Mower deck maintenance. Is it worth it?

Second time I’ve done this, last time being Jan ‘22. Is there a “better” way to slow down the decay? I’m not one of those guys that mows wet grass either.

 

I usually do mine every couple of years, mower is 20 this year! I pressure wash with a turbo nozzle and then paint with rust converter. Hope it’ll last another 20. I don’t think you’re wasting your time Jason, looks great!

 

I did pressure wash yesterday.This is a 2018 Simplicity, which I hoped to get many years from. Seeing its condition I’m thinking i should do it every fall when I’m done using it for the year.
I gave this a look at TSC. Maybe a different product would be more durable?


This is the ‘22 pic.

 

I’m pretty good about blasting the underside of my deck off with the hose after every use, but I’m sure it’s worth it in the long run to go the extra mile like you do with yours. I wonder how por15 would hold up in this application? Either this:

Or maybe even the rubberized undercoating version. Just spitballing here.

 

I have a front deck Ferris and the deck tilts back so I clean after every use with a putty knife. Only takes a few minutes and with little to no grass there to hold moisture it really never tries to rust. I'm assuming you are dealing with a mid deck that is not so simple to clean.

 

Oil ramps drive it up..

 

Looks good. I used to take the deck off my old murray mower and clean it good. I bought a 60" cut hustler zero turn in 2016. I've never taken the deck off and don't plan to. Looks like a pain. I mow wet grass occasionally and only scrape the deck out a couple times a year cause that's a pain as well for my 61 year old arthritic body. I haven't noticed any issues with it. It's at least 3/16 welded steel deck.

 

Now cleaning the underside of the mower deck I will say this is definitely a part I am lazy about

 

Nope,I think you have a good plan. Agree that this is a top notch PITA job but when done yearly you can expect to significantly extend the deck’s lifetime.

 

I used Rust Bullet and Rust Reformer on my Kubota. It’s previous owner must have used it for loading salt and snow removal.

 

Your Amazon link isn’t showing anything. I was considering Eastwoods rust encapsulator. Maybe next time.
https://www.eastwood.com/eastwood-black-rust-encapsulator-paint-over-rust.html

I did a little YouTube research and the consensus was that rubberized undercoat or even bed liners didn’t do well. Moisture gets underneath and makes the issue worse. Not speaking from experience. Some were saying FluidFilm and similar but that seemed like there’d be a need for frequent applications.

Yep, mid deck. It’s not horrible to remove but it’s not something I enjoy doing. Doesn’t raise high enough to hose off easily. I’d not want to do that unless I knew I could get all the grass off.


This spot is what concerns most. It’s opposite of where a tab is welded on the top side. Might have to get my son to fill it in a/some weld here soon.

 

I clean it when the blades come off to be sharpened.

 

Same here.

 

I try to never mow wet grass and I always blow out the deck with a backpack blower after every use. I used to use the quick connect wash port on the deck but never liked the idea of introducing water under there intentionally.

 

Yup, had one on my Toro but it didn't work very well at all, and same thing, I didn't like exposing shielded brgs to water, so I quit using it and just scraped the deck off when I sharped blades...stamped steel deck was still not rusted out when I sold it at 14 YO

Yup, I'd get that reinforced asap.

 

I pull the deck out of the lawn tractor at the start of mowing season. Remove and sharpen the blades, clean under the deck, grease the spindles and give everything a once over. I haven't bothered painting yet. In the early part of the season the grass/weeds are definitely wet. By the end of the season I'm mowing very dry weeds with lots of dirt, especially when I hit gopher mounds. It has the effect of sand blasting the under side of the deck!

 

Wow, great effort there! The stamped decks for sure need more attention than the welded units. When I first bought a commercial mower I was ready to protect my investment come fall time. Bought a couple of new scraping tools even. Lifted the deck to find almost nothing in the way of clumped grass. After a couple years went by I deduced that my deck is usually pretty clean in the fall because I have to mow under several walnut trees. (I don't pick up the walnuts beforehand) I don't care to mow wet grass due to poor cut quality, but have mowed in the rain before. The nasty glued on clippings have not been an issue for me so far. I will sometimes mow sticks smaller than my thumb too...mower goes brrrrrrrrrr. Have been thinking of doing some paint touch ups though...mainly for aesthetics.

 

Yup, X2...I might even go a bit bigger than that...it sure isn't going to hurt anything on the mower, and it does often knock some grass clumps loose!

 

two 20 year old john deere riders with mid mount decks. I have never done anything other than clean out stuck clumps of grass that built up when I mowed too wet. Usually it stays polished smooth under there from mowing tough dry grass.

 

I can hope this one will go 20 years. Seeing the amount and severity of pitting and corrosion already, I kinda have doubts. Maybe if I can find the right material to use to stop it. I don't think this paint is performing like I'd hoped. Maybe I should get it LineX'd, lol.