Nothing. I clean/scrape my deck every year, I don’t mow when the grass is wet, and I have never hosed water on or under the deck. Water and storage moisture is the enemy of mower decks. My 23 year old JD 48” deck has the original bearings and belt and is still solid as a rock.
What are you using to protect the underneath of the mower deck!?
- Thread starter RazorsEdge
- Start date
I tried it, does not hold up, i had high hopes. I've tried almost everything. Epoxy paint, graphite paint, undercoating, bedliner spray. Granted i have not tried Line-X. But i've tried about everything else to no avail.
If I never mowed unless the grass was perfectly dry in our climate, I'd have to rely on sheep or goats.
Whenever I have the deck off the rider or my Bobcat 36" walk behind flipped on its side I scrape/brush off the bottom and slather on some bar and chain oil with a big paint brush. Seems to work OK.
Whenever I have the deck off the rider or my Bobcat 36" walk behind flipped on its side I scrape/brush off the bottom and slather on some bar and chain oil with a big paint brush. Seems to work OK.
Yes, as long as you hose under the deck first. However, you will have to do it after every mowing.
I can’t wait until it’s totally dry. I would have to wait until it’s late in the day. There are no perfect conditions when it comes to mowing in S.W. Georgia.
I said it before, never use anything thicker than paint. Look at the number of rotted out frames and door jams from things like Zbarting and undercoating that just hide the rust until something pokes a hole in them. If you trap the moisture between a waterproof coating and the steel it will rot out, if it can air dry you just get a little surface rust.
That’s my routine. Same results.
Spray PAM (biodegradeable) underneath the deck after you clean - it if it makes you feel better and you have time to spare on such.
WD 40 will be gone from the surface before he completes his first mowing if you are suggesting WD40 as a protectant. Engaging the mower after rinsing will get rid of the water underneath without the need for a water dispersant.Wash the underside with a spray nozzle on the garden hose. If you want to be picky, spray with WD-40, following the bath.
Yes, it will be gone after the first mowing.
Yes, a dispersant.
There is nothing that can be applied to the underside of a mower deck that will protect or prevent rust.
Keeping the underside clean is the best practice. The same goes for the deck top. Buildup of debris and clippings is a bigger problem than a little surface rust. My dad had a a JD100. He hosed out from under the deck and kept it blown off. The rust didn’t kill the original deck, 15 years of mowing did. 15 seasons of mowing, sandblasted two holes in the deck. I replaced that deck and the 17.5 hp Briggs is still going at 21 years. My sister inherited the mower.
I mow my yard once a week. It’s approximately 2.7 acres. I put sharp blades on after two mowings. I sharpen my own blades. That’s when I get the scraper out and remove what the garden hose may have missed.
One more thing. If you are using Gator blades or other mulching type blades, it is very important to clean the underside of the mower after each mowing. Those Gator and other mulching type blades tend to pack grass clippings under the deck. Of course, that won’t happen if you mow in a drought.
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I take the deck off and scape it clean 1-2 times a year. Before reinstalling it I usually use an old paint brush and apply burnt motor oil to the deck. The oil helps keep the deck from rusting and makes it easier to scrape the old grass/debris off next time. My last mower was used 20+ years and the deck was still good with no rust when I quit using it.
I have not done it, but if I was going to coat the underside with something it would be truck bed liner spray, the quality stuff. It seems to last nice in truck beds. Stuff scrapping into truck beds is way more hard on a coating than grass, and a few sticks and stones.
I bought a Toro Super Recycler Personal Pace with an aluminum deck. I blow air underneath every now and then.
i have tried that with zero success , as i stated before, i have not tried, nor would spend the money for line-x. But home spray bedliner does not work.
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I had a cheap Snapper mower from Wal-mart, frame rusted in 6 years.The aluminum deck nice
I was thinking same thing! Grass might also not stick to it as bad??
