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In years gone by, before the EPA classified Anything and Everything as hazardous to your health, my dad used to regularly paint Farmalls. He'd take the hood, gas tank, and grille down to bare metal, and then spray it with the genuine IH paint (2150, I suppose...we just knew it by the part number and "Harvester Red"). The REST of the tractor was steam cleaned with an old (WWII era or before) kerosene-fired steam jenny, using a lye-based product known as "49-S Compound." The 49-S would remove grease, dirt, grime, gunk, old loose paint...and occasionally was used around the shop to clear out stopped-up toilets (I don't recommend that, because it's too hard on the pipes). After the 49-S had a chance to do its magic, the tractor was rinsed with plain water to dilute/neutralize any residual 49-S, and the tractor was gone over with a putty knife and a wire brush to remove any loose paint that hadn't already flaked off. Then, when the tractor was dry, it was ready to mask and paint. Remember, this WASN'T for a show tractor; this was for tractors that were about to be used once the paint was dry...so if it had a shine from across the field, up to 10 feet away, and the sheet metal looked pretty, that was usually "good enough" for the farmers involved.
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