Mower Deck cleaning

WVBill · Apr 17, 2003

Danny:
I bought a quart of Slip-plate at TSC this week and plan to paint my Craftsman mower deck this weekend, so we may be able to run parallell "tests".

How diligent were you on cleaning your mower deck before you sprayed it? Did you pressure wash it? Steel brush it down to bare (no rust) metal? or somewhere in between?

I was thinking I would pressure wash it and then give it a once over with a wire brush cup on my electric drill.

mathey · Apr 17, 2003

I painted my Craftsman deck with Slip-Plate from TSC about two weeks back. I scraped/chisled off as much crud as I could, then pressure washed it really good. Let it dry a day and then sprayed 2-3 coats on. I've mowed twice since, but have yet to check to see what's happening underneath there.
I'll post the results when I do check!

surfran · Apr 19, 2003

Well TSC must be having a run on this stuff just cuz of this thread!!!!! I went out and bought a couple of spray cans and painted my new 60" deck today. Luckily I have only used it for a couple of hours last week to pick up leaves, so cleaning it up wasn't too difficult. Kinda tough to take a perfectly new Kubota orange deck and paint it black!!!! But if this stuff works then I will be very pleased.

Even with the one time I used it so far, it was already coated with grass. It took about 1 1/2 cans to do mine. I probably could have went over it again and used the rest, but I figured I would save it for touch ups later on.

I'll keep you posted once I start mowing as well. Here in NY, the grass is just starting to green up. Probably gonna be another week or two before I really need to mow.

Soundguy · Apr 20, 2003

I've tried the used cooking oil on the bottom of the mower deck.. works great, and cleans off easier than motor oil does with mild soap and a hose. Also much better for the environment.

Soundguy

WVBill · Apr 21, 2003

What I ended up doing, Saturday was to scrape/chip away as much of the dried caked on grass, goo and rust I could with a putty knife, alternating with blowing it off with my air compressor. Then I used a paint stripper wheel and a wire brush cup in my electric drill to go over the whole bottom inside. I ended up with some bare metal, some rusty spots and some patches where the dried grass goo wouldn't grind off. I figured if it stood up to my attack it deserved to stay /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Then I slathered on a good coating of Slip-Plate. I got the quart can because it was the same price as two of the 12 oz spray cans. I only used about half the can so there's some left over for touch ups later. From the Slip-Plate literature, the quart can product is more "full bodied" - containing more graphite than the spray cans. It was a cool damp day Saturday so I left the mower deck to dry over night with a small space heater blowing on it.

Sunday morning I buffed the new paint per instructions, mounted the deck and proceeded to mow some pertty dew-wet grass. There was no clogging as there would have been before Slip-Plate and after 3 hours of mowing there was very little build up that I could see without taking the deck off the mower. I didn't do a close inspection nor did I try hosing off the mower deck because I was in a hurry. I'll take a closer look tonight and report.

Mosey · Apr 21, 2003

WVBill - I just pressure washed it (on the highest pressure setting with a 2100 PSI pressure washer) so it was pretty much down to bare metal and let it dry overnight before spraying on 1 can of Slip Plate. It's not a real thick coat, so next time I'll buy the quart can and brush it on. I forgot to buff it up first and mowed the grass, which is damp and lush this time of year, and it still looks pretty clean underneath except for a couple of spots that always seem to build up the worst. I didn't have time to try hosing it off with a garden hose to see how it cleans up. The next time I mow, which won't be long this time of year, I'll try that.

I was in TSC Saturday and noticed they have 2 different brands now (or the company changed their name). They had some cans of Slip Plate and some cans of EZ Slide. The cans are the same green and white as if they wanted to keep people from noticing the difference. I bought 1 can of EZ Slide, since I already have 2 cans of Slip Plate left, and plan to spray my 6' mower deck using Slip Plate on 2/3rds of it and EZ Slide on the other 1/3rd and see how they compare.

tc35dinsc · Apr 23, 2003

I have used Slip-plate for 3 years now on my Kubota G-1800. Stuff works wonders. Of course mowing at the right time also reduces under-deck maintenance headaches and heartaches

Mosey · Apr 29, 2003

I've mowed 2 times now with the Craftsman mower and so far so good. The deck still looks pretty clean and the grass has been damp both times. I sprayed the LandPride 6' deck and haven't mowed with it yet. The EZ Slide is not just Slip Plate with another name, I could tell it was a little different by the way it went on - I had trouble with it running where the Slip Plate didn't run at all, and the EZ Slide was a little shinier. I'll report back after I've mowed with it a couple times.

Anonymous Poster · Apr 29, 2003

Here is a secret family recipe that was shared on a previous thread about mower decks clogging up:

<font color="blue"> Ok I know this is supposed to be an old family recipe handed down, and supposed to be kept secret. But here goes. Nothing works forever, but the best substance that I have found is to melt an entire block of sealing wax or parafin (for canning), add a cup of 30 wt motor oil. Pour oil into wax slowly for safeties sake. Using a horse hair brush not nylon. While hot paint the concoction on all exposed surfaces under the deck, and allow to cool overnite. Rememeber that all the exposed areas must be really clean before applying. First I powerwash then I use Castol purple power cleaner at 1/2 ratio let soak a few minutes then powerwash again. As I said nothing lasts forever but this concoction will last 6 to 8 weeks depending on how much or sand dirt your mower picks up. Most grass won't stick or clog and if it does it rinses out with just a garden hoe and nozzle.

P.S. Don't tell my dad I told you.

Russ. Coleman
</font>

mathey · Apr 30, 2003

/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gifwell, slip plate did not work on my craftsman deck. In fact its hard to tell if theres even any left. I thought i prepped the underside pretty well before i sprayed, but perhaps not. Grass has been dry, but very tall and therefore had a bit of moisture in it anyways. It clogs within 20-30 mins of mowing at the tallest height setting and going super slow. I'm quite sure that the deck is a poor design in the first place, as i've never had this problem with any other mower i've ever owned. Anyways, my "real" tractor should be here in the next 2 weeks, so i'll bush hog it then.