Hoods & Fenders, Plastic & Steel, Mix & Match?

[buck12]

My John Deere gt 235’s hood is literally crumbling. I think it would have been about 2005 when I bought the JD. While the 2006 Mahindra I just sold had no cracks in the metal hood. The JD is used in a residential yard and always stored indoors while the Mahindra was used at our remote property including plenty of use in the woods and spent a good bit of time outside before I got a shipping container. Last year when I decided to upgrade I only looked at tractors with metal hood and fenders.

The plastic on my JD mower did not age well.

 

[beenthere]

JD 425 1996, no problem at all with the plastic, nor with my 455, or the 4300.. all over 20 yrs old. Someone blowing smoke... believe what you want to believe.

 

[MossRoad]

JD 425 1996, no problem at all with the plastic, nor with my 455, or the 4300.. all over 20 yrs old. Someone blowing smoke... believe what you want to believe.

Well, there's so many articles, letters, questions, etc... on the subject when you search on google you get hundreds of results. So something's up. The plastic appears to be some sort of polycarbonate, and there are many references to Xenoy as the material to repair it with.

 

[deere5105]

I thought I preferred metal hoods over the poly, until this afternoon I had a large oak round I was splitting for firewood roll out of my bucket and land on my hood. Just knew it would be busted. Can’t even tell it hit it. I have no complaints with the poly hoods.

 

[Nb707]

Good story. But I have an old John Deere tractor with a poly hood 2003 The issue I have with it it has become brittle overtime.
I suppose there’s good and bad in both