Advice on Striping Kits

[Cutting_Edge_Lawns]

Does anyone have any advice to offer on striping kits? I have a small lco, 15 residentials and 2 commercial. I service these properties around another full-time job, and enjoy it, but would have greater satisfaction being able to look back on a striped lawn I had just completed. I run a 36" Gravely Pro, and a 21" JD commercial. I have looked at both the roller striping kits and the chain striping kits and would appreciate someones opinion on which will give the best overall appearance.

Thanks!!

[LAWNGODFATHER]

WHY?

[Cutting_Edge_Lawns]

Why what? Why do I want to stripe the lawns I do, or why do I want someone elses advice on what kit will produce the best results?

(1) I enjoy taking care of the properties I service, and I take great pride in how they look. I am not looking to grow my business any larger b/c I am at capacity due to working another full-time job, but I want my lawns to stand out from everyone elses. I think you can get a great deal of satisfaction from making a lawn look its best, and one of the ways is to have the lawns striped. Several of my customers have beautiful lawns in prestigeous areas, and would appreciate their lawn standing out from their neighbors.

(2) I wanted someone elses opinion because no one in this area sells striping kits. If I purchase one, it will have to be mail order or online, and I would like as much info as possible before I purchase. I have read numerous posts of others asking opinions on everything from equipment to how to deal with a disgruntled customer, so I figured this is the perfect place to ask.

You'll have to tell me if this answers your question of why, and hopefully you will have some input for me, as I have seen the striping pics you have previously posted.

Thanks,

[Big G]

Try the search feature located at the top of the page under the sponsors banner. Type in "striping" and you will be provided with lots of info on peoples opinions on what is best & where to get them.;)

[AielLandscaping]

ok since no one else will answer your question...

i made a chain kit for my 21" hondas and after the first day using it i took it off because the chain won't let you roll the mower backwards or turn correctly i can't say anything about a mower larger then a 21" but i think that a roller is the way to go... i'm going to order one from www.invent-tek.com ... today though while out mowing i had a thought about striping and how i wish i had a roller already and came up with another idea of how to make a kit.... wouldn't it be possible to fabricate a piece of metal to drag directly behind the mower and not interfere with the tires. i picture this looking like a metal plate with a hinge on one end attached to the back of the mower, then have a bar attached to the metal plate that runs up the the other controls that could be used to lift the plate while backing... i don't know maybe that doesn't make since.. just a thought...bushhogboy your thoughts on that?

[Upstate Mike]

I just bought one of those rolllers for my 21 LB and I should be able to test it out this week.I will let you know how it works.

[Cutting_Edge_Lawns]

Thanks for the input, I appreciate it!! I am leaning towards making a chain kit for my 36", because I would'nt have to be concerned with reverse, as the deck is far enough away from where the chains will be mounted. On my 21" I think I will go with the roller for the reasons you pointed out. I will keep you posted as to how it turns out, and again, thanks for the info!!



Shawn

[wattsup]

Gravely makes a striping kit for your mower. It is made out of a conveyer belt. I have it on my mower and it works great. You can see the kit on the Gravely web site.

[FrankenScagMachines]

I would make a roller, but I just have never messed with chains much. The first kit I made came apart when I backed up (on a garden tractor) and it was like 3/8" chain (big!) and like I said, it came off and went right under the deck when i backed up, and busted an aluminum spindle housing. Since then i've never really messed with chains LOL. I've done a couple rollers and they turned out good. IMHO, a flap will not offer much for most lawns I know of.

AielLandscaping -
A lever to lift a plate would work fine, but i'm not sure a flap would be heavy enough to lay the grass down in a good stripe that will be definitive and lasting. I just got a push mower (given to me to fix and keep to use) and I'm going to make a roller for it. My grandpa gave me a bunch of flat boat trailer rollers he salvaged, and i'm going to use these and some 1/2" rod to make a kit. On the push mower, I think it will just replace the back wheels, and be welded to the adjustment brackets so I can still change heights. If you don't have a welder or access to one, just use small u bolts and clamp them on. Just bend the rod with two 90 degree turns, one on each end, but don't forget to put the rollers on before bending the last one! Make sure to always "measure twice, and cut once" or in this case, bend once. Allow alittle slack for the curve's bends. Just put it in a vise and use a hammer or pliers to bend it, or your bare hands, whatever you like. You can also use pipes slid one into each other, with many sizes to make an almost solid roller. I've made rollers for 2 32" riders and i'm going to make one for a 30" walk behind I'm making from stuff I had laying around, and then one for this push mower. I would think that with chains on a 'push' push mower (not self propelled), chains could make it too hard to push. Maybe not, never tried it, but just a theory. With a roller, you want as much weight resting on the roller as possible for best stripes. Like mount it to a deck, or in place of rear wheels on push mower, etc you can hardly ever get TOO MUCH weight on them, unless they are a boughten kit and say not to, then it will void your warranty if you put more than they say on it.
Later maybe I'll post pics of this push mower roller (after I make it).
Good luck,
Eric

[Liquid Cooled Exmark]

I dont use anything like that and i can stripe with the best of them. i have some pics that ill post on here wither this week or next week. u dont nee that kind of thing, just cut them correctly and you wont have to worry, i cut 4 days a week and do regular landscaping, like mulching and plantings 1 day a week. but i cut a lot and stripes come out perfect and look good, ill put up some pics soon. I see a lot of guys around me stripe very nicely , noone uses the roller or chain kits at all. sorry just my opinion

[FrankenScagMachines]

Well, different grass types take a stripe differently, and different mowers stripe differently by themselves too. Technique does have alot to do with it though.
Eric

[Cutting_Edge_Lawns]

Originally posted by Liquid Cooled Exmark
I dont use anything like that and i can stripe with the best of them. u dont nee that kind of thing, just cut them correctly and you wont have to worry, I see a lot of guys around me stripe very nicely , noone uses the roller or chain kits at all. sorry just my opinion

Please share how to get a a good stripe without a kit!! I can stripe great lines, but I am not getting the difference in shades between the passes. I have both my decks set a 1/4" lower in the front, because I understood this helps? If I can stripe lawns w/o having a bunch of extra equipment to mess with, I am all for it!!

Thanks,

Shawn

[LAWNGODFATHER]

What is a striping kit?

It is something that bends the blades of grass over more than the vacuum of the mower is doing.

Take an old tire and cut it up and mount to the back of the deck of both mowers. Mount it about 2" lower than the back of the deck. Cheap but just as effective and not $300 like I have seen them sell for.

I asked why because I have no clue to why you can't get your mower to stripe.

You still will have to train the lawns to get the stripes in them.

[LAWNGODFATHER]

Originally posted by Cutting_Edge_Lawns


Please share how to get a a good stripe without a kit!! I can stripe great lines, but I am not getting the difference in shades between the passes. I have both my decks set a 1/4" lower in the front, because I understood this helps? If I can stripe lawns w/o having a bunch of extra equipment to mess with, I am all for it!!

Thanks,

Shawn

Read this thread

http://lawnsite.com/showthread.php?threadid=28060&goto=newpost

Blade speed makes a huge difference. make sure you engine it turning at 3650 rpm's.

[Cutting_Edge_Lawns]

I am able to get somewhat of a stripe, but not the definition between sweeps I have seen in the pictures you have posted. What do you do differently that yields such good results? One of the reasons I thought a striping kit was necessary, is I have about 50% mix between bermuda and fescue lawns, and no striping shows in the bermuda, only wheel tracks. What am I doing wrong. Sorry for such a novice question, but I have only been in the business since last August.

Thanks for your help,

Shawn

[LAWNGODFATHER]

How tall are you mowing those grasses?

[Cutting_Edge_Lawns]

2.5 on the bermuda, 3 on the fescue- is that my problem??

[Liquid Cooled Exmark]

I get good stripes like i said, withut using a kit, is my style and what LGF said, speed, my blades are spinning quickly but im not moving at a extremely fast speed. I find it to work great, i cut most of my lawns at 3" and the one that comes out the best is 3.75", but that is the customer, very ttall, soft grass, but looks good. the other reason for that is because when the lawn was put in, it was not leveled nicely.

[FrankenScagMachines]

As I mentioned, i have a striping roller on my rider, but I was going to make a better one, adjustable ( the old one wasn't adjustable but i'm finding I want one that is, so I gotta make different brackets) well it was off and I had to mow a lawn today, and you won't beleive the difference. I normally use this mower on this lawn, however last time I used a different one with a larger cut, so my stripes got messed up, but this lawn doesn't hold a good stripe for long anyway. But with the kit, it will do OK, but today I went and cut it w/o the kit in a different direction than before, and it was like nothing compared to with the kit. With certain grasses, this thing stripes good w/o kit, but the difference is there for sure. I think kits are worth it. Just thought i'd add this since I just had a before/after type experience.
Eric
BTW- I'm happy for you if it works good for you w/o a kit! And I'm not trying to convince anyone to get one, I'm just saying I would rather have one and that I can see a difference.
Good luck!

[LawnSmith]

bone stock scag TT.....as LGF said, it takes some training.

[LAWNGODFATHER]

Originally posted by Cutting_Edge_Lawns
2.5 on the bermuda, 3 on the fescue- is that my problem??

Bump them both up a 1/2". Not only will it give you more of each blade of grass to stand up and turn in one direction to make the striped effect, but it will allow you to get more mowings in, when it gets real hot out.

[Cutting_Edge_Lawns]

LawnGodFather,

Thanks, this definately made a difference!! I mowed this morning with the deck 1/2 higher, and it makes a considerable shade difference. Thanks to everyone who gave me there $.02 worth, I appreciate it. I am going to go work on my technique, and when I am proud of my stripes, I will post a couple of pics.

Thanks again-

P.S. - Also picked up from another thread that if I slow down (not run in 5th all the time) I will get more defined stripes, and this also proved to be helpful!!

Shawn

[AielLandscaping]

i tried that too today, cutting 1/2 inch higher and running slower... i'm still without a kit, but it sure does make a difference... :D