Best Spray Coating for ATV Mudding.

by George
(Jacksonville FL.)

What is the best coating to spray on your ATV to water proof and keep mud from sticking?...2012 Cam-Am 800 XMR.

Answer: Good question George, and we're glad you asked. No doubt that clean up is the worst part of ATV mud riding. So anything you can do to make that chore easier will help ease the pain.

Over the years we've probably tried all the tricks to try to keep mud from sticking to our ATVs. Everything from spraying diesel fuel to rubbing on baby oil.

Almost anything you do is better than nothing, but some things work better than others. we'll tell you what we think about some of the more popular choices.

Diesel fuel - Usually applied with a pump up pressure sprayer like you use for yard work. It's cheap but it's also nasty and smelly. It works OK if you can stand the smell, but there are other methods that work better.

Vegetable oil spray - PAM would be an example of this, although I'm sure there are cheaper brands out there. This stuff works pretty good, but it was just too expensive if you need to use much of it.

Baby oil - We know some guys that swear by this stuff. You can apply it by soaking a rag and rubbing it on the appropriate areas. Or you can pour it in a spray bottle for better coverage.

WD 40 - Probably the most popular choice and it's pretty effective. Readily available in lots of different containers. Aerosol can, spray bottle, and gallon cans that can be used with the larger pump sprayers. It's not cheap, but if you plan on using a lot, the gallon cans and refillable spray bottles help keep the cost down.

Here are some links to the best deals from Ebay sellers.

WD 40 one gallon can

Specialty commercial products - These are designed specifically for mud removal and anti-sticking. These do seem to work a little better than the "home" remedies but tend to be a little expensive if you're doing a lot of ATV mud riding.

Here's a link if you want to try some of this stuff.

Commercial specialty products

We have recently discovered a new trick that seems to help no matter what kind of spray coating you decide to use.

Plastic Wax - If you'll prep the plastic and other surfaces with a silicone based wax before you apply the spray, it really helps to keep the mud from sticking and makes clean up a lot easier. We apply it after washing so the plastic never gets that dry and weathered look. If your ATV sits for very long between rides, it's not a bad idea to give it another application before riding.

Here's the link for some of the best prep spray.

Plastic Wax and prep spray

The last thing we can tell you is that not all mud is the same, so there may be a little experimentation you'll have to do to see which type of spray coating works best on "your" mud.