I think you guys are missing the point. First, I never suggested in any way not to use your tractor. That would be out of character with how I have used mine. ( I've cracked my bucket, run a sapling through my radiator and driven a front tire off and this is in just a year.) So please don't label my tractor as a lawn or garage queen....it still lives outdoors. I don't wash it with every use, but I do rinse off caked on dirt and layers of dust and grass that hold moisture....again, since it lives outdoors. I have washed sap off the hood using soap before. But let's not mischaracterize me or the point I'm trying to make.
The OP asked about how to prevent scratches on his ROPS. What he got was (mostly) good natured humor, but a little of it was condescending. I think if he wanted his tractor to look scratched up, or didn't care, he wouldn't have asked how to prevent it.
I'm just suggesting that there is nothing wrong with keeping a tractor looking nice and the there is absolutely
zero imperative not to do so. And keeping the tractor looking as nice as possible doesn't in any way mean that it isn't or can't be used for what it was made to do. In addition to that, scratched paint leads to rust and rusty ROPS will certainly attract the ROPS police.
Back to the resale thing. Folks are talking about how
tractors are tough machines with tough jobs and are supposed to look like it. Well, the OP was talking about a
BX23, not a farm tractor from the 1970s. Who do you think is going to be buying a SCUT like a BX 23? The answer is, of course, the same type of person who bought it in the first place? The type of person who probably likes having a tractor that looks nice. Paint it before you sell it? Yeah, that'll work. I see "new paint" on half the used tractor adds out there. What does that mean? It means someone got six cans of JD green and sprayed every inch of the machine green and even got a little bit on the JD yellow wheels and seat. Does it fool you? Wow, looks like new!
In any case, if you don't mind a beat up looking tractor, that's fine. But there's hardly any need to suggest that someone shouldn't want a nice looking tractor.
And there's another element to this. You ever been to an antique tractor show? How many beaters do you see there that aren't being sold for restoration? Somebody out there likes the look of a new tractor.