Mower Deck cleaning

JimD · Apr 3, 2003

I just purchased a new JD2210 with a 62"deck the old timer at the JD dealer said to coat the bottom of the deck with WD-40 to make it easer to clean off the stuck grass clippings. Has anyone else hear of this? Is there a product out there you can coat the underside of a mower deck to help with the grass removal?

Bird · Apr 3, 2003

Jim, I don't anything about your deck, but I tried the WD-40 on a Cub Cadet riding mower deck. I also tried some stuff (forgot the name) that a guy at the hardware store recommended. I even repainted the bottom of the deck once. But the best thing I found was to mix 1 quart of motor oil and 3 quarts of diesel, and sprayed a very fine mist on the bottom of the deck before each mowing, then hosed the deck off when I finished mowing.

beenthere · Apr 3, 2003

Best thing I have found is to hose the deck off before mowing (if I am going to mow wet grass, otherwise leave it dry) and look at it before putting it away to see if it needs to be hosed off again. I don't like to put it away wet, so often just blow the tractor and deck off with the high pressure air hose when finished. Anything stuck to the underside of the deck gets knocked off, with a stick or with the air hose.
That works for me, and is the least amount of work in total.

Bird · Apr 3, 2003

Ooops, I neglected to say that when I "hosed the deck off", I used the air hose even more than the water hose. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

Anonymous Poster · Apr 3, 2003

Something to condsider is waxing the mower deck with a good wax. I have tried that and it helps the grass come off easier. Another thing to try that I haven't is spraying a non stick cooking spray or something to keep the grass from sticking. I know one thing from what I have seen. Do not leave grass on the deck for any amount of time because it will eat the paint quicker than you would believe. At least keep it hosed off after you use it. Hope that helps.

~Dave~

Gil · Apr 3, 2003

Maybe I'm missing something here. Why do you clean under a mower deck? I used my first Woods rear mount deck for 20 years without cleaning under it, and now I'm into 4 years on my second deck without cleaning under it. Am I doing a big NO, NO?

Gil

chrisjbell · Apr 3, 2003

You clean under it so that the cut stuff can circulate around the blade(s). Over time the stuff builds up more and more and the clippings only get cut once. This is a bigger deal on, say, a mulching finish deck than it would be on a brush hog.

And I've found that the only way you can really get a deck clean is to turn it over and scrape away at the spots that won't come off with some kind of hand tool that is meant for a completely different purpose, bark your knuckes against the blades, start bleeding, remember that gloves are a good thing, and then start either cursing, crying, or both /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif.

Just a little joke - although this does represent real experience /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif. WD-40 doesn't hurt, but I've tried it and am not convinced it really helps all that much. I've waxed the deck, and that helped some, but only for a couple of "mows" and it isn't easy to do. Haven't tried Bird's method, but it sounds good - except I don't always have time to really clean my deck after each mowing /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif.

Anonymous Poster · Apr 3, 2003

Over the years I've coated mower pans with 2-part epoxy bridge paint and industrial Teflon spray coating. I've tried spraying on motor and vegetable oil to. I've hosed the pan off after each usage and also used an air compressor instead of the water. The best low maintenance situation was the industrial Teflon spray coating. It was very difficult to apply and is no longer available, but it usually lasted 2 to 3 seasons. With the Teflon coating the grass literally fell off when you hosed the pan down and the pan did not rust much. Currently, I use a wood paint stirrer to scrape the biggest part of the grass off after each mowing and hose the pan down every once in awhile. What a digression. Gloves are a necessity when scraping the pan. There is a new breed of paint that is used by the municipalities to discourage spray paint taggers. Supposedly, little will stick to it and water blasting can easily remove the taggers paint. It is suppose to adhere extremely well to steel and masonry and is being used for bridge paint. The anti-stick additive is Siloxane. Search on industrial paints that contain Siloxane and read about the characteristics. This paint seems promising, but I could not find it available to consumers. Siloxane

chrisjbell · Apr 3, 2003

This paint seems promising, but I could not find it available to consumers. 

It probably isn't. I used to paint for a living, way long ago and even 15 years ago there were a lot of paints that you have to be licensed to get. With the way legislation has been going there are more and more things on the "restricted" list.

Paints can be really nasty chemicals. Very hazardous to apply without the right equipment and equally dangerous if disposed of incorrectly.

The paint stirrer is a good idea, though. I often wind up using metal implements, which scrape off the paint. And when I don't wear gloves, I'm just being careless /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif.

cpicton1 · Apr 3, 2003

Ok, I guess I'll have to let you all in on a secret weapon. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif Slip Plate . It is made with graphite. Farmers and industries use it to prevent grain and many other things from sticking to metal surfaces. You can buy it at farm supply stores. Click on the link below to read about it. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Slip Plate

Anonymous Poster · Apr 4, 2003

I've had a buildup so bad under my deck that I've had to use an air chisel to break off the dirt and grass clumps. Nothing works better! Mowing fields that have sparse weeds and a lot of dirt seem to be the worse conditions that promote a lot of buildup. BUSBOY.

dourobob · Apr 4, 2003

Interesting link - I contacted the company for suppliers in Ontario, Canada. Within 15 minutes Mike e-mailed me with a suggestion to try a John Deere dealer. I called a local dealer and they have it in stock. I e-mailed Mike back to thank him and he responded with the following tip "once you have the Slip Plate applied to your deck and it is dry, wipe it down with a cloth rag. You will see the Slip Plate start to shine up a bit. What this does is break the resin coating that will migrate to the surface during dry time and expose the graphite."

All in about 30 minutes - great customer service sure encourages me to try this Slip Plate.

Bob

Anonymous Poster · Apr 4, 2003

The Slip Plate No 1 heavy duty paint seems like a good idea and worth a try. I have also experimented with dry-film spray moly and Teflon. The moly is from Kano Labs. It does not adhere well to metal. There might be an application for it, but it's not very apparent. The same goes for the consumer grade dry-film Teflon. For the woodworkers out there, you can spray clean carbide router bits, saw blades and feed tables with the Teflon dry-film and it greatly reduces friction and burning. The film does not last long, but it helps for a while and does not stain wood. For one season I coated and maintained a 42" deck with silicon rubber (RTV). This was 25 or so years ago when RTV was new and magic. It held up for several mowings and then came off in sheets. We had a General Electric Electrak tractor many years ago and we wanted to preserve the deck. Another thought is inspired from shooting at targets stapled to 3/8", polypropylene backstops. The bullet holes seem to close back up. Even a 22-250 round will not blow a chunk out of the backstop. Why couldn't a mower deck be made out of injection molded polypropylene? Tough as nails, wouldn't rust and grass won't stick to it. GE Electrak Tractor

Anonymous Poster · Apr 4, 2003

Slip Plate at TSC

5030 · Apr 8, 2003

( I just purchased a new JD2210 with a 62"deck the old timer at the JD dealer said to coat the bottom of the deck with WD-40 to make it easer to clean off the stuck grass clippings. Has anyone else hear of this? Is there a product out there you can coat the underside of a mower deck to help with the grass removal? )

We have been using Slip Plate Graphite Paint on our chutes, grain transfer carts and mower decks here for years. Slip Plate makes a sprayable coating also. The only drawback to slip plate is that you will have to re-coat every season but that gives you an excuse to grease the deck and sharpen the blades anyway. TSC has it in pints, quarts and gallons and I believe they have the spray on also. We brush it on 95% of the time. Just don't try to use the paintbrush for anything else. The slip plate will never wash out of the brush completely.

Daryl
Forage Services, L.P.

thcri · Apr 8, 2003

If you don't have a TSC you can get Slip-Plate at Graingers also. They have it in the 12oz arosole cans or the quarts and gallons.

Just got me a can ordered today to try out. If works good I will keep using it since I have had some trouble with grass build up under my mower.

murph

JimD · Apr 9, 2003

Thanks for all the information. It sounds like i will try the slip plate this year and see how it goes. Its got to be better than not putting anything on the deck..

5030 · Apr 9, 2003

Jim:

Don't forget to throw the brush away and not in the Saline river. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Daryl
Forage services, L.P.

5030 · Apr 9, 2003

Jim:

This evening I got a flyer in the Monroe Evening News for TSC and they are running a special on Spray on Slip Plate.

Daryl
Forage services, L.P.

JimD · Apr 11, 2003

To let you all know, I purchased 2 aersol cans of the Slip Plate paint last night. I sprayed it on the deck, 2 cans was just enough to cover the whole underside of a 62C" deck. Watch out for the paint fumes. I was out front of my barn and fumes were still very strong /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif I will keep you all posted on the progress/results throughout the summer cutting season. Thanks for all of the advise...