Most people know Malco for the Epic paint line. The farm and fleet side of the catalog is where the brand earns its keep — a ladder of degreasers, a citrus bench for tar and cosmoline, two transit-coating removers, and truck-wash concentrates built for big iron. Here is the Malco degreaser lineup decoded rung by rung: the manufacturer’s real dilution ratios, the one aluminum rule that keeps you out of trouble, and where each jug belongs on a co-op wash pad or in a fleet bay.
Malco Products has blended professional chemistry in Ohio since 1953 — fourth-generation, family-owned, headquartered in Barberton. It is our number-two brand for a reason, and in harvest season the heavy-duty side moves faster than anything else on our shelves. The paint-correction story is in The Malco Epic Line, Explained. This one is about grease.
Read The Ladder Before You Grab A Jug
Malco does not sell one degreaser. It sells a ladder, and each rung is a different chemistry: ready-to-use non-caustic, concentrated non-caustic, solvent-boosted, and full caustic. The fleet mistake is buying the strongest jug for everything. Climb only as far as the soil forces you — every rung up costs you something in what it is safe to touch.
THE ALUMINUM RULE. Malco prints it on the page: Potent Purple is not for use on aluminum. Red Thunder, Little Red Thunder, Prizm Gold, and Super-Citra Clean are the products Malco explicitly rates aluminum-safe. Polished fuel tanks, diamond plate, aluminum wheels on a grain trailer — those surfaces decide your chemistry before the soil does.
The Four Rungs: Little Red Thunder To Potent Purple
Rung one — Little Red Thunder. Ready to use, biodegradable, non-caustic, aluminum-safe. Spray, let it stand several minutes, wipe or scrub, rinse. Oil, grease, and everyday dirt on engines, wheels, whitewalls, carpet, vinyl, and concrete, without etching or dulling — the daily cab-and-step bottle. Not on metalized plastics — spotting may occur.
Rung two — Red Thunder. The non-caustic, biodegradable concentrate most farm and fleet shops should build around. Safe on aluminum and other soft metals — Malco says it will not etch, discolor, or pit engine blocks, rims, or frames. The dilution card: 1:1 for heavy soils on engines, tires, wheels, whitewalls, and concrete; 1:3 for mud flaps, floor mats, and pre-spotting; 1:5 for general cleaning; 1:10 on carpet, upholstery, vinyl, and plastic after a colorfastness test. Rinse after every use.
Rung three — KO Red Degreaser Concentrate. The dual-action formula: cleaners plus solvent blends for the toughest soils on engines, concrete, steel, and tires. The spec that matters to a wash pad without a boiler is industrial-strength performance in cold water. Directions: 1:7 for heavy soils and general shop cleaning, 1:10 on carpet, vinyl, or plastic with a colorfastness test, rinse after use.
Rung four — Potent Purple Super Duty Degreaser. Highly concentrated, caustic-based, film-free, for the soil nothing else lifts. Engines 1:1. Concrete floors and walls 1:1. Tires and wheels 1:2. Lighter soils as thin as 1:15. Spray, dwell up to five minutes, rinse thoroughly, scrub if you must. And once more: not for use on aluminum.
Apply concentrates with gear that can take them: the iK Alkaline 9 is built for alkaline and aggressive chemistry, with chemical-resistant seals, nozzle, and pump. Agitate with the S.M. Arnold 10” flow-thru brush on a 60” tapered handle, or a Drillbrush 4” medium for frame rails and step wells. Caustic means 8-mil nitrile gloves, no exceptions.
The Citrus Bench: Wax, Tar, Cosmoline
Malco’s d-limonene products dissolve petroleum soils with citrus solvent instead. Prizm Gold APC is the non-caustic, biodegradable all-purpose cleaner that removes dirt, grease, grime, silicone, and wax — safe on OEM paint, aluminum, vinyl, and fabrics. Dilute 1:1 for engines, concrete, and heavy soils with up to a five-minute dwell; 1:3 for exterior surfaces, tires, and wheels; 1:10 for vinyl, plastic, or acrylic; 1:15 for carpet after a colorfastness test.
Super-Citra Clean is the water-based d-limonene specialist for tar, baked-on grease, cosmoline, and transit coatings — and for stripping old wax and sealant before refinishing. For cosmoline on a new implement: 1:1 solution, soak roughly three to five minutes, light scrub with a car-wash brush, rinse. For engines: spray on oily soils, wait about five minutes, rinse. Malco rates it safe on coated aluminum at full strength, body-shop safe, and VOC compliant.
When a new truck or combine head arrives in a petroleum transit coating, the no-rinse route is Annihilator Transit Coating Remover: apply to a clean cloth, rub gently, turn the cloth often, repeat until the coating is gone. Safe on any painted surface, body-shop safe. A&L Cosmoline Remover is the solvent-based version for residues water-based cleaners will not touch, applied the same way; Malco states it will not soften, dull, or discolor automotive finishes. Both say the same thing: test an inconspicuous spot first, stop if the appearance changes. Wipe with a The Rag Company RGB terry, not your drying towel.
Wash Day: The Concentrates
Volume washing is where a fleet spends its money. CW-37 Premium Car & Truck Wash is the phosphate-free, biodegradable, high-foam workhorse: recommended 1:400 — one ounce per three gallons by hand — adjusted for water softness. It will not remove wax, runs in automatic, semi-automatic, and hand systems, and helps prevent brush marks in foam-brush applications. KO Blue Car Wash is the foaming alternative at one to two ounces per gallon, recommended 1:100, body-shop safe and VOC compliant; run it through the iK Foam Pro 2 or a cannon. Ultra-Violet Premium Wash & Wax is the single-step wash and wax: six ounces per gallon (1:20), shampoo, rinse, towel.
Bug-Off Insect Remover is ready to use: wet the panel, saturate, dwell one to two minutes, wipe with a sponge, rinse. Not on hot surfaces, never let it dry, test first. The full road-tractor sequence is in How to Wash a Semi Truck.
The Shop Side Nobody Writes About
Tire Mounting Lubricant is ready to use, contains no silicone, solvent, or soap, carries a rust inhibitor for the rim, and is rated for car, truck, farm, and heavy-duty construction tires — brush or spray it straight onto the tire. Perfect 10 Fast-Drying Spray is the aerosol fine mist that needs no wiping: it conditions vinyl, plastic, leather, rubber, metal, and wood, and Malco calls out preventing battery-terminal corrosion and waterproofing ignition systems, hinges, springs, and casters. Shake, spray from ten to twelve inches, thin even coat on a clean, dry surface.
For dressing, Appeal Super Concentrated Dressing is a silicone-based water emulsion you dial by ratio — 1:5 inside for satin, 1:3 on engines, 1:1 on tires for wet gloss — VOC compliant in all 50 states, and never on pedals, seat bottoms, or steering wheels. Wash the towels in Microfiber Refresh: one ounce for small loads, two for large, warm water, no softener, low heat only. Close the day with Lotion Hand Cleaner With Pumice.
Protect What You Just Stripped
The part the jug does not tell you: a degreaser that removes silicone and wax removes your silicone and wax too. Anything that got Prizm Gold, Super-Citra Clean, or a caustic rung is sitting there naked ahead of road-salt season. Re-seal the same day. On a wash pad, Koch-Chemie Protector Wax is the fastest route — about 30 ml per liter in a foam or pump sprayer onto the clean, still-wet vehicle, let it soak, rinse with the pressure washer. On a cab or hood that got the full strip, Koch-Chemie Spray Sealant S0.02: one to two sprays per section on clean, dry paint, brief flash, buff off, no chemical wash that day — and Koch-Chemie lists cars and commercial vehicles alike in its areas of use. The full stack is in Best Farm Equipment Paint Protection; the Koch-Chemie side of the wash pad is in Koch-Chemie for Farm & Fleet.
PRO RULE: LOWEST RUNG THAT WINS. Test Red Thunder at 1:5 on the worst panel before you open anything stronger. If it cleans, you just saved product, rinse water, and a set of aluminum wheels. Step up to KO Red or Potent Purple only where the test spot fails — and only on surfaces Malco rates for it.
The Bottom Line
Malco’s heavy-duty line is a system, not a shelf of red jugs. Little Red Thunder for the daily wipe-down, Red Thunder as the aluminum-safe backbone, KO Red when cold water has to do heavy work, Potent Purple for the soil that beats everything else. Read the ratio, respect the aluminum rule, seal what you strip. From fleet trucks to combine heads — same grit, same results.
Shop Exterior Wash & Protection
Want the ratios dialed in for your water and your fleet? Call the shop at (402) 890-4589 — real pros, real answers. High Limit Detail Supply is a division of Whitehead Oil Company. If it earns its keep — we help it shine.