I galvanized my Lawnmower deck! Deere X304

[buck12]

I wonder sometimes if those who wash under a mower deck do more harm than good. I am not one to clean under a deck. My father sold a 30 year old Snapper a couple of years ago. He cleaned under the deck once a year when he serviced the mower and brushed the oil he drained from the mower under the deck. The deck did not rust through in all those years.

 

[xpatriot]

Buck12, maybe but i mulch and adding inches of encrusted grass makes that process less effective. My deck when i bought it had 2 inches in spots, and when i removed the grass the deck was badly pitted, and more areas had advance corrosion. Stones, wet grass are a direct result. Washing and more frequent cleanings would have undoubtedly prevented this, i proved that to myself last season and looking at Markcuda deck above i suspect he did frequent cleanings as well.

It is obvious that some people don't care about rust!.....further proof that we are truly all different.

 

[wvpolekat]

I pointed that out more than once, galvanization is merely a hard coating... and it stated more than once that my yard has no stones so it should be quite a bit more effective than a coating of paint (but you can make that call). Check out this link to a forum with 106 plus posts on rust on the underside of the mower deck ( http://www.mytractorforum.com/showthread.php?t=71255 ). If your not worried about it, good for you, eventually you or the next guy that owns your machine might be! One last point, the gauge of the metal on deck of a x304 is dramatically different than models above this (in the deere lineup), i suspect that your Kubota might be different as well.

Wow, he put a heck of a lot of effort into that. Spend a dollar to save a dime I guess. After paying to have it sandblasted or supplies to strip it and repaint every season, you could buy a brand new deck every 4-5 years and it would be a lot less trouble.

 

[xpatriot]

Wow, he put a heck of a lot of effort into that. Spend a dollar to save a dime I guess. After paying to have it sandblasted or supplies to strip it and repaint every season, you could buy a brand new deck every 4-5 years and it would be a lot less trouble.

Some people have more more than time than money, other more money than time! No need to sandblast i assume every year, not sure i said that? Galvanizing if you read the whole thread (i assume not) as an experiment will prevent that.. thanks cowboy!

 

[Markcuda]

I should add some more info.
I do remove the deck after every mowing(about 5ish days)
My deck can be taken off in less than 2 minutes.
I turn it over and wash the heck out of it.
I also have a mulch plug for it.
My yard has no rocks, so that might make a /big/huge difference.
But I do take care of my stuff, my X360 looks like new yet with 32 hours
It sure looks purty all painted up with that color:thumbsup:

 

[wvpolekat]

Some people have more more than time than money, other more money than time! No need to sandblast i assume every year, not sure i said that? Galvanizing if you read the whole thread (i assume not) as an experiment will prevent that.. thanks cowboy!

Sorry, I was referring to the guy in the link, not you.

 

[not2old]

I'm curious to know if it was electro plated or hot dipped? I can't tell from the pictures.

 

[beeforty]

Interesting idea. The only problem is the top side could be tough to keep paint on. I think there is special paint for galvanized metal.

Craig Clayton

You can buy Cold Galvanized paint or use your wifes old vinegar as a good mild acid etch. The plant maintenance guys put up some galvanized wall panels then painted them. First bump and the paint pealed off. They came back, scraped off all the paint, then hudson sprayed the wall with vinegar. Paints been on for 10-15 years now.:thumbsup:

 

[xpatriot]

Sorry, I was referring to the guy in the link, not you.

No i'm sorry...i misunderstood. Little defensive i guess, i like my little project. Its why i shared it here...and yes its ****~~!!! :laughing:

 

[xpatriot]

I'm curious to know if it was electro plated or hot dipped? I can't tell from the pictures.

I assume its dipped, you can see drips/runs from the holes when it came out of the tank.

You'll also note in the photo of the bottom side of the deck how smooth the deck surface is in the middle of the blades behind the V shaped metal piece, but how rough the area is around and under the area where the blades are. The rust was quite developed when i received this thing.