Mowing Scientific experiment - waxing mower deck.

[LarryD]

<font color="blue"> Where did you catch that one?
</font>

Well, in the water of course /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif, can't you see all that water behind me in the picture?

OK...it was the water around Smith Island, about a quarter mile off the west side of Whidbey.

 

[LBrown59]

Any one tried using silicone spray rather than WD 40?

 

[Mith]

whaere do i get silicone spray, whats it used for?
I will try it if its cheap enough.

Side note: wont be doing any tesing for a while, hit a septic tank top and detroyed part of my mower deck that i use for testing. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif Order the new parts on Sat, until then that mower aint going nowhere /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[755inNY]

<font color="blue"> PS, any other things i should try to the decks while i have two identical mowers?
</font>

Yes. Continue to mow equal amounts of grass with each mower to determine how long it takes before the waxed mower behaves like the unwaxed mower. In other words, how long does the treated surface hold up?

 

[Mith]

Well to be honest i cant see the difference now and ive done 3 mows since the experiment, so its about 2 acres or so of long tough grass and moss
i think it basically wears off pretty fast

BTW, WD40 didnt do much either, i tried it on another mower and grass still stuck to it, so im thinking not much will help

 

[slowrev]

Mith,
A year or so ago I used to participate in a lawn mower board. There were long arguments on the waxing and slicking up the underside of the deck by other means. These discussions were pretty hot sort of like some oil discussions here. I suppose it is a serious issue with the lawnmower fanatics /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

I just make sure my deck has a good goating of fustoleum glossy paint on it and all is well. I have gotten 3 years on a rustoleum deck painting so far on a Gravely rider, I use as a mini brush hog. Use the rusty metal primer first and the enamel topcoat really hangs in there. Note: The rustoleum topcoat is tender for the first few weeks so this is best done in the fall, after mowing season.


Ben

 

[Mith]

Slowrev, have you got the addresses of the lawn mower boards, i would like to read there, thanks.

I sand down, paint with rust killer, and repaint with New Holland Q-coat every year after the season (december/january). It seems to wear off pretty fast though, maybe i need a more rubberised paint

I didnt realise this was a big deal in the world of mowers, i did it as a joke, not really seriously, but the results were nonetheless interesting

cheers!

 

[Mith]

Bummer it posted twice /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[slowrev]

I will try to find it for ya, it has been quite a while.
Ben

 

[texastomtom]

Believe it or not I'm speechless Mith

However I did have to show a presence here..

/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif /forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif

 

[otus_branch]

Yesterday evening, I was doing some maintenance to the BCS (changing engine oil, oiling mower spindles, and changing mower deck gear oil). While the fluids were draining, I also got to tinkering with an old grease gun of my grand-dad's that just got found in the back of the garage. The gun's a beaut, but it was full of hardened old grease.

Well, the bottom of my mower deck was mighty cruddy from a couple of years of neglect. So then I got to scraping off the grass and bits of rust.

Then I went back to getting that old grease out of the gun.

Then a thought occurred. Not sure yet if it was a smart one... I had to do something with the grease, so why not rub it onto the bottom of the mower deck? I figured it would be a good interim rust protectant until the fall, when I could use a rust-bonding primer and then a hard enamel, as recommended above.

Well, once the grease was rubbed on (it was so hard that it felt more like wax than grease), i got to wondering whether it would help keep the bottom grass-free, or instead just collect grass /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
So I figured I'd search TBN to see what else goofballs like me had experimented with.

Good to know that others have tinkered along the same lines. When I get the mower back out for (highly unscientific) experimentation, I'll let folks know what happens.

cheers,
-otus