Grease - How do you get it off

[MikeBurr]

Tried to clean up my tractor a little today, but my biggest problem is GREASE. The area that gives me the most trouble is on the loader. After a couple of lubes the old grease tends to build up around the pins and mixed with a little dusty dirt makes a real nice mess that seems to be waiting for me to brush up against it.
If you just use paper towel, it just gets smeared all over and a whole roll is needed to get most of it.
Tried my pressure washer with a little soap, it just moves the grease globs a little and really doesn't remove it very well.
Tried some brake cleaner - works well on getting rid of a small grease smear, but would take a lot of cleaner and paper towel to really get rid of most of the grease.
Other than using some gas which I haven't tried yet, is there any good way/product to remove all the extra grease that builds up on my loader joints?

 

[Nik]

I use blue shop paper towels which are heavy duty compared to regular paper towels to wipe off the extra grease and the orange citric towlettes to help remove stubborn grease from my hands and tractor parts. Then I toss them in the trash. The citric towlette has the same stuff as in the all natural product Goo Gone. leaves your hands with a nice citric smell.

 

[Rara Avis]

#266 Citrol Citrus Cleaner & Degreaser
Citrol Citrus Cleaner & Industrial Degreaser

 

[SPYDERLK]

Tried to clean up my tractor a little today, but my biggest problem is GREASE. The area that gives me the most trouble is on the loader. After a couple of lubes the old grease tends to build up around the pins and mixed with a little dusty dirt makes a real nice mess that seems to be waiting for me to brush up against it.
If you just use paper towel, it just gets smeared all over and a whole roll is needed to get most of it.
Tried my pressure washer with a little soap, it just moves the grease globs a little and really doesn't remove it very well.
Tried some brake cleaner - works well on getting rid of a small grease smear, but would take a lot of cleaner and paper towel to really get rid of most of the grease.
Other than using some gas which I haven't tried yet, is there any good way/product to remove all the extra grease that builds up on my loader joints?

This not a problem to me. When I brush against grease on the tractor I wipe it off of myself. The grease on the tractor belongs there.
larry

 

[shaley]

Engine Gunk or Kerosene and dish detergent. Then I use my electric pressure washer.... You should see the splatter on the side of my neighbors garage

 

[higgy]

At any good oil company you should be able to get stoddard solvent. Use that inducted into an air stream. Very effective de-greaser.

 

[DieselPower]

You have a pressure washer, does it have a soap dispenser? If it does I would recomend using a good industrial highly concentrated cleaner and the soap dispenser.

 

[California]

At any good oil company you should be able to get stoddard solvent. Use that inducted into an air stream. Very effective de-greaser.

Careful there. Stoddard Solvent is the same thing as White Gas (obsolete) or Coleman Fuel. What you recommend, used to be called a blowtorch.

 

[Skyco]

Uuuh... Stoddard solvent is more closely related to mineral spirits. You may be thinking of naptha?

 

[jsborn]

Careful there. Stoddard Solvent is the same thing as White Gas (obsolete) or Coleman Fuel. What you recommend, used to be called a blowtorch.

Stoddard solvent is a colorless, flammable liquid that smells and tastes like kerosene. It will turn into a vapor at temperatures of 150 to 200° C. Stoddard solvent is a petroleum mixture that is also known as dry cleaning safety solvent, petroleum solvent, and varnoline; its registered trade names are Texsolve S® and Varsol ®.

White Gas is a slang name for unleaded Gas produced by Amoco Gas Co.

They are hardly the same but probably still not a good idea to spray any flammable liquid under press.

just use Stoddard solvent on a shp towel and wipe would be my suggestion.

 

[PineRidge]

This not a problem to me. When I brush against grease on the tractor I wipe it off of myself. The grease on the tractor belongs there.
larry

I'm with SPYDERLK, just getting on and off the tractor gives the grease a good excuse to jump out on my clothes. The wife says I'm a grease magnet.

 

[Egon]

Grease magnet is a good description.

Try rubber gloves, a rag soaked in diesel and have a proper dispersal method for the used rags.

How far do you fellow think grease can jump??

 

[jmfox]

The pressure washer will do the deed. If not use a more concentrated nozzle, if you're still leaving grease behind then more power. When my wife bakes she tends to get a little flour on her apron and breaks a few eggs. No one is surprised.

jmf

 

[Glowplug]

I don't know, maybe I'm being a little silly. But I feel a little uncomfortable using a pressure washer on greased bushings, pins, spindles, etc. I'd be afraid I would "push" grit back into the space that would then essentially act as sandpaper in there. Don't get me wrong, I use a pressure washer on my tractor occassionally, but I don't like to blast those areas. I don't mind a big wad of grease sitting there. I don't mind getting dirty grease on me (my wife is a different story though). I'd rather have gritty, dirty grease on me than possibly push that gritty dirty grease back inside. Somebody else may come on here and say I'm being completely ridiculous though.

 

[MikeBurr]

I agree that a little grease on my hands won't hurt me, but I just hate it when it moves from the loader pins that I try to keep well greased to areas that I use when getting on/off the tractor. And I know that I just checked the area where my hand touched and it was clean.
I've started wearing camo t-shirts so my wife doesn't complain about grease on my cloths.
As for the pressure washer, the soap part no longer works. It will remove the big wads, or at least move them and leave a greasy trail down the loader arm. Guess a whole roll of paper towel isn't too much of a price for a little cleaner tractor.

 

[Greyfields]

I simply cover every article of clothing I own in grease, so then the grease on the tractor is no issue. I'm sure my wife approves of the approach.

 

[DieselPower]

I simply cover every article of clothing I own in grease, so then the grease on the tractor is no issue. I'm sure my wife approves of the approach.

And now you have a handy water proof rain suit.

 

[Skyco]

I don't know, maybe I'm being a little silly. But I feel a little uncomfortable using a pressure washer on greased bushings, pins, spindles, etc. I'd be afraid I would "push" grit back into the space that would then essentially act as sandpaper in there. Don't get me wrong, I use a pressure washer on my tractor occassionally, but I don't like to blast those areas. I don't mind a big wad of grease sitting there. I don't mind getting dirty grease on me (my wife is a different story though). I'd rather have gritty, dirty grease on me than possibly push that gritty dirty grease back inside. Somebody else may come on here and say I'm being completely ridiculous though.

I'm with you. Pressure washers can cause a lot of unintended damage.

 

[Lou_B]

A cloth moistened with a little diesel fuel removes grease easily. If the diesel fuel odor is a problem, deodorized kerosene works just as well.

Take some care when disposing of the wet (and now greasy) cloth since it is flammable.

Lou Braun

 

[Glowplug]

A cloth moistened with a little diesel fuel removes grease easily. If the diesel fuel odor is a problem, deodorized kerosene works just as well.

Take some care when disposing of the wet (and now greasy) cloth since it is flammable.

Lou Braun

Actually that brings to mind some "creative" methods of disposing of the rag!!

Just kidding! Don't try this at home!