painting a hi lift /farm hand jack

['round n' back again]

everyone in the woods in the old days would comment whenever something new turned up on someones crummy.
new fuel tank, shovel, cork shoes, power saw, whatever.
jacks were fairly often replaced because they were used for everything they were never intended to be used for. the biggest ruiner of jacks was getting the mast bowed or twisted by off level lifts. they are junk after that.

i found out never paint my jack mast after rebuilding the jack. the paint thickness gums up the jack and makes the pins stick. i see lotsa city guys with fresh painted outfits hanging off their rigs.
i never paint mine and my outfit always looks kinda ratty

 

[PacS14]

City guys have Hi lifts for looks only,thats why they always look shiny. I will eventually might consider spot painting mine but no need to make it look pretty when I use it around the ranch a bit and when I do there's mud and brush involved... So paint will get scratched again and again.

 

[Toasty]

I paint my death jack mast with spray graphite and the pins get dry silicone.

 

[JohnnyBfromPeoria]

Death jack, that's pretty funny. Actually, Shovel's death jack tried to kill him years ago but only got as close as breaking his leg while he was carrying it.

I like the graphite and silicone ideas, Toastmaster.

John B.

 

[coffeegoat]

I really like fluid film for that kind of stuff, it's a lanolin based grease the navy developed for wire cables. Thin enough to spray on, thick enough to stay there and totally natural, you smell like swanky hand lotion after you apply it. Works really well for underbelly protection up north.

 

[Schitzangiggles]

I hit mine with Meguiars Ultimate Wax and it keeps the paint looking nice, keeps crap from sticking to it and ads nothing for practical purposes to the "thickness" of the paint coating and I also find that it gets less bothered by road grime or bind up when using it. For the pins and moving parts I use SLIP2000 EWL or EWG (developed for machine guns to use in all environments) which in addition to being amazing stuff is also appropriate to use on a HiLift because just like a gun the moment you don't treat it with respect and violate the safety rules it will kill or seriously injure you or someone else. I have a friend who was sterilized (can't make crotch fruit) when the handle smacked him in the twig and berries,while changing a tire for the woman he ended up marrying.

Love my HiLift, but be smart and be safe when using it, it doesn't care who you are.

 

[Kevin108]

I'd like to get one from Glock done with their Tennifer treatment.

 

['round n' back again]

i envy you guys that are orderly , organized and even know what slip 2000 ewl is.
im clueless.

my experience with farm hand jacks, is to pull it from the back of the pickup from under a wet pile of wood, or tarps
spend 20 minutes looking for the handle, that someone else used as a cheater bar which or course wallered out the ends so it wont fit,and is lying under the back seat of the crummy, rig it up find out the pins are stuck.
slobber whatever is handy onto the mechanism. ive uses mixed gas in a pinch, find the tire iron , jam a piece of wood in the socket and .....well you get the idea.


i often think that those guys with tidy organized outfits have wonderful wives or are mercelessly organized or never use the gear. one or the other. but ive never been able to go that way.

 

[plh]

i often think that those guys with tidy organized outfits have wonderful wives or are mercelessly organized or never use the gear. one or the other. but ive never been able to go that way.

Or would like to wheel another day. Be safe!