Mower deck winter treatment

jCarroll · Dec 27, 2018

I have the clumps scraped off the bottom of my Z-mower deck. No wads to collect moisture and rust, nor
to provide housing for field mice.

It's not clean enough to paint - but would it prolong the deck to spray it with WD-40, or paint it with
old crankcase oil?

Any better ideas?

Any downside to such a treatment?

jm. · Dec 27, 2018

something like spray on silicone will stay a little longer than the wd40 .

old · Dec 27, 2018

I think a light coating of grease would work the best. Just smear it on and be done with it

DMartin9N-2N · Dec 27, 2018

Hi:
I would say coat the bottom of deck well, but do not get the grease or oil on the belts if (it has belts).

Dennis M. in W. Tenn.

flying belgian · Dec 27, 2018

I don't think it is necessary to do anything. In all my years i have never seen a mower deck rust away. Crack, yes. Bearings go out, yes. gauge wheels break off, yes. But never rust away.

grizz02 · Dec 27, 2018

diesel fuel in a squeeze sprayer

jm. · Dec 27, 2018

We see a lot of rusted decks but MOST are from grass left on top in and around the pulleys but sure not uncommon to see rusted decks around here.

ss55 · Dec 27, 2018

If the grass is removed, you don't need to do anything more to prevent it from rusting.

If you want to do more, paint the underside with graphite paint. You will be surprised how the underside stays cleaner and how much easier it is to scrape off the grass that does stick to the deck. Spray graphite paint is OK, but brush on leaves a much thicker coat of graphite that lasts several times longer.

jeffcat · Dec 27, 2018

This is what I do. As I finish up the last mow of the season. If it is at all possible and there is a nice big puddle near by, take your mower and power up the deck in the puddle. Raise the deck up and down while you get a typhoon of water under the deck. It should come out spotless. Also blow and wash all grass from the top of the deck so as not to retain moisture. This sandblast gun from Harbor Freight is around $25.00 and just fill it up with warm drain oil. Hose the bottom side and then dust the top side so you get as little oil as possible on the belts. Does a real bang up job. I also use that gun with petro type solvents to clean oil and grease covered equipment.

Rkh · Dec 27, 2018

I powerwash underneath deck, spray & brush with used motor oil, good for another year.

Fawteen · Dec 27, 2018

Well, apparently I'm the oddball here.

I remove the deck, remove the blades, scrape it as clean as I can, then put a knotted cup-style wire brush on an angle grinder and wirebrush it down to clean paint or metal and squirt a good coat of Rustoleum rusty metal primer on it.

Top is cleaned, paint touched up as needed and greased and blades are sharpened (or replaced) before the deck is reinstalled on the mower.

Mower (JD LX78) is 23 years old, deck is as solid as the day it left the dealer.

Glen SW Wi · Dec 27, 2018

After you get all the grass, etc. off the deck. Treat any rust with Phosphoric acid. Ace sells it by the gallon. The common name for it is OSPHO. This is a mild acid and doesn't burn your hands like other acids. It is the basis of all the rust treatments on the market. What your are doing is converting the iron oxide (rust) to iron phosphate. It will turn the rust black and can be painted. When I worked offshore on oil platforms we used this stuff by the gallons and you can't find a place that gets rusty more than something in a salty environment. It won't eat up your paint brush either. It also won't strip any paint.

If my memory serves me right it costs about $16 per gallon. Don't worry too much about the cost. The gallon will last you for years to use on all your rusty equipment. Is has a consistency of water.

JayinNY · Dec 27, 2018

Iv cut lawns commercialy since 1993, we have to scrape the mower decks every couple days in the wet conditions so they discharge nice, after picking up leaves in the fall the leaves clean the deck out very good, I park them and do nothing to them, one z is a 2005 exmark 60" with 4500 hours on the deck, has a small 2 inch long line wore threw it from the sandy lawns, other one is a 99 lazer z 60" deck is fine on that one. I also have 3 toro proline walkbehinds decks are all fine. If you want to pull the deck off, sand it with a wire wheel ect and paint it can't hurt anything.
We see rust caused from mowing fertilized lawns, so we wash the decks off every so often.,

37chief · Dec 27, 2018

Hitting rocks keeps the under side fairly clean on my woods mower. A lot of ricks I use my disk. Very few rocks I use my woods 6 ft. No rocks I use my flail mower. Stan

Russ from MN · Dec 27, 2018

There is a product called Fluid Film that would work well, but you need to clean it first. We don't do anything but scrape ours, and I think they will last longer than us.

JayinNY · Dec 27, 2018

My friend told me that works good, I have yet to try it.

tn terry t · Dec 27, 2018

I sprayed that stuff of a 560 d head is September I looked at it the other day still sticky as all getout, but no rust lol I bet ya have to wash that stuff off with something or you gona have a gummed up mess under there. I blow the grass off the top and put it in de barn

rusty6 · Dec 27, 2018

I have never done a thing to the deck on my old JD 111 lawn tractor and the deck is solid. It is stored indoors all the time so maybe that helps. Occasionally I will scrape off some stuck on grass clumps but it does not seem to gather much. I'm sure spraying used oil on the under side would not do any harm but as mine is close to 30 years old and still good I don't think I will bother.

showcrop · Dec 28, 2018

I am with 37Chief, I run it through a lot of gravel, LOL. Whatever you do don't smear it with grease, you won't be done with it, you will be trying to get the grass out from under it all of May and June next year!!

Brian G. NY · Dec 28, 2018

(quoted from post at 15:45:47 12/28/18)
I am with 37Chief, I run it through a lot of gravel, LOL. /quote]

I try to keep the grass cleaned out from under the deck during the summer when it is green and wet.
Then, come fall, after the leaves have fallen, I clean the deck really good before I go out and mulch all my leaves with the mower.
That cleans the underside like its been sandblasted.
I never put anything on the underside of the deck....as long as it stays dry, the rust is minimal.
Like someone mentioned, grass clippings allowed to build up on the top of the deck will cause rust through, especially if the mower is left out in the weather and the clippings remain continually wet.

Mower deck winter treatment

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Member

Well-known Member

Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Similar threads