Does coating the underside of deck really work?

[bertsmobile1]

NO
Teflon paint is designed to prevent oily things from sticking like crayons cooked food etc
It will probably go some way to stop build up under the deck for a couple of months till it s abraided away
As Star has already said, the underside of a deck is the equivalent to a sand blasting cabinet
If the grass & grit can wear through 1/4" of steel hardened to 65 to 80 Rockwell on your blades what chance does a paint have
Just have a think about it
If it is hard enough to resist the abraison then it will not be flexiable enough to resist the abraison.
Add to that cut grass is very acidic so there is a chemical attack as well

 

[efred]

Has anyone tried something like that spray-on bed liner, without the grit?

 

[johnboy647]

I have always had JD riding lawn mowers. Currently have an X350-which I am well please with. The only solution that I have found to work without fail is to simply run the mower up on ramps, high enough to get under it and use a putty knife and clean the excess grass and dirt off the underside of the mower deck. This takes only a very few minutes. You must be careful to be sure the parking break is in place and also put a brick or other object behind the read tire to assure the mower cannot move.

 

[Gord Baker]

I expect most decks are Powder Coated with no primer or proper surface preparation. The stamped deck and welded attachments need to be Sandblasted to SP6, then using an inorganic zinc primer and Hi-build epoxy topcoat done to manufacturers recommendations, you will have a durable coating. I would then apply Rhino Bed Coating to resist abrasion and keep it touched up as necessary.
All of that would likely be more costly than a new Deck!

 

[upupandaway]

Users just don't understand how abrasive grass is. When I service office equipment the customers just could not understand how paper could wear a piece of metal out. You slide enough of it across anything it will wear. It just like how water itself can wear though stones.

True. Water carved out the Grand Canyon...

ps. The best luck I've tried is rubber roof coating. after 2 summers, some is coming off but I don't see rust unlike other options like paints, car undercoating,etc that come off quick.

My dad had a sandblasting business and blasting barely scratches rubber. The trick is how to make it to never come off the metal...

 

[wekjo]

Over the last few years, just for fun, I have treated the underside of several mower decks (including brand new never used) with several of the sprays and a few of the brush-on deck coatings. I have prepped older decks by scraping and scrubbing them clean and I have coated a brand new deck before its first use. And all of the results were short lived. I could get a couple of mowings with no build up and sometime just slight build up but after 4 or 5 mowings it is always completely gone. That doesn't mean it's a total waste of time. If you it helps and you have the time to spare ...go ahead. But it will need re-coating pretty quickly. It definitely helps with deck build-up and helps keep the deck from clogging but not for very long. The big benefit is ease of scraping the build-up after mowing. It is probably not worth it considering the time and effort required but since I have a MoJack lift, this year I may keep a can of the spray around and after one of my cleanings just give a quick spray to assist the next clean up. The applications help keep the wet grass from sticking but I have concluded that I need to scrap anyway. I saw no difference from spray coatings and brush-on coatings or from brand to brand. If someone has been successful with a coating, please share as we ALL would love to hear about it.

I used a product called fluid film protection, available on amazon. I was satisfied with it. I was seeking to make the inevitable build up come off easier, not to prevent it. So twice a year I clean the deck and put on another coat. Speeded up the cleaning process, did not stop the build up itself. I think about any silicon spray would do about the same.

 

[northcreeek262]

I agree that too much time spent on coatings is wasted time, and I have done most. Now all I do in fall is, pressure wash the undersides and coat it with a spray of WD40 and it's ready for spring....

 

[StarTech]

I have always had JD riding lawn mowers. Currently have an X350-which I am well please with. The only solution that I have found to work without fail is to simply run the mower up on ramps, high enough to get under it and use a putty knife and clean the excess grass and dirt off the underside of the mower deck. This takes only a very few minutes. You must be careful to be sure the parking break is in place and also put a brick or other object behind the read tire to assure the mower cannot move.

Now that's using your noggin. I rather be on the dumb looking side but I double up on the jack stands here. Only had one to fail but was enough to make me think twice about trusting them fully.

 

[Hal12]

In the spring when I'm getting the mowers ready, when the front is in the air so I can
access under the deck. I'll scrap/power wash as best I can and take some old cans
of spray paint, maybe several different ones. And spray the underside...really cover it
well. Prolly lasts through 3 - 4 mowings.

 

[Mike1937]

POR 15 chassis coat will stand up to the abrasion
Man bullets bounce off that stuff when fully cured
However it HAS to be done properly which takes a very long time to do

Thanks for the suggestion but when I looked for the POR 15 Chassie coat, I don't see which one you have suggested. Is it the Bed liner & undercoating or topcoat or the 3-step rust preventive system?
Thanks, Mike