Do any of y'all seal, wax or ceramic coat your tractor??

[AirOpsMgr]

A thought occurred to me today when I was applying a DIY "Ceramic coat" to my car this morning, now I'm curious if any of y'all do any kind of paint protection on your tractors?

For those with older tractors and you don't see a need, I fully understand & no need to reply; But for those with newer tractors that feel there is an advantage to protect paint, make it easier to wash off the dirt and grime every few weeks, what have you done and does it make routine cleaning any easier?

In my case, I did a full detail on one of our cars using many steps and got to thinking that maybe I should try to do something to the paint on my Kioti that's coming up on 2 yrs old ... Couldn't care less about shine and such, but does it help with wash downs? If my tractor is super dirty, I'll hit it with a car foam cannon and then just pressure wash it, always gets most of the dirt and grime off.

In my car's case, 2nd owner with over 52K miles, drive it weekly and not a "garage queen" paint job by any means, so it was a full wash, iron decontamination, clay bar, then get out the buffer to do swirl remover and apply a polish, then prep the surface with Isopropyl alcohol and apply 2 coats of Meguiars M888 "beyond ceramic" coating, way more than I'd do for the tractor, lol

While I'd never go to that level of paint correction on my tractor, I do wonder if a good wash / decon / ceramic coat would be worthwhile to keep the paint looking decent on a 2 yr old tractor and making washes easier / faster for years to come? Keep paint from fading just a little while longer? Or, will applying something like a "ceramic coat" just get beat to hell and wear off too quickly (considering grease, oil, etc) to make a difference in the long run?

Pics below of the car detail, and I certainly wouldn't need such a finish on the tractor, but if a ceramic coat helps preserve the paint, I might consider spending some time applying it to the tractor as I have lots of product left over....

Constructive thoughts / comments? (and yes, I'm well aware it's a tractor, it is & will continue to be beat up), but simply curious if others have applied any type of protection and seen a noticeable long-wearing difference when washing off the day's or week's grime, prevent fading, etc??

Thanks all & best regards,
Greg

 

[Tpondel]

It lucky to be washed monthly.

 

[jyoutz]

I read a post by someone on another tractor forum who said that he washed his tractor with a cup of wd-40 in five gallons of water. He claimed that it protects paint, rubber, and decals and keeps it looking new.

 

[AirOpsMgr]

I'm guilty of not washing for several months at a time, usually it comes when I can't tell there's supposed to be orange paint under the dirt and grime, that's when it gets a wash, lol!

Just curious if doing a protectant helps speed up the wash process. Never heard of WD-40 for a coating, I wonder if the residuals would cause additional build up

 

[jyoutz]

I'm guilty of not washing for several months at a time, usually it comes when I can't tell there's supposed to be orange paint under the dirt and grime, that's when it gets a wash, lol!

Just curious if doing a protectant helps speed up the wash process. Never heard of WD-40 for a coating, I wonder if the residuals would cause additional build up

The guy that posted that said that they also treated aircraft with that wash treatment.

 

[jyoutz]

Here’s a copy and paste from the other forum. He actually uses three cups per 5 gallons.

“No soap. 3 cups WD40 in a 5-gal bucket….forcefully add water…used for soap/detergent. It dissolves grease, and leaves a “chamois” finish that water beads-up and runs off. Lubricates rubber weatherstripping and gets into crevices, lubricates hinges/latches and prevents rust. (This is an old “Hints from Heloise” trick…only she recommended kerosene in water instead of WD40 for car wash. I use this same formula on my never-polished in over 20+ -years, 1953 airplane instead of soap (which dulls aluminum.) Blah! No Soap!)”

 

[AirOpsMgr]

The guy that posted that said that they also treated aircraft with that wash treatment.

Yup, I've been in the aviation industry for a while & have heard that debated many times for many applications. I do my best to stay out of those conversations as it usually leads to a socket wrench being thrown and someone shouting "You youngins don't know a G D thing when it comes to wrenchin on a G D aircraft!!!" .... so as soon as the conversation gets to that point, I walk the other way and keep my trap shut!

 

[AirOpsMgr]

Here’s a copy and paste from the other forum. He actually uses three cups per 5 gallons.

“No soap. 3 cups WD40 in a 5-gal bucket….forcefully add water…used for soap/detergent. It dissolves grease, and leaves a “chamois” finish that water beads-up and runs off. Lubricates rubber weatherstripping and gets into crevices, lubricates hinges/latches and prevents rust. (This is an old “Hints from Heloise” trick…only she recommended kerosene in water instead of WD40 for car wash. I use this same formula on my never-polished in over 20+ -years, 1953 airplane instead of soap (which dulls aluminum.) Blah! No Soap!)”

Interesting, never have heard the old timers bringing it up as a final coat, they always talked about degreasing and prepping with it, using it on propellers, on hoses, etc ... maybe I'll ask some of the old timers at the job (as long as there's no socket wrenches nearby that they can throw at me), lol

 

[jyoutz]

Interesting, never have heard the old timers bringing it up as a final coat, they always talked about degreasing and prepping with it, using it on propellers, on hoses, etc ... maybe I'll ask some of the old timers at the job (as long as there's no socket wrenches nearby that they can throw at me), lol

Please report back what they say.

 

[Skeletor]

No it’s a tractor it’s gonna get real dirty real fast. As I get older I meticulously cleaning cars isn’t really on my list of priorities anymore. My 69 charger and hellcat challenger are garage kept but I couldn’t even tell you the last time I properly cleaned them.

 

[AirOpsMgr]

No it’s a tractor it’s gonna get real dirty real fast. As I get older I meticulously cleaning cars isn’t really on my list of priorities anymore. My 69 charger and hellcat challenger are garage kept but I couldn’t even tell you the last time I properly cleaned them.

Fair enough, and congrats on the fine Mopar specimens, sir!

 

[Midniteoyl]

I rinse mine off with a hose, and clean out the screens and radiators, after mowing the field and once in awhile in between. If you are using a foam cannon, I can't see not using a decent ceramic wash/rinse. I wouldn't be polishing it by hand though

 

[AirOpsMgr]

I rinse mine off with a hose, and clean out the screens and radiators, after mowing the field and once in awhile in between. If you are using a foam cannon, I can't see not using a decent ceramic wash/rinse. I wouldn't be polishing it by hand though

I wish I could just rinse mine off with a hose, but to get all the crap off, especially GA clay, I usually have to use soap (foam cannon helps loosen up the tougher dirt & grime faster, I just use a different blend for the tractor). It takes about 1 minute to apply, let it sit for about 10 minutes and then it takes a lot less passes from the pressure washer.

Again, this is why I asked in my original post if any kind of paint surface treatments helped making routine wash-downs easier / faster for others....

 

[Richard]

Mine get washed, every time it rains... I let mother nature take care of that however, I will say, a week ago, I had the cover off and had full access to engine (in backhoe). This part doesn't get rained on much so actually has quite a bit of dirt/dust/muck accumulated over 20+ years.... so while engine cover was off, I took power washer to it and got most of it cleaned off.

 

[Johndeere3720]

I probably wash my tractor once or twice a month. I use a hot water pressure washer which does a great job cutting through any smeared grease and have a few different degreasers for when it’s really bad. Typically in the winter I wax the green panels on the tractor, it does give it some shine but mainly it makes washing easier later on. It’s certainly no show piece but for a 20 year old tractor it still cleans up nice.

 

[RjCorazza]

I'm in the occasionally wash and wax camp. There's not that much painted area on my tractor, and it only takes a few minutes with my product choice.
I use ProtectAll RV "wax" on my vehicles and tractor. Wipe on, lightly wipe off, and it goes on paint, rubber, gaskets, and glass.

 

[oosik]

I wash the Taco Wagon( 2018 Ram HD 2500 Power Wagon ) about once per month. I wax it once in the spring. I hose down the tractor when it gets dirty. I have never waxed the tractor.

 

[MoKelly]

I was told never use a pressure washer on the tractor - can push water into places you don’t want any water like seals and grease points.

Is this not true?

I just hand wash with mild soapy water and spray off with a hose.

Then, I will apply some wax.

 

[masseyrider]

Not since my nephew got old enough to buy his own Ice cream.

 

[Fixastuff]

I read a post by someone on another tractor forum who said that he washed his tractor with a cup of wd-40 in five gallons of water. He claimed that it protects paint, rubber, and decals and keeps it looking new.

We all know the water would jump out of the bucket and you’d just have a cup of wb40 in there. lol.