Should I paint my replacement deck pulleys?

cprice12

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So I am replacing a few old deck pulleys on my zero turn. The new old ones were painted... not sure if the previous owner painted them or if that was factory.
The new ones came unpainted. Should I paint them? If so, what kind of paint is best?
Thanks!
 

exotion

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Do you want them painted. It's really an aesthetic thing just make sure when you paint it it doesn't glob anywhere it will throw balance off. Also I would not paint the inside where the belt sits
 

cprice12

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I don't care what it looks like. My thought was painting so it doesn't rust as easy.
 

exotion

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I can't imagine the pulleys being made of a rust easy material. And unless you sit it where the water will collect and sit you should not have that problem. Pulleys by nature fling water off when used. Like I said it would be mostly aesthetic
 

djdicetn

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Do you want them painted. It's really an aesthetic thing just make sure when you paint it it doesn't glob anywhere it will throw balance off. Also I would not paint the inside where the belt sits

I agree that my only concern would be adversely affecting the balancing or belt drive(if the inside was painted). How many hours did the "old painted" pulleys last???? That may be an indication of any adverse effect if they didn't last very long:0(
 

cprice12

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I agree that my only concern would be adversely affecting the balancing or belt drive(if the inside was painted). How many hours did the "old painted" pulleys last???? That may be an indication of any adverse effect if they didn't last very long:0(

I bought the mower used a couple months ago.
It had 400 hours on it. It had sat for a couple years in a barn and there was some corrosion & rough spots in the V's of a few of the pulleys...so after trying to smooth them out with a wire brush on my bench grinder and and going through a couple belts, I just bought some new pulleys.
Most pulleys don't seem to be painted...so, I probably won't paint them.
 

gfp55

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You can paint them if you like, but if you use your machine on a regular basis there is no need to paint pulleys. I'm not telling anyone what to do here, but when I'm done with my hay rake, tedder, sickle bar mower, mower decks, etc for the season, I paint them with the cheapest paint I can find. The paint is going to be worn off when I use them the next year. Painting them in the fall is way easier then dealing with the rust in the spring and summer.
 

djdicetn

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I bought the mower used a couple months ago.
It had 400 hours on it. It had sat for a couple years in a barn and there was some corrosion & rough spots in the V's of a few of the pulleys...so after trying to smooth them out with a wire brush on my bench grinder and and going through a couple belts, I just bought some new pulleys.
Most pulleys don't seem to be painted...so, I probably won't paint them.

What do you think of the overall quality of that Bush Hog?? I assume with the ZT 25 model# it's their Residential ZTR. Several users have inquired about Bush Hog ZTR's and I looked at their website. They seem to be decent machines. After you get it tweaked let us know your thoughts on the overall quality(understanding it's already got 400 hours on it).
 

cprice12

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What do you think of the overall quality of that Bush Hog?? I assume with the ZT 25 model# it's their Residential ZTR. Several users have inquired about Bush Hog ZTR's and I looked at their website. They seem to be decent machines. After you get it tweaked let us know your thoughts on the overall quality(understanding it's already got 400 hours on it).

It's not residential...it's a commercial grade mower. It's a heavy duty machine. Very well built. I couldn't be happier with the quality. It was definitely built to last.

Here's a photo right after I bought it:
bush hog.jpg

I have 5 acres to cut and I've cut it with the Bush Hog about 6 or 7 times now. Aside from some issues with the belts breaking due to old pulleys, which I'm working on, it's been great.
It can move...it's fast. And it cuts clean and level. Nice and even, even when the grass was a bit higher and thicker it didn't struggle near as much as my previous mower. I'm very impressed with the power and how well it cuts.
It has bar tires on it, which I love because I have some hills and it tackles them no problem. My previous mower was a lawn tractor with turf tires, and it would get stuck and spin it's tires frequently when turning on the hills.
The deck being out front is nice, because it tilts up for easy cleaning and blade removal.

It used to take me over 4 hours to cut the grass. Now it takes just over 2 hours. Can't beat that. :smile:
 

gfp55

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Thats great that you got it working like you want. It looks nice in the picture, heavy duty. I hope you get many years of service out of it.
 
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