Washing your tractor

[Brian662]

What are you guys using (other than elbow grease) to keep your equipment looking good? Anyone tried the numerous spray-foaming products out there with any success?

Looking to shine a tractor up for auction and also to clean up a tractor that needs a bath!

 

[Wild Thing]

I will be watching this with interest also. I generally rinse mine off with the hose once in a while and power wash it at the end of the planting season but it really needs a little more TLC with something that will break up the grease.

 

[GMan5465]

I used a power washer and a product called “Super Clean” on the stubborn greasy spots. Possibly related to tractor cleaning, if you need to clean up the vinyl, or for your boats, there is a product called Marine 31. We used it to clean up the mold and mildew on the pontoon seats. Stuff just melted off and the seats looked brand new. Unbelievable stuff!

 

[TreeDaddy]

I use a power washer

My sandy soil and lanes in pine stands do a great job of cleaning any bottom land mud from tires

I then use a leaf blower to blow out the cab

bill

 

[Foggy47]

I blow out my radiator screes with my air compressor.....and blow out the cab with a small battery powered leaf blower I just got. I have a soft car wash brush that I use (dry) to clean the dust from the windows at times. Once in a while I will park my tractor outside when its raining......or wash it down with water from the hose. I am not a tractor polisher.....nor big on keeping it clean. I don't abuse it....but, It's a working machine.

 

[Robert86]

Power washer, with hot water. Our washer has a side tube you can put in a soap bucket, but hot water is the key. IMO

 

[Turkey Creek]

Our tractor doesn't have a cab. The next one will, a luxury of getting older LOL. Anyways we use our tractor 2-3 times a week, so no sense in us going over board cleaning it. If it is looking particularly dusty I just take the garden hose to it and a rag to work over the more dirty spots. I will say its nice to see it semi-clean, but it is just like going through the car wash as we live on a rock roads and dust is a way of life.

 

[Maddog66]

Almost every time I use mine (4066r) I rinse it off with the hose before parking it back in the shed. But in the fall I spend a couple of hours giving it a ‘good’ wash with actual soap after using WD40 to clean up all the caked grease everywhere I can find it. I also clean the exterior glass real well and apply a double coat of RainX prior to snowblowing season.

I might try a coat of one of the new ceramic spray on waxes this year. Otherwise I’ve never waxed it.

Inside, just shop vac or leaf blower when it needs it.

 

[rocksnstumps]

Careful with the power washing around the dashboard. Let my buddy borrow my tractor for a few weeks with his yard projects and he power washed it everywhere before I picked back up. Couple gauges have not worked right since.

 

[Keadog]

The foam cannons work very well on my cars. I haven't tried it on the tractor but would have the same concerns above about power washing around exposed electronics. Interestingly, although the foam cannon requires a pressure washer to function, the foam doesn't exit the nozzle with the same velocity as water through the wand that comes with the pressure washer. I think it might be OK to use it to soap up the outside of the machine but I would rinses carefully with a regular hose, not the pressure washer.
If you have a pressure washer, the foam cannons and the soap they use are fairly inexpensive on Amazon. I like the result on the cars...

 

[356]

The foam cannons work very well on my cars. I haven't tried it on the tractor but would have the same concerns above about power washing around exposed electronics. Interestingly, although the foam cannon requires a pressure washer to function, the foam doesn't exit the nozzle with the same velocity as water through the wand that comes with the pressure washer. I think it might be OK to use it to soap up the outside of the machine but I would rinses carefully with a regular hose, not the pressure washer.
If you have a pressure washer, the foam cannons and the soap they use are fairly inexpensive on Amazon. I like the result on the cars...

I’ve never used a foam cannon, but your post got me to order one. For $18, if it works, it will be money well spend, as I struggle to get good soaping with the bucket and sponge method. I’ll post the results after a few uses.

 

[Keadog]

Make sure you get the soap made for them. I think I bought Chemical Brothers brand. I'm away from home until Monday but can check then. Also remember to rinse the nozzles with plain water when finished.

 

[Keadog]

washing my wife's A6:

 

[Foggy47]

I feel it's super important to wash the distributor cap and the plugs on my diesel tractor. Keeps things humming along.

 

[356]

Foggy47, While I have not washed my diesel (or gas) vehicles distributor caps or spark plugs with the foam cannon, it did a great job on the muffler bearings and blinker fluid cap.

Seriously, the foam cannon arrived Sunday and I can say it works great. The one I bought noted I could use any liquid soap, so I used the cheap car-wash soap I bought at Menards at a ratio of 2 oz to 8 oz water. The Menards soap would not foam much using traditional wash mitts and sprayer, so I had low expectation. However, it foamed up like the picture Keadog posted, and made washing my work car, truck and wife’s car a breeze. I look forward to using this on the trailer, tractor and implements, as I like to put them away clean at the end of the season.