1) I'm pretty anal-retentive about cleaning up the mower after each use. I do most of the quick cleanup with the air hose to blow off the clippings and dust. The plastic spindle covers on my old JD rider had some gaps along the bottom and I could blow the crud out pretty easily. The covers on my new Raptor SD 60 are tight to the deck, and much longer so a lot of garbage can build up under there. There are two bolts holding each one down, but I wanted to convert the covers into tool-less removal for easier cleaning. I picked up four 1/4-20 stainless steel round head bolts and four stainless wing nuts. The bolts are 1-1/4 long because that's all they had in stock that was stainless. I think a 3/4" bolt would have been perfect. Anyway, I threaded them up from below after putting a dab of blue threadlocker on them. I used them during cleanup after mowing this afternoon, and it's pretty handy. Here are a few pics: