Lawn Care Forum banner

What kind of paint to use on mower deck

66K views 49 replies 22 participants last post by  roody2333 
#1 ·
Hi. I need to repaint the bottom of my Honda powered Toro Proline mower and repaint the bottom of my HRC216 Honda mower. I dont really care about the color as I am just painting under the mower deck. What kind of paint should I use? I need something as smooth(durable would be nice too) as possible, we get super bad rain here and everything clogs like every 20 feet of mowing no matter what. I also have a lot of dings and marks in the bottom of my Toro due to rocks and other stuff that gets run over, should I fill these in with some sort of bondo or JB weld and paint over them? Thanks!
 
#2 ·
I kinda think that you won't be able to find anything that will really work well.
I'm sure the Honda has an aluminum deck and anything you put will be gone after cutting a few yards. Same for the Toro deck even though it is steel.
A few years ago I tried a couple of things during the season when the grass is fairly new or just damp.
After cleaning the deck well I sprayed a coat of plain silicone spray on it. Seemed to work for a while. Can also try simple vegetable spray (same as used in cooking).
I think even a heavy duty epoxy coating would only last a short time with everything picked up by the blades hitting it.
 
#3 ·
HUH???
In Florida nothing lasts on the underside of the deck. It stays bright and shiny when the grass is dry.
Some people use fluid film to help mitigate grass from sticking to the deck but it does not last long in Florida from what I can tell.
I just keep scraping the deck when it is wet til the season drys out.
As far as dings I think you are wasting your time trying to fill them.
 
#4 ·
Waste of time/paint, The under side of any deck is nothing more than a sand blaster. How much paint stays on anything put inside a blast cabinet ?
 
#7 ·
Ended up just getting some tractor paint. Pressure washed, hand cleaned, used a wire brush on a drill for the corners, and then used 180 grit to get a good surface. Then I primed. Currently the first coat of paint is drying, tomorrow goes on the second coat. The stock paint on my mowers usually last about 6 months if you clean it enough. I'm going to go buy a pressure washer later this week to keep them in better shape. We shall see!
 
#9 ·
I will have to agree with some of the others. It seems like a waste of time to paint the underneath of a deck. However, it is your deck and if you feel the need I say go for it! If you need to choose another color my vote is for GREEN! :laugh:
 
#10 ·
I will have to agree with some of the others. It seems like a waste of time to paint the underneath of a deck. However, it is your deck and if you feel the need I say go for it! If you need to choose another color my vote is for GREEN! :laugh:
No matter what color he paints it, I got a feeling it will end up GREEN anyway.
 
#12 ·
It is odd. I had another thread asking about what to do to make my mower clog less. In that thread I had a couple different people agreeing with me that I should paint the bottom of the deck. I'm hoping it will be easier to clean as long as it stays clean and maybe gets a fresh coat of paint every now and then. At the very least it's a rust inhibitor here. Seawater and lawnmowers don't mix.
 
#13 ·
If you use the mower on a regular basis you will hardly ever see any rust.
The sand will take care of that.
If you are trying to reduce clumping then that is another story.
Trying to keep a slick surface is what the posts were about. Some people say fluid film,some say cooking no stick spray, and many other methods such as there is a no stick paint that tractor supply sells.
What I am saying is for the effort it takes you will do just as well to just buy a small paint scraper and clean the deck with it till the wet season is over.
 
#14 · (Edited)
Painting under mower decks can be done with success but a product is needed that won’t chip easily and will remain flexible over time. Traditional oil base paints continue to harden and become more brittle over time which leads to chipping, cracking, peeling, not to mention rusting so therefore useless.

Our company makes a product that has been used extensively to coat under mowers and it is probably the No. 1 use for the product in the AG industry. It also finds wide use by municipalities for corrosion protection on snow and ice removal equipment.

Chassis Saver™ is a single component moisture cure urethane that cures with a combination of hardness and incredible flexibility. The product is so flexible that it can be coated on a thin metal test panel and folded years later like a sheet of paper without cracking. Upon initial inspection of the cured coating, many people mistake the finish for powder coating or a baked enamel.

I’m posting a site link below. Chassis Saver is sold by many automotive paint stores and some auto parts stores. A Dealer List is on the web site. If a dealer in not found in your area, product can be ordered directly thru Toll Free phone # on the site

Someone mentioned POR15. Chassis Saver is similar chemistry and considered the high performance alternate to POR @ 45% lower cost.

Anyone interested, please feel free to contact me for help or with any technical questions.

Chassis Saver comes in 4 colors/finishes. I recommend either gloss black or silver for mower decks.

http://www.magnetpaints.com/underbody.asp

Regards
magnetman
 
#15 ·
Bookmarked the website. I'll take a look at it later, especially if this paint doesn't last very long. True, as they are used on a regular basis they do not see much rust, but, I do not like rust. I use an old edger blade to scrape the deck with. I'm trying to figure out what kind of paint they used in the first place. It seems like almost an automotive type paint. Anyone know? Thanks for all the help. I have fluid film...didn't notice a difference. Does it need repeated applications?
 
#16 ·
Bookmarked the website. I'll take a look at it later, especially if this paint doesn't last very long. True, as they are used on a regular basis they do not see much rust, but, I do not like rust. I use an old edger blade to scrape the deck with. I'm trying to figure out what kind of paint they used in the first place. It seems like almost an automotive type paint. Anyone know? Thanks for all the help. I have fluid film...didn't notice a difference. Does it need repeated applications?
Most small and mid size equipment makers are still using a general purpose industrial enamel. Some may use better, perhaps a lower cost automotive urethane and some bigger companies have adopted powder coatings but it depends on the size of the equipment.


www.magnetpaints.com
 
#17 ·
Our company makes a product that has been used extensively to coat under mowers and it is probably the No. 1 use for the product in the AG industry.
I was going to leave this alone but since it's back up top I have a question about this product.

What's the life span of this product under a mower deck ?

In other words, How long after applying before the first small sign of deck metal showing through this product ?

Thanks
 
#18 ·
magnet: You say your product is superior to POR. In what way is it better? Living near salt i use a fair bit of POR. If yours is better , and cheaper, then i may pick some up next time i need some outdoor paint ( unfortunately i checked your website and the nearest store that sells it is 200 miles away but POR is local so i dont know)
 
#19 ·
I was going to leave this alone but since it's back up top I have a question about this product.

What's the life span of this product under a mower deck ?

In other words, How long after applying before the first small sign of deck metal showing through this product ?

Thanks
It really depends on how much abrasive material and rocks get thrown at it before it starts to deteriorate.
I don't have a mower personally to coat or I'd have more info. What I do know is what people have
told me but I have not asked your question of them.

Do you have a mower deck you would like to test it on?


http://www.magnetpaints.com/underbody.asp
 
#20 ·
magnet: You say your product is superior to POR. In what way is it better? Living near salt i use a fair bit of POR. If yours is better , and cheaper, then i may pick some up next time i need some outdoor paint ( unfortunately i checked your website and the nearest store that sells it is 200 miles away but POR is local so i dont know)
Scooby I have new Canada dealers to list later this coming week and next. Check the site again and let me know if you find something or not.

Regards
Eric
 
#21 ·
Uhhh, for one, forget the paint under the deck, no matter what you use it's just going to wear off down to shiney smooth metal.

I've used the chassis saver magnet "paint" and can tell you, it dosn't work. $85 for a gallon, used to paint the inside of my dump bed. Prepped the bare (new) metal and the previously painted metal very much as per the instructions. The crap was peeling off in sheets in 6 months. I ended up having to strip it all off with a grinder stripper disk and went back with regular primer and paint.

I had high hopes for the chassis saver product... Metal in a dump bed that hauls gras clippings is VERY hard to keep from rusting. I keep the bed clean, and usually dump every day. The grass is very hard on metal. Every bed I've had I have to paint at least once per season inside, where the outside dosn't have any problems. I thought the chassis saver would bond better and not let rust form under it... wrong.
 
#22 ·
Do you have a mower deck you would like to test it on?
Why sure, I would use my boss's new 60" Classic Dixie Chopper. He has 5 acres of thicker grass cover than myself with thinner sandy areas, He runs a low lift blade which I can only get high lifts for my ZTR. I would want to be fair in testing.....

After seeing Jason's post, Will I be wasting time ?
 
#23 ·
I forgot the other place I painted the chassis saver on... My snow plow blade on my ZTR was sitting there, so I wiped it clean and rolled it on there too. It totally peeled off, right back to the factory paint, in the snow. I could have used regular PAINT and it would have adhered much better... The instructions said it can be applied over existing paint, but yes, an "etched" surface is better. Like I said, I had both in my dump bed. The sides were new metal, and I used a wire wheel on the grinder to scuff them before application of the chassis saver.

If the stuff really needs to have the sirface prepped with a sand blaster to work, then it needs to say that on the instructions. I know that's the "prefered method" but most people don't have a blaster in their garage. It just didn't work for me, using the other prep methods that were given.
 
#24 ·
Why sure, I would use my boss's new 60" Classic Dixie Chopper. He has 5 acres of thicker grass cover than myself with thinner sandy areas, He runs a low lift blade which I can only get high lifts for my ZTR. I would want to be fair in testing.....

After seeing Jason's post, Will I be wasting time ?
If Jason simply applied Chassis Saver to bare smooth mew metal, I would not expect any results other than what he described.

Hey JASON! You said you followed our directions? Please tell me the truth, what you did before applying the product.

Eric
 
#25 ·
If Jason simply applied Chassis Saver to bare smooth mew metal, I would not expect any results other than what he described.

Hey JASON! You said you followed our directions? Please tell me the truth, what you did before applying the product.

Eric
Posted that... I used a wire wheel on a grinder to etch the surface. It's been about 4 years ago now, so forgive me if I misquote the actual instructions, but I recall that being acceptable. I wire wheeled both the bare new steel and the painted diamond tread of the flatbed. I did apply the chassis saver to some areas that were not etched, and it peeled up there just as it did where I had used the wire wheel. I didn't skimp either on the wirewheel. I spent a lot of time on that project, because I expected it to last, and didn't want to mess it up because it was supposed to be a "permanent" solution.

I applied it with a roller, which was also listed on the instructions as being ok. I'm sure a spray gun would have been better though, but I was told that if I did that the gun would be trash as there's no way to remove the stuff after it cures even a little.

Yes I used, whatever it called for, to strip any oil off the metal. I remember I bought a thinner that was the same brand. I bought the stuff from a local auto paint shop.
 
#26 ·
Chassis Saver is a urethane which is known to have poor adhesion to smooth surfaces. The reason it works so well to stop rust is because it's near impossible to chip or crack. As long as you can get it to stick to your surface, it really does stop rust by preventing oxygen and moisture getting to the metal.

Our directions say that sandblasting is optimal but if blasting can not be done to use coarse abrasive to rough up the metal. Wire wheeling does not abrade metal well enough, it burnishes it. A grinder would have been a better choice.

Chassis Saver really sticks best to existing rust by penetrating the rust and forming a mechanical bond.

Also, applying this product over an old paint by just "wiping clean" is a complete waste of time especially when it's a costly product.

This conversation got dragged completely off topic when we were talking about mower decks and now inside a dump body.

Can someone educate me better: What condition does the underside of a mower deck get to when used regularly?
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top