Rust Damage Control

[rockinbbar]

I've got a Woods 15' Batwing cutter that has served me well for a bit over 9 years now. But It's showing some deck rust.

I blow the deck off daily when using the cutter, but the corrosive nature of plant fluids makes it's way through anything after awhile, and factory paint or powder coat on un-primed metal only lasts so long.

Found a rust converter called Rust-X that soaks in to the metal on a visibly deep level and treated my rust spots with it. Used a wire wheel in a drill to remove the scaly rust and then saturated the area with the Rust-X.

After treating the rust areas, I applied paint over them for just a bit more protection, but the treated area was sealed up, and the rust actually becomes a protective coating, and kills further rust.

Treated area after wire wheeling and application of rust converter.

Around that center gear box was a concern I needed to address, as well as the batwing hinges. Both had thick, scaly rust.

Hinges treated and painted.

Overall view of the cutter after I got done.

Basically, I prepped, treated and painted everything with any substantial rust showing, including the rear axle and running gear.

These cutters won't last forever, I know, but I'd rather not jump out there and buy a new one for a few more years. Not with prices they have on HD batwing cutters now.

I'm in a very humid environment here. Maybe if I keep up the maintenance on killing the rust, it'll get me down the road a bit.

Do you guys have problems with rust where you are? How do you deal with that?

 

[Lineman North Florida]

I treat rusted stuff with a rust converter called Conquest all the time and it turns the area black, sometimes I paint over it, sometimes I just leave it black, if you keep doing what you are doing that mower may outlast you, some people won't spend 5 minutes blowing a mower deck off, you obviously aren't one of those types, so what you are doing is buying you time, an ounce of prevention beats a pound of cure comes to mind.

 

[rockinbbar]

I treat rusted stuff with a rust converter called Conquest all the time and it turns the area black, sometimes I paint over it, sometimes I just leave it black, if you keep doing what you are doing that mower may outlast you, some people won't spend 5 minutes blowing a mower deck off, you obviously aren't one of those types, so what you are doing is buying you time, an ounce of prevention beats a pound of cure comes to mind.

Very much agree about prevention and cure!

I wish more implement companies would go galvanized. Modern Ag company makes galvanized deck cutters, and they do seem to do a good job of keeping rust off the top of the deck. But if you use the cutter much, the galvanized surface on the underside wears off pretty quick.

 

[LauraCarney]

Very much agree about prevention and cure!

I wish more implement companies would go galvanized. Modern Ag company makes galvanized deck cutters, and they do seem to do a good job of keeping rust off the top of the deck. But if you use the cutter much, the galvanized surface on the underside wears off pretty quick.

Wow, you've done an impressive job maintaining your Woods 15' Batwing cutter! Rust is always a challenge, especially in humid environments. Your method with the Rust-X rust converter sounds like a solid approach. I haven't tried Rust-X myself, but I might give it a shot now. I usually use a rust-inhibiting primer after wire wheeling the rust, then top it with a couple of coats of heavy-duty paint. The batwing hinges and center gear box on mine get the worst of it, too. Thanks for sharing your process—it's inspiring me to stay ahead of the rust on my equipment. Anyone else have rust-busting tips? I was searching for a reliable site to find online casinos in Georgia, and I found this website where we can find ონლაინ კაზინო. I was looking for detailed reviews and ratings of various online casinos, and this website provided exactly what I needed. It was so helpful to read about different platforms and compare their features. I ended up trying one of the recommended casinos, and I have to say, my experience has been fantastic so far. I had so much fun, the games were also great. If you are also like me searching for a casino, you can visit the website.

I agree with you.

 

[EastTexCowboy]

I've got a Woods 15' Batwing cutter that has served me well for a bit over 9 years now. But It's showing some deck rust.

I blow the deck off daily when using the cutter, but the corrosive nature of plant fluids makes it's way through anything after awhile, and factory paint or powder coat on un-primed metal only lasts so long.

Found a rust converter called Rust-X that soaks in to the metal on a visibly deep level and treated my rust spots with it. Used a wire wheel in a drill to remove the scaly rust and then saturated the area with the Rust-X.

After treating the rust areas, I applied paint over them for just a bit more protection, but the treated area was sealed up, and the rust actually becomes a protective coating, and kills further rust.

Treated area after wire wheeling and application of rust converter.



Around that center gear box was a concern I needed to address, as well as the batwing hinges. Both had thick, scaly rust.

Hinges treated and painted.



Overall view of the cutter after I got done.



Basically, I prepped, treated and painted everything with any substantial rust showing, including the rear axle and running gear.

These cutters won't last forever, I know, but I'd rather not jump out there and buy a new one for a few more years. Not with prices they have on HD batwing cutters now.

I'm in a very humid environment here. Maybe if I keep up the maintenance on killing the rust, it'll get me down the road a bit.

Do you guys have problems with rust where you are? How do you deal with that?

I've got a project similar to this I'm hoping to get done in the next couple of weeks. I built three covered round bale feeders that work wonderfully, but over time with the cows rubbing on them and all the environmental factors they get some bare spots that start to rust. Got them pressure washed and order some Corroseal rust converter from Home Depot. We'll see how it does. I've used similar products in the past with usually good results but not always. I looked at some of the other products but a number of them had ingredients toxic to animals. The toxicity of this one appears to be very low once it's cured.

So far my Titan 15' batwing is holding up very well. I clean it up after every use, which seems to help more than anything. I have a little 6' Modern bushhog that's galvanized and had one years ago. I agree with the other post about those. They last longer than anything else out there.

 

[rockinbbar]

I've got a project similar to this I'm hoping to get done in the next couple of weeks. I built three covered round bale feeders that work wonderfully, but over time with the cows rubbing on them and all the environmental factors they get some bare spots that start to rust. Got them pressure washed and order some Corroseal rust converter from Home Depot. We'll see how it does. I've used similar products in the past with usually good results but not always. I looked at some of the other products but a number of them had ingredients toxic to animals. The toxicity of this one appears to be very low once it's cured.

So far my Titan 15' batwing is holding up very well. I clean it up after every use, which seems to help more than anything. I have a little 6' Modern bushhog that's galvanized and had one years ago. I agree with the other post about those. They last longer than anything else out there.

Good job on that feeder!

Yeah, the deck on the Modern Ag products are excellent. I've got their 12' Viper batwing, and while I love how it cuts when it's running correctly, I've had lots of failures with it as well. (splitter gearbox replaced, one side gear box replaced, wheel bearings, replaced both turnbuckles that keep wings level with something that actually works and holds steady, 3 hydraulic cylinders so far that run the wings up and down.)

Modern uses cheap Chinese chit for parts, but their decks are GTG.

I like your MF! My New Holland dealer here sells MF too. I'm convinced they are about the best tractor you can buy, even over John Deere. But I'm happy with my Powerstar tractors I added last year too.

 

[EastTexCowboy]

Good job on that feeder!

Yeah, the deck on the Modern Ag products are excellent. I've got their 12' Viper batwing, and while I love how it cuts when it's running correctly, I've had lots of failures with it as well. (splitter gearbox replaced, one side gear box replaced, wheel bearings, replaced both turnbuckles that keep wings level with something that actually works and holds steady, 3 hydraulic cylinders so far that run the wings up and down.)

Modern uses cheap Chinese chit for parts, but their decks are GTG.

I like your MF! My New Holland dealer here sells MF too. I'm convinced they are about the best tractor you can buy, even over John Deere. But I'm happy with my Powerstar tractors I added last year too.

Thanks! The feeders were a lot of work and I built two by myself so all the fitting and fabricating just takes longer. But the ones I found online were $4k and I built these for about $1,500 each. They save so much in hay loss I figure they'll pay for themselves in about 5 years.

I'm pretty happy with the MFs. Had a couple warranty issues but the dealer came from 2.5 hours away and fixed anything that went wrong while under warranty. He told me when I bought from him he'd have to charge mileage being I was so far away but he's sent a mechanic here three times and never charged a dime. Decent guy. I've owned multiple Deere, Kubota, and NH. I did a lot of research before I bought these and so far I have been more than satisfied. My daughter runs about a hundred Angus on her place up in Arkansas and has always been a Deere gal. After seeing how my 4707 has done over the past three years she went and bought her one a few months ago and absolutely loves it. Of course all the new tractors, no matter the brand, have way too much computerization. Someday I may try to snag an older Deere in the 100 hp range just to have something that doesn't have all the circuitry on it.

I had a friend who owned a NH dealership for years and I ended up buying a couple compact tractors from him, which I later sold due to too many problems. But the larger NH, like the Powerstar, are great tractors. You won't be disappointed I'm sure.