Polish your blade ?

WilliamTO-35 · Feb 13, 2015

I have a 5 foot blade on the back of my Ferguson TO-35 , mounted to the 3 point hitch. I usually plow snow going forward with the blade at a sharp angle . Has anyone tried using a slippery blade surface to help slide the snow off of the blade ? Are blades sold with a slippery plastic covering for this purpose ? Using a teflon spray in the discharge chute of my walk behind snowblower makes such a big difference that I wondered if there's any such improvement using a blade ?

JDgreen227 · Feb 13, 2015

WilliamTO-35 said:
I have a 5 foot blade on the back of my Ferguson TO-35 , mounted to the 3 point hitch. I usually plow snow going forward with the blade at a sharp angle . Has anyone tried using a slippery blade surface to help slide the snow off of the blade ? Are blades sold with a slippery plastic covering for this purpose ? Using a teflon spray in the discharge chute of my walk behind snowblower makes such a big difference that I wondered if there's any such improvement using a blade ?

I tried using a can of PAM on my Frontier RB72 blade a few years back, the snow was the wet heavy stuff but spraying the blade did not seem to matter that much. Maybe I am wrong but I think kitchen sprays don't adhere well to metal. One of my neighbors uses a petroleum based compound on the underside of his steel zero turn mower deck to reduce grass build up and he swears it works well. Interesting to think about !! I hope your query gets more replies.

Thomas · Feb 13, 2015

Try Rust-o-lum primer spray.

Bradbilt · Feb 14, 2015

or clean and PAINT the blade

leveled · Feb 14, 2015

I use fluid film on my snow blade, and it works great. I sprayed it about 6 plows back and it's still pretty slick. I buy 5 gallons at a time since I spray my trucks underside and equipment. If its really bad I would paint it first then wax it.

PILOON · Feb 14, 2015

HDPE* plastic sheet cut and shaped to fit a blade would be the ideal method.
It is really not all that costly and easy to work with and available in different thicknesses.
You would want to attach it from the cutting edge and on up.
If the cutting edge is a bolt on you could simply sandwich the HDPE between the edge and blade using longer bolts and small bolts at the top.

Fact is some plows are sold with HDPE moldboards.

As a simple test get a kids plastic sliding sheet (or 2or3) at a dollar store and give it a test.

*HDPE= high density polyethylene (often mistaken for Teflon)

JDgreen227 · Feb 14, 2015

PILOON said:
HDPE* plastic sheet cut and shaped to fit a blade would be the ideal method.
It is really not all that costly and easy to work with and available in different thicknesses.
You would want to attach it from the cutting edge and on up.
If the cutting edge is a bolt on you could simply sandwich the HDPE between the edge and blade using longer bolts and small bolts at the top.

Fact is some plows are sold with HDPE moldboards.

As a simple test get a kids plastic sliding sheet (or 2or3) at a dollar store and give it a test.

*HDPE= high density polyethylene (often mistaken for Teflon)

I know what you refer to as regards the plastic sliding sheets and tried one a few years back but after bending it to a curve it cracked badly. On a flat blade it may have worked better. A few years back I tried using one of those horse stall mats sold by Tractor Supply, didn't drill it but used C-clamps to attach it to my blade attop and sides...it wasn't worth the bother. Had it worked better I might have drilled it and the blade to make it permanent.

PILOON · Feb 14, 2015

Re HDPE;
I know the product comes in a variety of thicknesses starting at about 1/8"
City plow trucks us about 3/8".

I fully know that the kids sliders will not tough it out but suggested them as simply a one time test for cheap.

oosik · Feb 15, 2015

I'm wondering - what in the world makes the snow stick to the OP's rear blade in the first place. Painted or bare metal - the snow should slide off easily.

It think its better to determine the cause of snow sticking and correct that then apply a band-aide. Any "goop" applied to the blade will quickly wear off as you use the blade.

JDgreen227 · Feb 15, 2015

oosik said:
I'm wondering - what in the world makes the snow stick to the OP's rear blade in the first place. Painted or bare metal - the snow should slide off easily.

It think its better to determine the cause of snow sticking and correct that then apply a band-aide. Any "goop" applied to the blade will quickly wear off as you use the blade.

Respectfully disagree that snow always slides off....sometimes it will stick...go out and pack a snowball of wet heavy snow...now, why doesn't the snow slide apart as you pack it? Packing is packing, no matter what the snow sticks to.

Amvcane · Feb 15, 2015

If the blade is warm, say, warm garage or in the sun, and it is below freezing outside, the snow will melt and eventually freeze to the blade providing a place for snow to stick.

oosik · Feb 15, 2015

Well, JD - I guess I'm just lucky then. Been plowing snow off my mile long gravel driveway for 32+ years - wet snow, dry snow, deep snow etc, etc - never ever had it stick to my rear blade. Just a plain old Land Pride RB3596 with only orange paint on it. WAIT - it must be the orange paint, ha,ha.

JDgreen227 · Feb 15, 2015

oosik said:
Well, JD - I guess I'm just lucky then. Been plowing snow off my mile long gravel driveway for 32+ years - wet snow, dry snow, deep snow etc, etc - never ever had it stick to my rear blade. Just a plain old Land Pride RB3596 with only orange paint on it. WAIT - it must be the orange paint, ha,ha.

Well....I am GREEN with envy......:laughing:

WilliamTO-35 · Feb 15, 2015

I'm the original poster. Thanks for all of your suggestions. I probably should have explained the reason for my question concerning snow sticking to my plow blade. Snow sticking to the blade tends to make it harder to pull the blade through the snow, and as a result the sideways force on the rear mounted blade tends to push my front tires off to the side, and I lose steering control. Of course, I've tried setting the plow at different angles , but I get the best results for plowing my driveway using a fairly sharp angle. I could probably plow twice as effectively if I didn't lose steering control. It might be that some front mounted weights would help, although I already have a FEL that puts weight on the front tires ( my FEL bucket is too narrow for effective snow pushing.) I could spend some time putting a slicker finish on my blade, but I wondered if it was worth doing.

oosik · Feb 16, 2015

William - nobody is making light of your situation but there has to be a reason the snow is sticking to the blade so much. If the tractor is 4WD be sure to use that. Put weight in the bucket - that will help keep the front in place. Is the tractor kept in a heated building - if so, then after its started and warmed up bring it outside for a half hour or so and let the rear blade get cold BEFORE you use it. This will keep the snow from melting, refreezing and sticking to the blade. Even an old rusty, grungy blade should not have too much problem with snow sticking to it.

All you should have to do to make that blade work is - - sand off the major rust and put a fresh coat of paint on it. That should be more than enough to make the snow easily slide off and not stick even a little bit.

You get the best results at the sharp angle because the angle results in the least amount force required to pull the blade forward and the least amount of force pushing the blade sideways. Weight in your bucket will greatly help this situation.

Perhaps a little more speed when plowing will help. It would help keep the blade clean and scoured.

JDgreen227 · Feb 16, 2015

oosik said:
William - nobody is making light of your situation but there has to be a reason the snow is sticking to the blade so much. If the tractor is 4WD be sure to use that. Put weight in the bucket - that will help keep the front in place. Is the tractor kept in a heated building - if so, then after its started and warmed up bring it outside for a half hour or so and let the rear blade get cold BEFORE you use it. This will keep the snow from melting, refreezing and sticking to the blade. Even an old rusty, grungy blade should not have too much problem with snow sticking to it.

All you should have to do to make that blade work is - - sand off the major rust and put a fresh coat of paint on it. That should be more than enough to make the snow easily slide off and not stick even a little bit.

You get the best results at the sharp angle because the angle results in the least amount force required to pull the blade forward and the least amount of force pushing the blade sideways. Weight in your bucket will greatly help this situation.

Perhaps a little more speed when plowing will help. It would help keep the blade clean and scoured.

Excellent advice, especially the part about putting weight in the FEL bucket...it's evident the OP's tractor is not a 4WD so there will have to be a balance between front weight and rear traction. And the OP mentions pulling his blade through the snow. I much prefer to use my back blade to PUSH snow aside in reverse gear. I may be wrong but I feel back blading in snow works better than going forward as your tires have a clear path.

LD1 · Feb 16, 2015

They make liners made of a plastic material for just this purpose. Made for snowplows.

https://www.millsupply.com/snow-plow-liner-1539628.php?p=37972

PILOON · Feb 16, 2015

You forget that pressure creates heat, even at -25 degs pushing cold snow and that often that is just enough heat to cause it to stick.
In most cases jiggling the control valve will be enough to 'shake loose' the load of snow.

While jiggling the valve is not detrimental to hydraulics it is tough on bushings hence the lube every 10 hours rule.

On my front plow snow always sticks so the solution is to simply drop the blade abruptly to dislodge the stuck compressed white material.(and that blade has a nice coat of bright enamel.

LOL, next we need heated blades.

rekees4300 · Feb 16, 2015

WilliamTO-35 said:
the sideways force on the rear mounted blade tends to push my front tires off to the side, and I lose steering control.

Your FEL plus a set of V-link chains for your front tires would solve the problem.

SPYDERLK · Feb 16, 2015

WilliamTO-35 said:
I'm the original poster. Thanks for all of your suggestions. I probably should have explained the reason for my question concerning snow sticking to my plow blade. Snow sticking to the blade tends to make it harder to pull the blade through the snow, and as a result the sideways force on the rear mounted blade tends to push my front tires off to the side, and I lose steering control. Of course, I've tried setting the plow at different angles , but I get the best results for plowing my driveway using a fairly sharp angle. I could probably plow twice as effectively if I didn't lose steering control. It might be that some front mounted weights would help, although I already have a FEL that puts weight on the front tires ( my FEL bucket is too narrow for effective snow pushing.) I could spend some time putting a slicker finish on my blade, but I wondered if it was worth doing.