i was going to make it a 'go kart' but i decided to put it back to mowing duty ( when i get to it).

Mattystang · 01-28-2012, 02:10 PM

I finished the Vodafone logo on top today along with the "1" for the Mobil 1 logo (got the letters in vinyl but the number is a negative, the background color has to shine through). Everything has been done with paint so far.

kitz · 01-28-2012, 03:37 PM

Looking Good

Mattystang · 02-04-2012, 04:50 PM

I applied the chrome today and will have pictures as soon as I can figure out what's wrong with the uploader ("image failed to copy"......why?).

Mattystang · 02-04-2012, 05:01 PM

**jhngardner367** · 02-04-2012, 11:33 PM

That's a really great paint job!

Thomas · 02-05-2012, 07:38 AM

Looking forward to end result...no doubt top notch,with such paint job I'd be little nerouves from limbs,sun and birds.

**dangeroustoys56** · 02-06-2012, 10:57 AM

Awsome- like the finish . Ive been painting my task force using cheep spray paint and surprisingly has a better finish then expensive paint - its a pain doing the reassembly w/o scratching it tho.

Mattystang · 02-06-2012, 07:19 PM

Everything I've done is out of a rattle can, Duplicolor.

**wjjones** · 02-06-2012, 08:44 PM

Looks good so far keep the updates coming...

**farmertim** · 02-07-2012, 05:17 AM

Looking forward to seeing the end result,
I would love to hear the motor climb to 15000rpm!!!

Mattystang · 02-08-2012, 05:37 AM

I have 3 pieces of steel that I prepped they same way at the same time and applied the chrome last weekend as well. This way I can spray the clear on one of them after a week and see how it looks (heard horror stories that if the chrome isn't fully cured then the clear will make it dull), if it doesn't look right I'll wait another week and try the second piece, repeat for the third.

**dangeroustoys56** · 02-10-2012, 06:34 PM

Ive found using clear is tricky- sometimes it comes out perfect, sometimes it ruins the paint- best thing is to use all the same brand of paint and try test spraying it like youre doing.