bed lining for mower decks?

[mikehaugen]

I have heard a lot of praise for "raptor"bed liner kits on here. One of my winter projects will be repainting my woods rotary cutter and possibly my bunton mower. I though maybe using the bed liner on the bottom of the decks. Thoughts?

 

[Sysop]

I've been considering the same thing. Should be awesome I'd think.. Would surely put the liner to the test for sure...

 

[mikehaugen]

I think my concern would be the texture. With the grass swirling around under there I think a smooth surface would be an advantage. More efficient maybe? On real tall stuff my 35 pto hp is marginal with a 6 ft mower... mostly ejecting the cuttings is the problem. I would hate to have to make it work harder, and if it doesn't work well I would hate to have to figure out a way to remove it.

 

[Sysop]

The powdercoat that came stock on both my mowers had a texture to it and they didn't have any issues. The grass flying around inside eventually smoothed it down and wore it off... I'd want to make sure whatever bedliner material I was using was the "stain free" stuff that is made so any spills will hose right out and not stick. Being a non-staining surface it would likely do fine expelling the grass. Another thought is doing an extra thick coating, then smoothing it down some.

 

[clemsonfor]

Why would you go to the trouble?? If it lasts fine but I don't think it will last long. They never have paint under them anyway. It gets beat off with grass, sand, and rocks in no time flat. The underside is not really exposed to water to rust really heavy, so its just humidity rust and ground moisture that causes rust that wears off next time you use it.

I think if u get 2 to 3 x the life of paint your doing good. How long does paint last, my guess is a few uses is all.!

 

[jinman]

Why would you go to the trouble?? If it lasts fine but I don't think it will last long.

+1. . . The bottoms of mower decks get sand blasted constantly. Rotary cutters get heavy brush, rocks, and much larger stuff running around under there. I think on a mower deck, you are likely to have larger grass buildup with bed liner and may end up having to chip it out more often than without the coating. I just believe it will be counter-productive and not perform as you want. If you want to stop rust, the best solution is to get a deck made of aluminum or stainless.

 

[locknut]

I have heard a lot of praise for "raptor"bed liner kits on here. One of my winter projects will be repainting my woods rotary cutter and possibly my bunton mower. I though maybe using the bed liner on the bottom of the decks. Thoughts?

It's expensive and a waste of money under a mower deck.Best thing to do is power wash periodically and maybe a light coat of used motor oil.An angled tip on a sprayer wand works good to blow everything out if you don't have an FEL to lift the deck to vertical for cleaning.

 

[mikehaugen]

Maybe you guys are right, it might be a waste of time/money. It sure seems like a cool idea though, and it would be a good way to practice for if/when I do my truck bed. It would also be a good test of the liner. We'll see if I actually do it.

 

[locknut]

It'll look great after you apply it.And,it will hold up well if you never chop up dead tree limbs,hit rocks,etc. When it gets chipped off it leaves a spot where water can migrate out and still cause rust,so you have to keep touching up those spots.Mower decks are a never-ending battle.

 

[Sysop]

It'll look great after you apply it.And,it will hold up well if you never chop up dead tree limbs,hit rocks,etc. When it gets chipped off it leaves a spot where water can migrate out and still cause rust,so you have to keep touching up those spots.Mower decks are a never-ending battle.

+1 about it being a never ending battle...

I generally clean my mowers up and touch them up with rustoleum as needed (generally once a year). I hose em out and spray the undersides with WD40 weekly after I mow. I had thought about the bedliner before myself, that's why I chimed in when the topic came up. I think if it reduced the frequency of needing touchups, it might be worth it. I for one would like to see it done and have an idea of the results before actually doing it myself.

You sound like you've done this before saying "it will hold up well if you never chop up dead tree limbs,hit rocks,etc.". If you did it, was it a finish mower or rotary cutter? My finish mower never touches anything but grass so it would likely do well?