Out Pesky Swirl Marks !

[flwiii]

Really, I thought it was strange that you were buffing your tractor. Most tractors I see don't look like they've got paint. Maybe they do underneath all the dust and dirt. Then I looked at your attachment.

You will never be able to get the swirl marks out with a rotary grinder/buffer. It is not the nature of the beast. You need a really good orbital polisher and to back down in stages on the polishes used. On my auto's I never use a rotary grinder/buffer. Only an orbital polisher. If there is some oxidation I use a separate bonnet with Meguires #2. This is a fine grit liquid compound. With a new bonnet I work in Mequires #9 (Anti-swirl polish). Then if I really want a car so slick that a cat can't walk on it, I use Mequire (Banana wax). can't remember the number, but it smells like bananas and it is some sort of plastic polish, then I, with a separate bonnet again go to Liquid Ebony, then finish off with Meguires #16 (Carnuba wax).

BUT REALLY WHO BUT ME WASHES and WAXES HIS TRACTOR!!!!

But again I'm just a yuppie with too much time on his hands.

 

[Ductape]

I really meant it kind of tongue-in-cheek. I know most would never think of buffing their tractors, but i had just bought it recently. It had been in the back lot of a dealer collecting dust for at least a year and a half. I just figured that since it was new to me..... i'd wash and degrease it, and even shine up the paint a bit.

 

[flwiii]

Not a bad thought. I personally like to keep mine clean and waxed, not necessarily buffed and polished.

It is a nice looking Yanmar, and yes I realized you were being "tongue in cheek" when you posted. I just added the extra verbage after seeing what you were using to shine it up some. I guess it was the 9 years I spent in Final Finish for Sea Ray Boats. We used large grinder/buffers there to buff out the fiberglass gelcoat. It's a bit thicker and tougher than automotive paint.

 

[JimMorrissey]

I wash and wax my hood and some other large painted parts once a year. I think it's a good idea to keep her looking good long term. I have a friend who has a three year old B series that's never cleaned it once and it looks beaten on and abused. I'm really surprised it looks so bad for its age. A solid cleaning and a wax job once a year is a good thing especially if it's left outside for any length of time, which mine isn't /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif It may seem like a waste of time for a tractor, but it honestly makes a difference....worth the hour or so or work and it's not overly demanding.

 

[JRP]

Your tractor look great. I like Meguires products.

Once in a thread about cleaning the underside of mower decks I replied that I wax the underside of the deck to keep the grass from sticking. The post was just for fun and to see the replies!

My tractor gets washed and waxed once a year, before we use it for a company "beach clean up".

 

[flwiii]

I must be an oddball! I wash off and towel dry the tractor after every use. If you don't towel dry things here, the sun will bake the water spots in and it will be near impossible to remove them. I wax it every 6 months. I also keep it in the shop out of the sun when not in use.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

To hide those nasty swirl marks, I drag tree limbs across the hood while bush hogging, cover everything with a thin layer of dust, the wash and repaint the tractor every 30 years or so, need it or not. I never notice those swirl marks that way.

 

[DiskDoctr]

Some of you must not have studied Latin.

It's a FACT that the word "TRACTOR" comes from the same root as 'LINOLEUM" and actually means "No Wax'em"

/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[DiskDoctr]

Some of you must not have studied Latin.

It's a FACT that the word "TRACTOR" comes from the same root as 'LINOLEUM" and actually means "No Wax'em"

/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif