Calling all experts - John Deere 445 needs some TLC

[isuhunter]

I bought a used Deere 445 and would like to shine it up. What do you recommend? Also its getting rather cold here 15-45 degrees depending on the day. Is it ok to do it this time of year?

[Nick Winn]

Re: Calling all experts - John Deere 445 needs some TLC

Very nice! At first glance it looks like it could use a good wash, with a pH balanced car wash soap like our Deep Crystal Car Wash or Gold Class Car Wash. Various accessories like a microfiber wash mitt, maybe even a very soft bristled brush will help for some of the smaller areas. These washes will be safe to use on most all surfaces on the tractor, the front attachment, suspension, it will probably work to clean up the floorboards also. You might need some type of de-greaser for the wheels, especially the back wheels.

Is the tractor painted? It is hard to tell from the pictures. If you would like, post some more close up pictures of the surfaces you are looking to work on.

[isuhunter]

Re: Calling all experts - John Deere 445 needs some TLC

The floorboards/fenders are painted metal. The hood and side panels are green plastic.

[Nick Winn]

Re: Calling all experts - John Deere 445 needs some TLC

Unfortunately we don't have anything designed specific for this type of colored plastics. Our Car Washes are OK to use for cleaning. If you would like our Ultimate Quik Wax would be OK to use on the green plastic surfaces, will provided some added gloss & water beading. As far as the painted metal areas, if the areas are glossy paint, & intended to be shiny, as opposed to matte, our A12 Cleaner Wax should work great to remove light oxidation, restore gloss, and add protection.

[Lydia]

Re: Calling all experts - John Deere 445 needs some TLC

Not sure how in depth you want to get but I personally would give PlastX a try on the colored plastic. I don't think it would hurt anything and it might help some. Of course try it on somewhere inconspicuous first. I can't speak to how well it would work in those temperatures.

[isuhunter]

Re: Calling all experts - John Deere 445 needs some TLC

I have some ultimate compound, scratch x and some ultimate quick wax. I may give that a try in a hidden area and see what results I get. It doesn't need to be show room polished but it would be nice to restore some shine.

I washed it last night and that definitely helped some.

[Low83]

Re: Calling all experts - John Deere 445 needs some TLC

A good scrub down with DAWN will clean most of the grease and grim, doesn't look too bad in the pics