How to keep your tractor clean?

[Wishbonez51]

The big question!

How do you keep your tractor clean around the zirk fittings with the grease seeping out and causing a mess?

Washing the tractor is a huge chore in my opinion. Lots of areas and spots for dirt to get into as apposed to an automobile. The areas that are most difficult for me at the moment is the grease spots where grease makes its way out of the pins.

In 3 days of working on our projects with "Big Papa Smurf", our dirt is so bad and dry here that dust piles on the tractor real bad. If my dirt had more moisture in it things would be different. If we can finally get pictures to work, I have plenty to upload of our progress on the projects and pictures of the tractor clean and filthy. I greased up all the pins tonight after a very long wash and ready for work again tomorrow morning at 4:30 am.

So let me know how you wash and keep those critical areas clean?

Thanks

 

[Thomas]

I use power washer set on heavy mist in those tender places nozzle setting other areas,also I never wash/spray tractor when running.

 

[Rock Crawler]

I bring an old rag to the tractor and plow the excess grease with my fingers, lump it into the rag, plow the next and lump it to the rag until the rag is over full or I finish, then I toss the rag in a box that is going to the burn pile. If I am actually washing the tractor, I will wash it (not often at all, I don't really care about it being dirty) and then grease it to push water out of the pins, do the finger wipe thing, then if I really feel like getting all fancy I will use rags and WD-40 and try to shoe-shine in the gaps to pull the residue grease. But honestly, I don't worry about doing the clean thing. I will pressure wash mud from the wheels and tires as well as the operator platform (from my boots dragging mud up), but I do not do much else. It's been a couple months and over 75 hours since I last washed it.

 

[oosik]

Well - whenever I do something with the tractor that gets mud or dirt on it - I wash it off with a standard nozzle on my garden hose.

I purchase old cotton T-shirts that have been ripped into rags and use them to clean the grease zerks and surrounding area when I lube the tractor. These are then thrown in my burn barrel and go up in smoke monthly.

I have a pressure washer but have never used nor needed to use it on the tractor.

 

[Egon]

A bucket of water with dish soap and soak a rag for the grease be gone areas.

 

[LS Tractor Owner]

I use the wd40 on a paper towel, cleans off the excess grease pretty good. I have the rubber 'caps' on all the zerks to keep the fine dirt dust off them. They are really cheap on ebay for a pack of 50. Usually wash the tractor with dish soap /water and a small towel for the non greasy areas like the hood, side panels, etc.

 

[RayfromTX]

All good suggestions. I am enjoying my new electric pressure washer. It is always hooked up and ready to go with a twist of a knob and a flip of a switch. I don't try to be perfect but a little cleaning goes a long way farther than nothing.

 

[mslisaj]

Well I'm a clean freak about my tractor too. The first vehicle I ever bought new in my life and I kind of want to keep it looking like that. So after working it I will wash off the dirt with a garden hose and wipe it down completely with a towel to shine it. As far as the greasing goes I grease it after every use so it's ready the next time and I wil spend about an hour wiping out the extra grease from all the joints and keeping those areas clean. It's a pain and a chore but my tractor always looks nice and it's ready to go for the next time. Plus I don't have to worry about brushing up against it and getting grease on my clothes. If I worked the tractor every day I'm sure I would not be as fastidious about this but I understand the issue and work hard to get rid of the extra grease.
I know.......... Silly me!!

 

[Wishbonez51]

Great suggestions everybody. I keep my sports cars in pristine condition with no scratches and I am real **** how I wash and wax them. I know these are tractors and are meant to do serious work. But, I spent a lot of money on this tractor that I need it to last and work for me for the next 30+ years. Dirt can cause damage to a tractor as dirt is nothing more than granular sand which is a sanding agent.

As for the grease areas. I have some special Qtips I use to detail my cars, but some of these areas are real tight and not able to get into them. I think adding more grease is the only thing that we can do to keep grease lubing the bolts and keeping the dirt out. So I think taking a rag and using my finger to wipe up chunks of grease, followed by WD40 may be a good thing. However, does WD40 do any damage to paint? I know regular dawn dish soap will strip wax of cars in which I use when stripping a vehicle for detailing. But our tractors are an enamel paint and no clear coat is there to protect the paint.

So does anybody wax there tractor such as the hood and fenders? I know this is highly unlikely for me as I keep her in the AC shop. But after years of working out in the sun, it can and will fade the paint. So I am actually thinking I will put on a wax that I can apply once or twice a year to keep her looking amazing.

 

[Rock Crawler]

WD40 doesn't hurt paint, so no worries there.

I have my Kubota waxed with Four Star Ultimate Paint Protection, it's a professional detailers sealant, no carnauba and it lasts about 8 months.

As to keeping it clean like you folks, you all obviously do not use it daily as a tool. Mine is outside 6 days a week from around 7AM to around 3PM managing material. If I wanted to keep it clean it would take me an hour or two every day. Not happening. It moves concrete and asphalt the same clean as it does dirty

I'm guessing that some of you store the tractor waiting to have a use another day. We have dumps showing up here every day from morning to mid afternoon, and there are times where it's even happening in Sunday. It's amazing how much fill you will get from a Craigslist ad! Hopefully at the end of 2019 I'll be done. I'm at 150 hours in 5 months since buying this. I'll easily make 300 hours on it this first year.

 

[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.