Undercoating mower decks?
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Gary_in_Indiana
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Mike,
The vendor who gave me the $150 quote is the local Ziebart franchisee. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
The vendor who gave me the $150 quote is the local Ziebart franchisee. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
Anonymous Poster
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</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Gary, it sounds like you have the makings of some TBN research in the works. )</font>
Yeah. Be sure and post your results in five years. <grinning ducking and running>
Yeah. Be sure and post your results in five years. <grinning ducking and running>
MikePA
Super Moderator
<font color="blue">The vendor who gave me the $150 quote is the local Ziebart franchisee. </font>
I just sent an email to Line-X asking if spraying Line-X on the underside of a mower deck would be an appropriate use. I saw this product on Trucks! and it looked a lot better than a standard undercoating or spray on bedliner. There are 8 dealers in Indiana, many of them truck related businesses. Might want to check them out. Line-x
I just sent an email to Line-X asking if spraying Line-X on the underside of a mower deck would be an appropriate use. I saw this product on Trucks! and it looked a lot better than a standard undercoating or spray on bedliner. There are 8 dealers in Indiana, many of them truck related businesses. Might want to check them out. Line-x
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Gary_in_Indiana
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Thanks, Mike. The local Line-X franchisee is very near me. I'll be anxious to hear from you on what Line-X says regarding this application. Let me know, OK? Thanks! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
kofronj
Bronze Member
Gary,
At the risk of repeating myself (which I love to do)---what's the problem you're trying to solve here. I've never seen the underside of a deck "rust out". I have a commercial walk behind JD mower---I've had it for 12 years, and it was probably 3-4 years old when I bought it. Never clean the bottom. I checked it last night. It's fine.
I've seen the bedliner stuff. It is "tough", but have you taken a .22 and fired a few rounds into it? That's the kind of abuse that I'd be concerned about---small rocks propelled at high velocity into the surface, causing holes/cracks. It's also fairly well known that these "rustproofing" coatings cause more problems than they cure when they are incorrectly (or inappropriately) used. If water gets trapped underneath them, you will get "rot".
I would suggest that you clean your deck only when you sharpen blades, or once a year when you put it away for the season. And my guess is that you'll get 30+ years out of it. But I haven't done the experiment, so take this with a grain of salt.
At the risk of repeating myself (which I love to do)---what's the problem you're trying to solve here. I've never seen the underside of a deck "rust out". I have a commercial walk behind JD mower---I've had it for 12 years, and it was probably 3-4 years old when I bought it. Never clean the bottom. I checked it last night. It's fine.
I've seen the bedliner stuff. It is "tough", but have you taken a .22 and fired a few rounds into it? That's the kind of abuse that I'd be concerned about---small rocks propelled at high velocity into the surface, causing holes/cracks. It's also fairly well known that these "rustproofing" coatings cause more problems than they cure when they are incorrectly (or inappropriately) used. If water gets trapped underneath them, you will get "rot".
I would suggest that you clean your deck only when you sharpen blades, or once a year when you put it away for the season. And my guess is that you'll get 30+ years out of it. But I haven't done the experiment, so take this with a grain of salt.
Anonymous Poster
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Gary,
Here are my two bits. Buy the post hole digger. We semi-retired our Jd240 three years ago. It is an 88 model. There is nothing wrong with the under side. It has some surface rust on top.
Here are my two bits. Buy the post hole digger. We semi-retired our Jd240 three years ago. It is an 88 model. There is nothing wrong with the under side. It has some surface rust on top.
BrettW
Platinum Member
Gary, if you lose 1/4 inch on the sides that will not leave you much room for your fingers under there when that blade is spinnig!! /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif bw
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Gary_in_Indiana
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Brett,
Many years ago I had a Lawn Boy mower on which the mowing height could be adjusted by lifting the deck to take weight off the wheels then raising or lowering the wheels. At the time I was working most daylight hours and hired a neighbor kid to mow the lawn. He would come over when the front yard started looking edgy.
We had a large dog and a fenced rear yard at the time and, by the time the front yard started looking like it was time to mow the fenced in area (benefitting from the extra fertilizer happily provided by our Golden Retriever /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif ) was way high.
The young man would mow the back once with the wheels all the way down to be able to get through the growth then stop and raise the wheels to give it and the front yard a finish cut.
One day, without thinking, he killed the engine, bent over and put his hand under the edge of the deck to lift it to adjust the wheels before the blades stopped turning. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif Fortunately, there was no permanent loss or damage but it was certainly a terrible experience. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif
All the way to the hospital he kept repeating over and over again that he couldn't believe "how stupid" he'd been and that he knew better. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif It's not a matter of being stupid, of course. It's just a momentary lapse of attention around dangerous machinery. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif After seeing that, I doubt (and hope) I'll never put any appendages or limbs anywhere near a moving mower blade.
Many years ago I had a Lawn Boy mower on which the mowing height could be adjusted by lifting the deck to take weight off the wheels then raising or lowering the wheels. At the time I was working most daylight hours and hired a neighbor kid to mow the lawn. He would come over when the front yard started looking edgy.
We had a large dog and a fenced rear yard at the time and, by the time the front yard started looking like it was time to mow the fenced in area (benefitting from the extra fertilizer happily provided by our Golden Retriever /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif ) was way high.
The young man would mow the back once with the wheels all the way down to be able to get through the growth then stop and raise the wheels to give it and the front yard a finish cut.
One day, without thinking, he killed the engine, bent over and put his hand under the edge of the deck to lift it to adjust the wheels before the blades stopped turning. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif Fortunately, there was no permanent loss or damage but it was certainly a terrible experience. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif
All the way to the hospital he kept repeating over and over again that he couldn't believe "how stupid" he'd been and that he knew better. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif It's not a matter of being stupid, of course. It's just a momentary lapse of attention around dangerous machinery. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif After seeing that, I doubt (and hope) I'll never put any appendages or limbs anywhere near a moving mower blade.
tdenny
Platinum Member
Gary,
I used the paint on Liner stuff for the tread boards on my tractor (since the paint was wearing off). It not only works well but it looks pretty good too. Now I know that's not a factor (the look good part) for the underside of a finish mower but my point was that it is exremely durable stuff. My truck liner is completely bullet proof and believe me I move more rocks/boulders than most. I've been thinking of using the liner stuff on my loader bucket also. I don't think it would cause any problems with your mower and there's no way it would inhibit any more rusting. IMO
I used the paint on Liner stuff for the tread boards on my tractor (since the paint was wearing off). It not only works well but it looks pretty good too. Now I know that's not a factor (the look good part) for the underside of a finish mower but my point was that it is exremely durable stuff. My truck liner is completely bullet proof and believe me I move more rocks/boulders than most. I've been thinking of using the liner stuff on my loader bucket also. I don't think it would cause any problems with your mower and there's no way it would inhibit any more rusting. IMO
