Painting a Forklift

Have painted both. Steam clean the forklift. Use wire cup brush on a grinder to knock off all loose paint. Remove the hood and cover the engine with drop cloth. If the mast is a different color cover it with drop cloth. Tape up any exposed cylinder rods. Paint away. Note that the people that use the forklift don't own them. So unless you are trying to resell the forklift i wouldn't worry about a perfect job. Most likely be scratched up in a week.

Hello Logic:

Some good stuff there from OZZB.

First, park the fork-lift in a place where you will not have to move it until you are finished. leave enough room for a stack of pallets to lower the fork holder onto while you clean it and the whole machine. Undo or isolate the battery terminals and stick tape round them, to stop them earthing out.

I have painted two at different times and found scraping the grease from the inside of the runners of the mast by hand to be pretty quick and beneficial. It is always messy and is usually contaminated by dust, grit etc. I was able to take three or so hydraulic rubber tube tabs off which gave me an extra metre to allow me to firstly remove the forks, then lower the fork holders onto the pallets I mentioned. You should not need to mess with the hydraulics doing this way.

Once the grease is scraped away this surface can be degreased as can the whole of the machine in areas you have to paint. I used 'thinners' to degrease and clean, then you will not need a steam cleaner and will not have to wait for it to dry.

I would take all the paint off the inside runners where the fork-holders move up and down. I measured the wheels on the fork lifter and put masking tape on the inside where the fork guide runs which leaves it free of paint. To be removed after of course.

The ones I did were not fancy. But I found using a medium grade wet and dry gave a good 'keyed' surface to paint on. Just remember to wipe all over afterwards with a thinners cloth and a clean cloth. I painted by brush rather than a spray pump, but, that is just because I didn't have one! I also removed the floor mat and washed that while the paint was drying.

Remember to paint the wheels, a special custom job with a different colour and perhaps 'go-faster-stripes' in the same colour? It will get a smile if nothing else!

Clean and degrease and paint the fork-holders, as above, if you want to. Otherwise just clean it and the forks ready for re-assembly. Wipe any bare metal with grease and leave until you finish painting. then wipe and wipe and wipe again to clean the metal but leave enough grease to protect. There is a need to clean but not grease the forks themselves. Just maybe put a little grease on the parts of the forks that run along the fork-holders.

Remove the strips of Masking-tape and either, with a small brush or a rag apply some good grease to the clean surface. Remember, it may not be cleaned like this for five or ten years so do all you can while it is out of use. I had to fit new battery leads on the battery nearest the back end of the machine. Then reassemble.

Good luck and take care, those forks are heavy.

The hardest part of any paint job is the prep. As pointed out keep it proportional to the intentions of the job. Get some bondo ready if you get aggressive in grinding off paint from the counter weight. Those are just large castings and it is common to fill in rough spots with body filler at the factory. Don't be afraid of it. Follow the directions on the can and it will be fine so long as you keep the layers thin and give it plenty of time to cure out. But, as for the paint I would use an enamel type paint. I buy mine at farm stores such as Rural King and Tractor Supply Company (TSC). Spend the extra $10.00 for the can of hardener. I used this on a carry-all platform I built for my tractor. I have since wrapped chains through the stake pockets and have had rocks spill over the top when filling it with a loader. Yes there are some chips but not anywhere near what there would have been without the hardener. Also buy a good paint gun. Remember you do not have to have the best. Mine was around $40 or $50 when I got it 11 years ago. Clean it well when you are done and it will last a very long time. I don't run a body shop so it only gets used a few times a year. Pick up a water separator as well. Water will condense in your air hose and can ruin a paint job. I like the plastic bulbs that attach to the gun. They are filled with gauze so they are cheap and work great. Depending on your humidity and dew point where you will be working you may not need one. I use one every time regardless of the conditions just to be safe. When spraying the primer keep the first coat very thin. I normally can still see the old paint and bare metal through the first coat. Put it on to heavy and it has nothing to cling to to keep it from running. The following coat will bond with the first more readily that the first will with the metal and old paint. If you do get a run then it can be wiped off if it is a small painted area or let it dry and cut the high spot off with a razor blade. You could also use self etching primer and not scuff sand everything before priming. Oh, and don't forget to wipe it down before spraying primer. I like to use an air hose to blow off the dust from the item and the shop floor before using the tack rags. I forgot to clean the floor once. I blew dust up into the fresh paint. That was not a happy moment.

A quick trick for masking hoses is to use aluminum foil. The type from the grocery store. Just crunch it around the hose length and tape off the fittings at the ends. It's faster to put on than the ususal paper and tape and it's faster to take off. And you don't have to worry if the tape will stick to an oily hose.

There are several types of primers and I am not an expert. I do know that filler types give a rough surface but they are intended to be sanded. The main purpose of those is to fill in scratches. I normally use the primer found next to the enamel paint in the farm store. I never sand any primered or finished painted surfaces for this type of paint job. The finish is very smooth and has a nice gloss.

Here is the process I use.

Apply primer in thin coats until you can not see the old paint or bare metal. Usually 2-3 coats does it.

Let the primer cure out over night. Sometimes I will spray the primer in the morning and after lunch start the color coats. It depends on the weather since my shop is not heated.

Apply color coats. The first should be very thin to tack up the surface. After that I put on thicker layers but be careful of runs. Spray all inside corners first. Let the area next to them dry a little before spraying. That way you can minimise the chance for runs. The time between coats depends on temperature, humidity, and viscosity. When the previous coat gets dry enough the hair on the back of your hand will feel like it is touching masking tape when you touch the surface, then spray the next coat. Do not use your fingers to test as they will leave indentions or smudges. I normally apply 3-4 coats of color to get the thickness I desire. You can apply more if you wish.

So long as you apply thin coats in this manner and do not let color dry completely you will not have to sand. If the color dries to much then it should be allowed to cure and must be scuff sanded before applying another coat. Since temperature, humidity, and viscosity make a big difference in how the paint goes on I make a test spray on a piece of card board. This helps me adjust the spray pattern and adjust my speed. Keep in mind that the card board will absorb the paint and runs will not occur as easily. But it will give you a good starting point. I do not own a viscosity meter. I will mix the paint and thinner or reducer based on the directions but I do not use measuring cups. Then after stirring I will hold the stirring stick above the paint pot and count in seconds how long it takes for the paint to stop running off the tip and begins to drip. Then each pot I mix after that I will shoot for about the same count. I would not mix paint for a car this way, but this is industrial painting not automotive. I also use a regulator that hooks onto my belt. This lets me dial in the air pressure as I work. You do not have to have this type but the paint gun must be on a regulated line. To much pressure can make it impossible to get a good coat as well as damage some types of guns. I saw the pot blown off the bottom of a gun once because of this. I had a great view, since I was the one holding it. Turned out that it was not the siphoning type I was used to. It actually had a sealed pot and used the air pressure to displace the paint into the air stream at the nozzle. You do remember I said I was not an expert right?