Removing Grease!

[Jon E]

The former owner of my tractor must have decided that if a little grease was good, then a LOT of grease was better. This also appears to be the only preventive maintenance ever done on this machine. As a result, nearly every painted surface has globs and smears of black sticky (and now frozen) grease all over it. I have tried several things to remove it, including Orange Blast and other citrus cleaners, Simple Green, basic soap and water (Dawn detergent), and just picked up a bottle of Zep Fast 505 with hope that it might help. I am resigned to wiping every single surface off by hand with shop rags and degreaser. Is there a better way, or maybe a better solvent, or am I stuck degreasing my machine square inch by square inch?

 

[jeff9366]

I use Simple Green or WD-40.

Others use diesel fuel as solvent. I do not like to breathe that.

 

[rswyan]

I am resigned to wiping every single surface off by hand with shop rags and degreaser. Is there a better way, or maybe a better solvent, ...

If the grease is dried out (lost it's lighter solvent components), probably not ...

or am I stuck degreasing my machine square inch by square inch?

Probably ...

 

[boggen]

just ditto'ing both folks comments above me. that ya in for a long haul.

a wire brush and a bowl of diesel, and getting messy (splatter every were) might work to get good amount of chunks off. granted scraping the paint off, and marking stuff up but... *shrugs*. make sure ya were eye protection, and a face mask. to keep from eating the stuff. and wear old rag cloths.

 

[BethelHntr]

I use purple power on light grease but on big nasty stuff I rent a steam pressure washer.

 

[Thomas]

Have you try WD40?

 

[s219]

Gasoline!

 

[Wolfy]

One year, as a Christmas gift I got one of those little yellow Karcher electric pressure washers. I laughed and thought it was a toy...until I tried it. It cleans as well as the 13hp NorthStar pressure washer my dad used to have. Unbelievable power. The Vario nozzle really cuts through the grime. And they are cheap, like $150.

 

[firemanmike69]

You could put your solvent of choice in a pump sprayer and spray it on, that's how we do it at work then hit it with a car wash brush and the hot water,the water from your hot water heater will work. Or take it to a cat wash if practical, they usually have decent degreasers and warm water

 

[2458n]

brake cleaner works great.I try to get it on sale at Autozone. It will remove the wax on everything so you have to rewax and regrease the areas that need grease.

 

[blackdog2086]

Odorless mineral spirits on a rag or paper towel works great. You can use regular mineral spirits, but the smell stays around for a long while.

Klean-Strip 1-Qt. Green Odorless Mineral Spirits-QKGO75001 at The Home Depot

 

[skyhook]

Pressure washer and brake cleaner,
spray on the brake cleaner and use the pressure washer.

 

[wedge40]

Oven cleaner when it gets warmer.

 

[keony]

The former owner of my tractor must have decided that if a little grease was good, then a LOT of grease was better. This also appears to be the only preventive maintenance ever done on this machine. As a result, nearly every painted surface has globs and smears of black sticky (and now frozen) grease all over it. I have tried several things to remove it, including Orange Blast and other citrus cleaners, Simple Green, basic soap and water (Dawn detergent), and just picked up a bottle of Zep Fast 505 with hope that it might help. I am resigned to wiping every single surface off by hand with shop rags and degreaser. Is there a better way, or maybe a better solvent, or am I stuck degreasing my machine square inch by square inch?

For the globs and build ups I use plastic putty knifes, but I would wait until it is warm...

 

[varmint]

One helpful tool is something like a wooden Popsicle stick, with the end cut square and beveled like a crude chisel... it will scrape well, but shouldn't hurt the paint underneath the crud. A spray bottle with a solvent is good, too. Hadn't thought of WD40, but it smells better than diesel.

 

[TBarD]

I use a plastic putty knife and paper towels to get most of it off, power wash, then solvent (Purple Power is good) and towels for the final clean up. Then for maintenance I use a high quality grease (TRC Crown and Chassis moly), avoiding over application. The LockNLube grease gun attachment is great to ensure that the grease actually goes where it is supposed to. But a full clean up can take hours or days!

 

[like2wheel]

Oven cleaner when it gets warmer.

Don't do this unless you plan on painting it too.

 

[bcp]

Or take it to a cat wash if practical, they usually have decent degreasers and warm water

Bruce

 

[bigtiller]

I washed a cat once. He put up a good fight but I was more determined.

 

[brt]

In addition to Purple Power, I've found that Klean Strip Liquid Sandpaper works very well. I've used it on a piece of equipment that the owner loved to over-grease. It does not remove paint, but gets it ready to repaint (a project for the Spring), so super-cleaning the paint now is not a concern to me.

Klean Strip | Easy Liquid Sander Deglosser