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[BigRedDog]

I hate how nasty things get under my mower decks over the years.

Over the years I've seen so many 'rust through' from the inside out. 

I'm wondering about taking the spindles out and getting them sprayed with the spray on truck bed liner.  Anyone ever tried it? 

Otherwise I'm back to cleaning, priming and painting again!  I usually just use good Rustoleum rusty metal primer and lay it on a few coats and then just use whatever paint I have laying around (I'm the only one that will see it).  Then I use the spray on graphite to make the grass come out easier but in the end it's still rusty under there a few years later.

I've got a couple of 'collector' decks off my old IH Cub Cadets (I steer away from their MTD stuff if I can).  The one I really want to try the bed liner spray is off my 60" Swisher.  That's my 'main mower' and I have it all apart for a full rebuild including a new engine.  I've talked to a few of the bed liner places that have tried it and of course they think it's a great idea!!!  They all claim that they do a few jobs 'now and then' but of course they can't (or won't) give me any follow up two or  three years out.  It's something I don't want to do every 2 or 3 years...

I'm doing that now!!!

Any other ideas of suggestions would be appreciated...

it will be time to mow before we know it...   actually I mowed a few small patches last week but finally winterized the mower and put it in the back corner of the barn where the snow blower had been.  Snowblower started right up and is ready to go plus I have the blade on one of the CC's.

[blue2]

I though i was the only guy to spray Rustoleum on the underside of the deck.  It doesn't seem to last long once i start mowing but i think it helps keep it from rusting over the winter. If you can't find anyone that will spray the bedliner material perhaps the spray undercoating you can buy at auto stores will work too.  I use it for axle, springs etc on my truck so it doesn't look so nasty..
I haven't tried the graphite.  But i do use silicone on the the inside of the snowblower chute and around where it swivels.

[arpydave]

I hate how nasty things get under my mower decks over the years.

Over the years I've seen so many 'rust through' from the inside out. 

I'm wondering about taking the spindles out and getting them sprayed with the spray on truck bed liner.  Anyone ever tried it? 

Otherwise I'm back to cleaning, priming and painting again!  I usually just use good Rustoleum rusty metal primer and lay it on a few coats and then just use whatever paint I have laying around (I'm the only one that will see it).  Then I use the spray on graphite to make the grass come out easier but in the end it's still rusty under there a few years later.

I've got a couple of 'collector' decks off my old IH Cub Cadets (I steer away from their MTD stuff if I can).  The one I really want to try the bed liner spray is off my 60" Swisher.  That's my 'main mower' and I have it all apart for a full rebuild including a new engine.  I've talked to a few of the bed liner places that have tried it and of course they think it's a great idea!!!  They all claim that they do a few jobs 'now and then' but of course they can't (or won't) give me any follow up two or  three years out.  It's something I don't want to do every 2 or 3 years...

I'm doing that now!!!

Any other ideas of suggestions would be appreciated...

it will be time to mow before we know it...   actually I mowed a few small patches last week but finally winterized the mower and put it in the back corner of the barn where the snow blower had been.  Snowblower started right up and is ready to go plus I have the blade on one of the CC's.

For what it's worth...my humble opinion...

If you got the deck down and off already...pull your blades, sharpen or replace them. Pull or tape off the spindle bearings. Clean, wirebrush the deck for paint prep. There's a product out there that you spray on that halts, seals and restores rust if you have a non-aluminum deck. Then do your Rustoleum primer if you wish or need too.

Then spray with gloss enamel. It will clean easier. Think along the lines of painting a kitchen wall. What's easier to clean the grease splatter off of: full gloss or semi-gloss?

Then hit it after dried with spray on Pam vegetable pan coating. Works great on snow shovels and snow blowers too BTW. During the season you can also just give a spray to the reject chute to keep it flying or going into your bagger. Cheaper, more available than graphite or silicone. And yeah, even "greener". And if Mama comes up short with an empty can of Pam one day just claim ignorance. 

And I'm assuming you're taking care of the spindle bearings, from a grease fitting point of view.

[Professor H]

Interesting - I hadn't considered coating the underside -

My deck has the hose connection for washing it - but I don't use it as I figured more water eventually means more rust and a quicker breakdown of the equipment.

[nails]

BRD .......  I can't imagine silicone or graphite spray lasting more than a couple minutes since the underside of the deck is essentially being sand blasted whenever the blade is running.

I don't do it, but I would guess the best thing you can do is maybe run the mower up some kind of ramp and hit the deck with a quick blast of the power washer and get the matted grass out of there. The grass is holding the moisture and that is causing the rust.

[BigRedDog]

I though i was the only guy to spray Rustoleum on the underside of the deck.  It doesn't seem to last long once i start mowing but i think it helps keep it from rusting over the winter. If you can't find anyone that will spray the bedliner material perhaps the spray undercoating you can buy at auto stores will work too.  I use it for axle, springs etc on my truck so it doesn't look so nasty..
I haven't tried the graphite.  But i do use silicone on the the inside of the snowblower chute and around where it swivels.

The spray stuff you can buy at the auto stores are kind of rubbery...   probably works just as well for sticking and protecting from rust though.  I'm just thinking the slippery bed liner stuff would make it easier to keep clean over the summer.  My son has a Honda mower and the deck is made out of similar material as a pro football helmet.  It's probably 7 or 8 years old and no problems and it does definitely 'clean up' easier!!!

For what it's worth...my humble opinion...

If you got the deck down and off already...pull your blades, sharpen or replace them. Pull or tape off the spindle bearings. Clean, wirebrush the deck for paint prep. There's a product out there that you spray on that halts, seals and restores rust if you have a non-aluminum deck. Then do your Rustoleum primer if you wish or need too.

Then spray with gloss enamel. It will clean easier. Think along the lines of painting a kitchen wall. What's easier to clean the grease splatter off of: full gloss or semi-gloss?

Then hit it after dried with spray on Pam vegetable pan coating. Works great on snow shovels and snow blowers too BTW. During the season you can also just give a spray to the reject chute to keep it flying or going into your bagger. Cheaper, more available than graphite or silicone. And yeah, even "greener". And if Mama comes up short with an empty can of Pam one day just claim ignorance. 

And I'm assuming you're taking care of the spindle bearings, from a grease fitting point of view.

The blades are already off both decks.  The CC ones are sharpened and ready to replace (only one season of mowing on them anyway).  I have a full set of Gators for the Swisher.  Got a deal on them at TSC when they were actually cheaper than their conventional OEM Swisher blades so I ordered 3 sets of them...   should last me several more years and by then I may have to break down and buy a new Swisher

The CC (being old school International Harvester) was built with grease fittings right in the top of the spindle shafts that I can see from the tractor seat while mowing (well the 2 outer ones anyway).  Easy to give them a shot of grease 2 or 3 times a season.

The Swisher is built with sealed ball bearings.  I've replaced them one time even though none of them had actually failed...  a couple were getting a little 'loose'!  I've thought about replacing the with a cup and cone bearing and then adding grease fittings but never have actually done it.  Maybe the next time I'm ready to replace the ball bearings I'll try it.

[BigRedDog]

BRD .......  I can't imagine silicone or graphite spray lasting more than a couple minutes since the underside of the deck is essentially being sand blasted whenever the blade is running.

I don't do it, but I would guess the best thing you can do is maybe run the mower up some kind of ramp and hit the deck with a quick blast of the power washer and get the matted grass out of there. The grass is holding the moisture and that is causing the rust.

I keep the ramps on the back of my trailer so I can always run them up and clean them with the power washer but I don't do it every time I mow. 

EZ Slide graphite is what I've been using and it definitely will stay on for several weeks.  But then you still have to do some scraping and power washing to get it clean again.  The Honda plastic deck will just let the green goop fall off on the floor between mowings.

http://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/ez-slide-graphite-based-coating-12-oz-aerosol

[excelsior]

I would look at Permatex Rust Treatment.    It will stop the rust and leave a hard durable finish.

http://www.permatex.com/products-2/product-categories/specialized-maintenance-repair/body-interior-trim/permatex-rust-treatment-detail

[BigRedDog]

I would look at Permatex Rust Treatment.    It will stop the rust and leave a hard durable finish.

http://www.permatex.com/products-2/product-categories/specialized-maintenance-repair/body-interior-trim/permatex-rust-treatment-detail

I've used the Loctite rust neutralizer several years ago...  I wonder if it's the same product?

I did find this on a John Deere lawn tractor forum and I think I'm going to give this a try:

I have a 425 AWS with a 60" deck. Last spring I removed all of the rust with a wire brush, applied some POR15, and then applied some truck bedliner. It held up pretty well, but needs some touch up. I will do that with a paint brush and my left over bedliner coating before I put the deck back on this spring. I would be nice if someone would make an epoxy coating with graphite that would hold up a long time and have low friction properties. Maybe something like the epoxy garage floor coatings made for mower decks.

The above is from the very bottom of the page here:

http://www.mytractorforum.com/12-john-deere-forum/226598-underside-mower-deck-paint-question.html

Here's their website:

http://absolutecoatings.com/POR15-Brand.php

and their bedliner material:

http://www.por15.com/POR-15-OEM-Bed-Liner-_p_105.html

Looks like it's available through Painter's Supply on N. Monroe Street.

[SidecarFlip]

IMO, it's not a good idea simply because it will chip and peel from impacts under there and you cannot touch up a spray on bedliner.  Besides spray on liners aren't smooth, they have texture and that texture will snag clippings.  Just my 2 cents.

I coat my deck underside with spray on 'Slip Plate' from TSC.  Same stuff you use on grain elevators where you want the grain to slide.

It's a graphite based coating and keeps the rust away too.

[The Fuzz]

Ridding the smooth surface was my initial concern as well.  I have no clue from a design perspective, but I would guess the turbulence/aerodynamics required of a mower deck undercarriage to expel the clippings is part of the consideration.  If so, my guess is that the model that simulates it would be a relatively smooth surface.

[livewire]

I would have to agree with the comments about undercoating being to rough, or not smooth enough to allow for proper flow of clippings.  Might work to prevent rust, but it might adversely affect the flow of clippings, to the point of ruining the mower.  Keeping the underside clean has been the best way I found to keep any mower deck running properly, and rust free.

[blue2]

I knock out chunks of grass then hose it clean sometimes using a putty knife   At end of season I paint with black antitrust paint..I use the spray Permatex on underside of Ram

[SidecarFlip]

A pressure washer (even a cheap one) is your friend with a mower deck.  been known to yank my zero turn straight up with the forks on the tractor (and a chain) and pressure wash the deck that way....  Less messy.

Good way to drain the oil too.

[BigRedDog]

I'm literally surprised how much 'action' this thread is getting...   I figured I'd get a reply or two and that would be it!

So far it's up over 350 views too.

I'm enjoying all the various thoughts and ideas so I'll encourage others to 'throw it all out there'. 

One possibly 'critical' fact I had forgotten about on my son's Honda mower is that it also has twin blades under the Xenoy Resin deck.  Maybe that does chop the clippings fine enough that they don't build up on the plastic deck.  I just kind of think the 2nd blade is a bit of a gimmick.  It it's magic then it seems like other mowers would have them. 

I'm still looking at something that will protect the deck for the longest possible time though.

MicroCut Twin Blades - Honda Lawn Mowers

Info on Xenoy Resin:

https://www.sabic-ip.com/gep/Plastics/en/ProductsAndServices/ProductLine/xenoy.html