How to keep your tractor clean?

[melmark]

Foam cannon...love it

 

[Egon]

Clean looks good. On the other hand a little grease covered with dust can build up and keep the Rust at bay!

 

[4570Man]

With a hot water pressure washer.

 

[newbury]

Clean is in the eye of the beholder - to me if it doesn't affect or threaten to affect the workings of the equipment it's a non-issue. A little grease build up around zerks gets taken care of the next greasing. Any grease/oil/dust build up near the radiator gets taken care of immediately. A thin film of grease and dust seems to coat my B7610's engine. It has not appreciably thickened since 2009. It gets ignored.

 

[Rock Crawler]

Clean is in the eye of the beholder - to me if it doesn't affect or threaten to affect the workings of the equipment it's a non-issue. A little grease build up around zerks gets taken care of the next greasing. Any grease/oil/dust build up near the radiator gets taken care of immediately. A thin film of grease and dust seems to coat my B7610's engine. It has not appreciably thickened since 2009. It gets ignored.

I think that a lot of it has to deal with what the owner does with the machine. If I used mine occasionally and it sat in the garage for days at a time, I could see me cleaning it up after using it. That way it would look all pretty when I see it. But if you are getting it dirty every single day, all day and it goes to the garage for the night every evening so that it can come back out at first light to start again, trying to clean it is wasted time and time that you just do not have. When the tractor is done, it's time to eat, get grass cut and do the other things needed including sleep and go to work.

But, my garden tractors... I do wash them every 2-3 uses. They are kept very clean and waxed. THey also sit in the garage for 5-7 days between uses and are only run for a few hours each use. The Kubota is a hammer, it has nails to drive every day.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Both my tractors mostly set under the shed. I occasionally take a garden hose to them to wash off the accumulated dust and / or bird droppings. If I am using it in the mud, I immediately hose it down when I am finished but as for normal dust and or grease, I clean around the zerks before greasing but only maybe once a year will I take a pressure washer to the pin areas to blast off the accumulated dirt and grease and this is mainly so I don't get it on my clothes when operating the tractor. I am more concerned with keeping the operator platform relatively clean than with the rest of the tractor.
The older I get the less I am concerned with a sparkling clean vehicle and especially not the tractors.

 

[oosik]

When I was younger and gave a darn - I would wash and wax all my vehicles. As I got older - I would wash all my vehicles. Now that I am old - I pull my vehicles out of the carport a couple time a year and let it rain on them. God brings the dirt - let him take it away.

And like GF said - my main concern with the tractor - removal of fresh mud/dirt and keeping the operator area clean. I hate coming in the house and looking like the tar baby.

It does VERY LITTLE good to make vehicles bright, shiny and sparkly around here. Like today - 7mph wind out of the SW. EVERYTHING is being coated with a fine layer of volcanic ash. 1980 - MT ST Helen's will never go away.

 

[robertsa]

I just drive fast enough that the dirt can't stick. :steeringwheel: :checkeredflag:

 

[alexsbuddy]

I start by using a compressor and blowing off all of the loose dirt, grass, dust, etc... Compressed air is great for those hard to reach nook and crannies. I then spray it down with a normal garden hose and spray nozzle which helps to remove more dirt. I then wash it using a mild mixture of Dawn liquid dish soap and warm water and rinse with the hose. I leave some grease buildup around the grease fittings as it helps to prevent corrosion. If I need to remove grease or grime from other areas I will use WD40 and an old soft rag. I wax the tractor once a year as it is stored in the barn when not in use and this helps to maintain the finish. I will use Armor All on the dash/console areas only and non-ammonia glass cleaner on the clear instrument panel. I basically do the same thing, at the same time, with all my tractors (farm, garden, lawn). Like most in this forum....I love my tractors!

 

[PILOON]

Well we have about 5 miles of dirt road and the snow contractor uses a sand that has a lot of clay in it.
No vehicle can be kept clean, much less a tractor.

On a dry day the cloud of fine dust can probably be seen from the international space station!

Shame is I have a nice sporty convertible and can not take the top down and U should see the dirty mess under my car hoods.
While I like a clean engine compartment I fear washing away that grime due to the electronics.