Anyone wax their tractor?

Killer RC · Oct 26, 2013

360 said:
Just bought my first Kubota and plan to get it cleaned up in the spring unless we get a nice warm day yet this fall. Is the hood a solid plastic with the color all the way through or just topcoated? Previous owner took really nice care of it, I just have a quite a few scratches on the hood from low hanging branches that I'd like to buff out.

Any suggestions on the best way to go about that would be greatly appreciated.

Wax will not fix scratches. It can only hide them a little.
To actually fix scratches you need to use polish. Think of polish as a really light abrasive that smoothes out the scratch so that it doesn't reflect light, and almost disappears. You can polish by hand, but itll leave your arms sore. Polishing with a buffer will speed things up a lot. Orbital buffers can be safely used by most anybody. Only pros should use rotary buffers. Rotary buffers can remove paint if you don't know what you're doing. There's videos on youtube.

If the scratch is down to primer or metal then don't polish. You need touchup paint to fill it.

Polishing does not leave any protection. It just smoothes and preps the surface for wax. You wax after you polish.
Wax leaves a protective layer and adds deeper shine.
Carnauba wax will leave a real deep shine, but it only lasts a few months. Synthetic wax can last a year or more, but it's shine will not be as rich. Most people use Synthetic wax. If the bottle doesn't say Carnauba or Natural on it, then it's probably Synthetic.

Bulldog · Oct 26, 2013

Call me crazy, I wash and wax my tractors all the time. My wife always shook her head and said I was full of bull mud because of the way I treated the tractors. If I'm going to work on a road side the first order of business is a wash job. It's not the point of it's going to get dirty, it how good it looks when I get to the field. I'm a firm believer of clean equipment and 20 yrs down the road the tractors that were kept washed and waxed will show the difference. Not only will they still run good but they will look good as well.

ebtdm · Oct 27, 2013

Wow........
I am new here and just never ever heard of anyone waxing a tractor till now. I grew up round dairy farms with large tractors. Moved to the Midwest for quite a few years and got fairly close to even larger tractors. Now I live back East again on a few acres of forested property with a compact tractor for the past 15 years. Always done my own maintenance on everything. I do keep all my tools cleaned, lubed appropriately and repaired or replaced as required. Always getting a minimum of 200K or 20-30 years. Trucks and tractors are tools that serve a purpose and must earn their keep. Cars are for show and to take on family outings. Cars get waxed. Tools do not.

Just the thoughts of an old man. No offense intended, just trying not to have the girls laugh at me, although that being said they do like nice and shiny.

Kind of like a dog with a squirrel.

300zx · Oct 27, 2013

ebtdm said:
Wow........
I am new here and just never ever heard of anyone waxing a tractor till now. I grew up round dairy farms with large tractors. Moved to the Midwest for quite a few years and got fairly close to even larger tractors. Now I live back East again on a few acres of forested property with a compact tractor for the past 15 years. Always done my own maintenance on everything. I do keep all my tools cleaned, lubed appropriately and repaired or replaced as required. Always getting a minimum of 200K or 20-30 years. Trucks and tractors are tools that serve a purpose and must earn their keep. Cars are for show and to take on family outings. Cars get waxed. Tools do not.

Just the thoughts of an old man. No offense intended, just trying not to have the girls laugh at me, although that being said they do like nice and shiny. Kind of like a dog with a squirrel.

ebtdm, no offense taken. I am an old man from a farm in the Midwest, too, but I remember my brother and I farming 250 acres in the 50's with my dad's M International and DC Case. In 1960, he bought a new 3010 diesel John Deere with 4 row attachments. I really enjoyed that tractor and would run it day and night. It was always stored inside and at the end of harvest, it got its maintenance, a bath and well deserved wax. Maybe it was the fact that I was a teenager full of energy and a love for John Deere diesel tractors, but I remember my Dad always smiling as I cleaned it up.

I also dated in our Ford F150. It always got a bath and an occasional wax. The absolute requirement was a wash of the rubber mats before a date with my wife of 47 years. You see, it was our chore truck and it had a lot of smelly debris/manure from our feeder calf and hog lots!! I just hoped it wouldn't be a cold night and I wouldn't have the smell of the heater to contend with! BTW, she also enjoyed bringing me lunch to the field and riding on that shiny John Deere fender!!

With respect to everyone and there opinions,
John in VA

Eric McCarthy · Oct 27, 2013

I look as it as you get out of it exactly what you put in it and how you treat it. Maintain it right and don't abuse something and it'll last you a long time.

zman8537 · Oct 28, 2013

Eric McCarthy said:
I look as it as you get out of it exactly what you put in it and how you treat it. Maintain it right and don't abuse something and it'll last you a long time.

+1 I agree totally! I just purchased an L4600HST last week and I hit all the shiny bolts and pieces with some metal protectant and once it was dry I gave the tractor a wax job. I am kinda thinking about getting the floorboard coated with Rhinolining as well. I want her to last a long time! Hopefully the last tractor I will have to buy.

Bulldog · Oct 28, 2013

I have a good friend that has a farm not far from me that I help out. He has several tractors but the 2 that really go along with this thread would be his JD 4440 and 4640. Both are around 1980 models but are in amazing shape. Both run strong and we work them hard pulling big plows and such. Only thing wrong with either is the way they look. I'm sure neither one has been waxed ever and have never been parked under cover so lots of rust on the hood. If the outside of these had been cared for as well as the mechanical part I bet both would still look new.

I know it makes me feel like I'm doing the right thing when I pull in a field and someone wants to know when I bought a new tractor. They hardly ever believe me when I say 2004.
Take a little pride in your ride, it'll thank you for it.

tractor boy · Oct 29, 2013

3 pages of tractor waxin'...that's awesome.

Benhameen · Oct 29, 2013

This is a good question, I've thought about asking if anyone else power washes their tractor and waxing is just taking it to the next level. Mine could use both at the moment. It's supposed to be up near 70 around here this week, so I'll probably pull mine out and give her a bath.

I learned the value of keeping toys clean when I got into dirt bikes. A couple buddies took it to the extreme but there was a lesson to be learned for me.

1. It's much easier to work on something that is clean.

2. The resale value is always better when something is kept clean. You can clean it up before you sell it but it won't look the same as keeping it clean.

I like the idea of a spray on wax, may get into the nooks and crannies that just waxing would not.

Saxman · Oct 29, 2013

I have a 2006 L3830HST and it is washed and waxed on a regular basis. It boils down to dollars and cents to me. When or if I ever decide to sell or trade it I am sure I will be rewarded with more money in my pocket. I am meticulous on doing all the maintenance and documenting it but if a tractor looks bad it appears not to have been maintained. I traded my. 9 year old ZD21 in on a ZD326. When the dealer looked at it he was impressed and was glad that I had a service log he could pass along to the next owner that documented all the maintenance this was all reflected in the deal I got so I don't think the time or money were wasted

hodge · Oct 29, 2013

zman8537 said:
+1 I agree totally! I just purchased an L4600HST last week and I hit all the shiny bolts and pieces with some metal protectant and once it was dry I gave the tractor a wax job. I am kinda thinking about getting the floorboard coated with Rhinolining as well. I want her to last a long time! Hopefully the last tractor I will have to buy.

That's an interesting digression from the topic- I wish that Kubota would treat the floorboard with Rhinoliner or the like- it wouldn't add much cost to the tractor, but would be a valuable addition.

Benhameen · Nov 4, 2013

Well I did it yesterday, power washed and then waxed my L3800. I used the spray on wipe off wax and it worked like a charm.

The only issue I had was grease from my FEL got splattered all over. I had to take a rag soaked in simple green and scrub it off. Is there such a thing as over greasing? Also, does anyone use purple power on the tractor? I was told by a friend that its the best thing to use to remove all the old grease but wasn't sure how well the paint would like a degreaser like that.

I did go ahead and grease everything again,after I was done cleaning.

BadDog · Nov 4, 2013

Purple Power (and it's siblings) works fantastic to remove grease and gunk. But is it very "basic", and will often damage (fade/remove) paint. Better paints are less likely to be damaged, and reduction plus not leaving it on long helps, but I would be careful using it for general cleaning on a tractor for which I considered waxing required.

Fredhargis · Nov 4, 2013

Hell, I haven't even washed mine yet (after 3 1/2 years)...maybe I should rethink this?????

psvines · Nov 4, 2013

Fredhargis said:
Hell, I haven't even washed mine yet (after 3 1/2 years)...maybe I should rethink this?????

Too funny, 4 pages of waxing tractors. My BX is 4+ years and only occasionally gets wiped off, annually at best. But I maintain it well! As for looking nice for resell value... I don't plan on ever getting rid of it and the wife will probably use it someday to put me in the ground.

Eric McCarthy · Nov 4, 2013

We wash and wax our cars, trucks, boats and motorcycles why not a tractor? There is no shame in taking pride in your tractor.

kubotaman574 · Nov 5, 2013

So we Wax our Tractors, BUT who Buffs Them Out?

Wildfire · Nov 5, 2013

kubotaman574 said:
So we Wax our Tractors, BUT who Buffs Them Out?

I do. 3-M rubbing compound and buffer

kubotaman574 · Nov 5, 2013

Then I'm NOT Crazy. I have Waxed mine 3 Times and Buffed it Once.

Wildfire · Nov 5, 2013

kubotaman574 said:
Then I'm NOT Crazy. I have Waxed mine 3 Times and Buffed it Once.

Well that really proves nothing. All it says is your just as crazy as I am

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