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Cleaning an old tractor

P

Papa J

New User
Does anyone have any tips on how to get 60+ years of grease and grime off a tractor? Have tried Dawn dish soap and the like, are there any water-based degreasers?
 
Scraping is a first step. It allows far more rapid removal of remaining stuck on material. Gunk is one product name that has had success in degreasing. (following directions as to application time and rinsing is important. Oven cleaner is also optional, but often removes paint, and if gotten on plastic, or wiring, can be a real problem. Pressure washing can be done carefully to avoid gasket lines, electrical, and control linkages (not a best solution for a tractor that will remain running, Ok for pre-disassembly for major rebuilds. Protect the floor if inside or on paved driveway to avoid major stains. Jim
 
dawn dish soap is only good on ducks... so they say. even spraying diesel on old grease will loosen it up by letting it sit then pressure wash it. there is so many degreasers out there hard to pick the right one. those environmental ones dont seam as good. or as a last resort you get the mrs. out there with a small scrapper and give her the afternoon job.
 
I run mine into the carwash only 3 miles away, but I've learned I'll get water into everything, like the air cleaner cup, voltage regulator, etc.
 
For greasy baked on dirt, Purple Power or aerosol oven cleaner work well.

Anything you can scrape away first will let the cleaner get down closer to the source.

If you are trying to save the paint, be careful, straight Purple Power will remove or bleach paint.

A pressure washer will get down in the small crevasses, hot water, or steam will work best if available.
 
I found purple power out works well. Be careful because it might take the paint off. Dont use it on a car with good paint.
 
Oven cleaner will work but you need to scrape off as much as you can and oven cleaner will take off the paint.
 

After scraping off as much as possible, I use paint thinner. That cuts through that old grease about as good as anything, and when it dries it does not leave a greasy film the way diesel fuel would. An old toothbrush works good for getting into tight spots.
 
Depends on what you are doing. If it's just clean you want purple power works pretty good. If you have or can rent the equipment steaming it off works good. If you are trying to clean it to paint then you might want to use something more aggressive like oven cleaner. It will damage the paint if not remove it in spots. Either way it comes down to mostly elbow grease.

Note: If you get purple power from Walmart it will be watered down. What I get at Tractor Supply works a lot better.
 

Dawn is made for putting your hands into and for washing crude oil off birds while leaving the skin on. Don't expect it to do any serious degreasing. Dollar store oven cleaner is the tried and true weapon. Anything with sodium hydroxide will remove about a mm at an application. The easiest and fastest way is with a scraper which can be unpleasant underneath if you have oven cleaner dripping on you, so it is best to bite the bullet and start off with the scraper. After getting 90% scraped off it is time to spray the oven cleaner on with a trigger sprayer, give it 10 minutes to work, then go at it with the HOT water pressure washer. Water spray has a lot more force than steam.
 
(quoted from post at 16:55:28 09/02/20)
(quoted from post at 16:28:48 09/02/20) I run mine into the carwash only 3 miles away
Click to expand...

Boy, I bet they love to have you do that! LOL
Click to expand...

Over the years I have brought everything from off road mud trucks to heavily soiled stock trailers to greasy equipment to carwashes before I bought my own pressure washer.

Being neighborly I have stopped in the office first before making a mess in the wash bay.

Most just said no problem go ahead and wash it out , that's what were here for.

I had one that said if it won't wash down the drain I have a shovel and wheelbarrow we can scoop up what's left.
 
(quoted from post at 20:31:14 09/02/20) Steam clean.
Click to expand...


David G, where do you find a steam cleaner to use? I haven't seen one in 50 years. I don't see how they can be very effective compared to hot water. 15 psi vs. 1500 psi.
 
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