I have a 2016 Cub Cadet XT1 46”. I actually think this machine is GREAT. I change oil ever 25 hours or less. I dropped my deck today and worked my ass off to get rid of caked on and hardened grass. I mean I really went at it with a demolition flat bar. Let’s say that took 1/2 hour. Then I spent another 1/2 hour with a wire wheel on a grinder to clean it all up down to bare metal. There was no paint left. A couple spots had kinda bad scaly rust. I worked it over real good. Did I get every last spec off? No. 98% or more though. I was happy about it. Vacuumed the thing clean. Sprayed on the Formula 3000 I bought because of this guy’s video. It went on THICK. Thicker than I expected. I then used an old shop rag and just slopped it all around covering every nook and cranny. I believe this guy who made the video and I expect in a year I’ll be glad I did this to my mower deck.
Proves that you don’t argue with someone who has put the time into doing this for years and knows what their doing. Nice of you to share with the rest of us!
None of our decks have ever rotted through. Even our customers that don't wash their decks for a year, they come back for annual maintenance and a little bit of paint plus some undercoating and they're out the door again! Thanks for watching!
I have been using the rust preventative on my JD rider mower for 4 years. The mower deck has over 700 hours. I already had surface rust that I treated only by painting after season. 4 years ago I started using rust converter on rusted areas, paint over with enamel paint, then , and finally paint on the rust preventer. Since that time there is no, none, new rust! It works. In 2018 I bought a Kubota compact and began using only paint over bare areas and rust preventer afterwards. After 4 years of doing this with a new mower deck I have zero rust.
Bought a John Deere 42 inch a few months ago. I plan to stay on top of the maintenance for it myself. I like this video because this looks like the fastest easiest way to protect the deck without a lot work or materials. Pretty straight forward if you LISTEN to what is being said. Thanks for putting this out.
Slim we are still using this and decks we get return service on even if it is 3 or 4 years after you can see the protection it has provided. Not only that any debris that is underneath comes away very easily. Used to be $10 Cdn and we wait until the 50% sale is on, just picked up 24 cans at 50% off with a new list price of 14.98 Cdn
Thanks for the update. I wasn't really throwing a B.S. flag, but I was a bit skeptical about how long a rust preventative treatment would last. Looks like the stuff you used did really well. The dealer that my neighbor bought his mower from sold him some rubberized undercoat spray, and insisted that undercoating the deck was the first thing that he needed to do, before he ever made a pass on his lawn. Well, he did as he was told, and waited 3 days before mowing. After a few weeks, I asked him how this magic undercoat was doing, so we decided to check. Lifted up the mower, and a fair amount of the undercoat was gone (probably half). Nice to see that the stuff that you used did its job, and also good to know that you are honest and showed that it needs to be touched up every year or so, rather than throw some silliness about how the deck is protected forever after being treated. Good stuff!
The rubberized stuff is horrible, it'll trap moisture in between the deck and the spray (Similar to how a truck bed will rot from the inside out with a cheap bed liner).
@@EliminatorPerformance what about Line-X professionally sprayed on? Line-X is sprayed on hot, is ready to use in 2 hours, and cures very hard like a hard plastic. It's not soft or rubberized. Would be interesting to try it out just for the hell of it.
Thanks! My last mower deck rusted through, so I was looking for something to use as a preventative on a new mower. I had thought about bedliner, but this looks like this will work much better, just reapply every season.
I ordered 2- 2 packs yesterday to do my 2 Craftsman lawn tractor decks and I just got the tracking number 30 minute ago...can't wait for it to get here so I can save my decks !
I think this is probably the best approximately I've seen on this topic. I'm still leery about pressure washing my deck though. I have a gravely and the dealer told me that once a year wouldn't be a problem but the big thing he said was to make sure it's completely cool. Not to do it while it's hot as the bearing are more likely to take on water.
Yes, and don't aim the hose directly at bearings. Scrape around those areas, and wash the rest. We've done decks this way for over 5yrs and have never had an issue!
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I was looking for an alternative to painting or powder coating my surface rusted mower deck. This looks like the perfect hack for me!
My home-use Simplicity Broadmoor is 20 years old and I've probably washed the underside of the 44" mowing deck twice. I scrape the crud off the underside once a year for winter storage and now and again when the side discharge isn't blowing the grass clippings due to an overabundance of tarry crud. The underside has had surface rust as long as I can remember. This year, I finally have a 4" rust hole on the front edge that I patched with a rubber cover, license plate and self-tapping bolts. I'm happy not to have wasted tons of time and possibly done more damage than good by constantly washing the underside of the mowing deck, which has had gobs of wet grass sitting on it every spring. If I get a couple more years out of it, I'll retire from lawn mowing and hire somebody else to do it.
Thank You Man, you are cool and right! Keep the instruments and machines clean and covered! If you do not believe in the proper maintenance, keep buying new machines! I am glad I can afford one and maintained it correctly!
WOW. GREAT KNOWLEDGE RIGHT THERE. THANKS AGAIN JAKE FOR THE HELP.. EP HAS GOT ME THROUGH SOME PRETTY GOOD JAMS.. always friendly and willing to lend a hand. Cant wait for next video.
Great video ,a lot of people do not know how good these products are. It is good to see you standing up for what you believe in.I hope you your self use these products like on your own vehicle.
Absolutely, it soaks into the metal and even after driving in the snow all winter, you'll still see it there. Like I say in the description, best product on the market!
@@EliminatorPerformance I just finished cleaning my lawn mower.. I watched your video to get an idea on how to keep the mower deck clean from rust. Thanks for uploading this video. 👍
I do similar service for my customers or rebuilds. I wire brush off the rust, use rust converter first, then coat the bottom with truck bed liner, honestly nothing is tougher and it stands up to branch and rock chips just like it does in a truck bed. I'd suggest doing that than just more paint, someday I'll post a comparison of the 2 methods but the truck bed liner is really tough stuff. In addition I clean the top under/around the pulleys and coat that also with the truck bed liner as people usually leave grass/leaves in that area. I always tell my customers never power wash, just blow off the debris because power washing forces water into/around the bearings on the pulleys even though they are "sealed".
Yes, I agree totally. I have owned many mowers over the years and using an oil based coating is the best solution. The use of fertilizer on the lawn is another reason for rust. My approach is two complete cleanings per season an include a product called "No Drip Oil" used for undercoating.
I just undercoated mine with chassis saver. The last time I painted it was a few years back and all I used was some primer and farm implement paint. The friction from the dirt stripped a lot of the paint within a season. I am at over 100 hours of cure time so far and will probably be mowing this weekend. I hope this paint holds up to the abrasive dirt.
OK! Subscribed! Great info here I spent a couple hours scraping under my Iseki SXE220 deck and I'm shocked how rusted this deck already is. I've had this SXE220 for less than a year. I'm new to lawn tractors, but not to mowing. I'm further surprised manufacturers don't suggest this from the get go. Anyway, I'll ask my mechanic about him doing this; or I'll do it myself. My SXE220 is still under warranty and is due for annual service...well... my mechanic suggested service every 30 hrs...which I think is a bit too often. I'd rather handle it myself if my mech is sheepish about the undercoating. He's probably just too busy. BTW, IMO $300 is a bargain for this undercoating! I realize you've changed your service procedure. Again, GREAT info here :-)
$300 was for the full service, so engine oil filters and spark plugs plus deck clean undercoat, blade sharpened and balanced and also tire pressure and greasing everything. Parts and labour have gone up a bit since then.
I like the performance update. It's the kind of thing that can be very enlightening and be a motivation for others to follow through. However, one year is not very meaningful. Would like to see more updates.
Sorry we have not done an update video but as i commented to Slim Jim32 even after 3 and 4 years you can see the protection it provided and debris comes off very easily.
Thank you great point. I use old motor oil with a paintbrush on my trailer hitch works great.You must repeat a few times.I did use the Rust-oleum rust protecive brush paint on my deck seems to be holding up many years now. Like you said you gotta clean & maintain your deck yearly.
Great JOB , Well Done. As You Say You Can Do All That Extra Work To Do It Properly & Have It All Painted etc, But That's Extra Time, Cost Of Paint & Thinners etc. It All Adds Up, Then You Have Your Labor, It Works Out To Be A Bit Expensive. But The Way You Have Been Doing It Is Perfectly Fine & You Are Preventing It From Rusting Any Further. You Can Also Use Old Sump Oil On It, I Have Done Before With No Problem
I cleaned my deck and than treated it with Ospho and repainted it black what amazed me is no rust or rot after 9 years thank God and I live in Florida which most the decks I've seen are rusted and rotting
Yea most of the viewers from Florida are saying there's no point in using the undercoating (I agree). But around here, the humidity is so bad literally everything rusts away, even new cars!
Thanks. Great video. Very informative. One insignificant correction is the white stuff on the Aluminum deck is not Calcium but Aluminum Oxide, basically Aluminum rust like the Iron Oxide on a steel deck. Hope I can find that spray!
Its not calcium build up on the aluminium, its aluminium oxide, which is the same as rust on steel. On that Toro, that area is due to spilt battery acid.
I clean my mower decks and re-paint them with rustolem every fall when I service the tractors, I have a 18 year old murray and a ten year old john deer, the murray requried a new spindle berring last year...good video thank you..
I was a landscaper for over 10 years and once a week every week I changed my blades and scraped my back. I had a 52-in exmark zero turn and a 32-in exmark walk behind. I religiously once a week would scrape my deck of any clogged up grass that might as well stick down there and then I would apply a product called mow eaze it is a silicone-based product and once the paint got taken off of my deck it was way easier to keep the deck clean but once a week I would always apply Mow eaze to the underside of my deck in liberally coat the underside of my deck till it was dripping at night time so it would have time to dry by the morning and I rarely ever had a issue with grass sticking to it because it the underside of the deck was so slick the grass would barely ever stick except in the corners and in the baffles and that's where I had the scrape but the paint was completely gone from under the deck and I never had an ounce of rust ever.
Most lanolin bast sprays and brush on products work very well. We used lanolin products in marine environments with good results. It's cheap and super easy to apply. Lot less work and downtime.
Dude "this s__t really works" been using it since i watched your first video and my deck looks great very minor amounts of grass sticking to the underside. It also helps if your viewers pay attention to lawn conditions when mulching ie: ONLY MULCH WHEN THE GRASS IS DRY NOT EARLY IN THE MORNING WHEN THE DEW IS ON THE GRASS! Was that a True Blue Kevlar belt you installed? I hear they last about 60% longer than regular belts.
Because air is a fluid, what you're looking at is basically a map of the airflow. You can see where the airflow is fairly stagnant and where it pools so it's not a fault of the coating but instead simple physics prevents good enough air flow to keep that grass moving which is why you see clumping where you do.
Try using an angle grinder with an 80 grit blue flap disc to sharpen your blades. i used to use grinding discs and since using the flap wheels i will never go back. You get much better control from one hand on the grinder and a better finish which isnt razor sharp.
as an LCO, we get around 3000 hours out of our ZTR'S the deck is wore out, engine is gone and it's just plane wore out..... We used to take them down " when NEW" have an undercoating sprayed on the deck like a truck bed. We never balance a blade. " it just NOT an Issue" in the field, you name it, we've hit it........ Nice Video thanks
ive been using roofing tar to undercoat all my steel decks for over 50 years and never had one rust out...the tar is tough and stays semi pliable resistant to chips...one a layer of grass blades saturate the surface nothing else sticks...seal off any rust. .had decks go over 30 years outlasting the engine. .
Prep is everything on painting or coating so do right take your time. You cant get water under your coating unless you when fast or dont know what your doing. But the rust preventer seems like it works decent. It just seems like a lot more work really. And having to buy a can of that stuff idk.
@@EliminatorPerformance Air (blower, compressor) or soft broom is much superior to water to remove grass and debris from a mower deck. First, if you do it straight after mowing as most people do, you don't want cold water on hot parts eg spindles. This causes rapid contraction and damage (cracks the spindles, warps the housings or deck itself). Second, the water increases the likelihood of rust through both the initial application of water, and then longer term because the water drops trap dirt and even when the initial water evaporates off the dirt left behind then attracts more water in future. So, "anything to get that grass off the surface" is completely overlooking how superior using air is instead of water.
@@ApprenticeGM air is better if it's dry, dosn't do much to stuck on wet grass. here in wet west coast for half the season your cutting wet grass. cant even get it off with a hose, you need a good high pressure washer to touch it. some of us use heated pressure washers we often have to stop cutting 5 minutes in, turn the mower off and scrape fist fulls of grass out of the clogged up deck just so the engine doesn't stall, or burn the belt out (i've had it happen)
Have you used the new laser. It peels rushed away. Without harming the paint except for Words rusted underneath. I've seen it used on the internet. It does a hell of a job. If I did it every day I would buy one
Hey, Eliminator. I'm about to apply a product called E-Z-SLIDE under my Exmark Radius Series Z-turn. It's supposed to safe guard against rust, etc., because the coating applied is made to have the grass, etc., SLIDE off the deck. Tractor Supply sells it for 42.00 a gallon and it covers 300-400 sq ft. What think ye?
How about you try it out and tell me! I've ever heard of it, but anything that helps prevent rust is better than nothing. That's basically the idea behind these videos!
I just recently got my first riding mower (Craftsman 2017 T3100 42") that was given a.k.a. saved from the landfill ! It slept outside for most of its life. It has rust, tree sap, and 5 years of grass build up ! I will definitely be doing this !! p.s. Any information about a Craftsman T3100 with the 20hp Briggs & Stratton will be appreciated !! Will a Husqvarna 42" deck fit under here just in case the rot on my deck is too bad ?
We have trees where I live, that have a non edible fruit, we call monkey balls. They fall in late September. If you run your mower over them, the oils in the fruit clean and coat it preventing rust over the winter. I put a little pile and pull over them for 15 seconds or so.
I have heard of this before but we do not have them here in Canada. All i can say is if we mulch all our leafs mostly maple that drop off in the Fall it does help clean some of the debris under the deck.
I decided to use the Rust Cure after completely removing all the grass under the deck. I sprayed and brushed the Rust Cure on the underside of the deck 2 days ago.... to my surprise it is still wet to the touch and I'm wondering what I did wrong.... A search of the web shows that it should dry in 2 1/2 hours and give it a day or two before you scrubbing it..... Any ideas why it isn't drying... tomorrow will be three days. The mower is stored in a heated shop. Thanks By the way I tried POR and it peeled off while I was cleaning it (I won't do that again)....
Most spindles that I have come across have sealed bearings so they really cannot be affected. Let me know if you have found different. Sometimes we have taken them apart and put bearings in that could be greased but the bearings that are stock usually are non greasable.
Depends if they're built with 2 RS bearings (sealed on both sides) ideally you'd want to check, but when I replace a bearing, I pull the inner rubber off on both Bearings, then pack the spindle housing with grease. This allows the bearing to be greased, and will increase the life of the bearings. If they're 2RS bearings, it really only greases the shaft.
My problem is. Like now. Ha what’s good stop rust underneath lawnmower deck. Can you put the names of what you use on the reply. I still have to wire brush it. Get it ready for the rust inhibitor. So far it looks like yours is the best that I’ve seen I have used three different ones and big chunks still keep falling out when I scrape it.
So you could wash it, let it dry, scrape it and then use rust converter, the brown should turn black, then you could paint it if you wanted, but I just spray with rust inhibitor like the rust cure formula 3000 and it keeps everything coated like undercoating a vehicle before winter. I do it every year and they still rust a bit but they never rot out.
@@EliminatorPerformance Thanks looking for it now. I scrape , wire brush , pressure wash wire brush , pressure wash 48 hour dry when the weather gets better. I’m just doing a lot of prep work getting parts that need replaced in before the weather gets better and hoping I can find something that will fix the rust problem. Or have some fun close up the shed doors turn the heater on. I can just be one of them people that are the reason why there’s Big red warning signs on the back of the spray cans. 😂😂😂😂
PA LAWN GUY, AIRCRAFT MECHANIC> You should quickly scrape off the loose paint so the eliminator can coat all paint loose areas and no moisture can be trapped under the loose paint.. It would only take less than 3-5 Min.
I just stripped down my deck for a rehab. Wire wheeled, grinder, hand held sand blaster. Once that was done I welded the holes closed then grinned them smooth. After that ospho rust treatment and 4 cans of rust-oleum. I didn't have a single problem welding the holes closed and the rust treatment killed all the rust. It is practically brand new and total rehab including new belt, two pulleys, 4 new spindle bearings & new blades. Total $112 and about 6 hrs. over two weekends. Looks newer than the mower.
And this is why no one understands why I don't do that for customers lol if I charged someone $112 plus 6hrs labour on top they'd probably have a heart attack lol
@@EliminatorPerformance To be honest, if I was charging someone I wouldn't have taken my time but even at half the hours I could see people saying no. I had just taken the trans axles out to be rehabbed and just saw that sorry looking deck and knew this was the time if I ever wanted to kill two birds with one stone. Now I am pretty sure I can get another 10 years out of it or get pretty close.
Great video thanks. If you’re repairing the top deck after removing flaking paint an rust, when do you apply the colour coat? I guess after the rust converter ? And then you don’t use the rust preventer stuff as well on top of the pain do you?
Thanks, yes they work alright, if anything I'd install 2 (one for each side). You have to use them when the mower is running and the blades are turning!
I just a piece of PCV pipe, capper one end with a T and put a hose fitting on the other. Drilled a few 1/8 inch holes and I was ready. Just slide it under the deck, urn on the water and mower, and let the water do its thing. I can move the mower forward or back over the pipe for better cleaning.
Hey, great vid. Do you have impressions or opinions on the Honda NeXite decks, They’re not metal and I was wondering how they stand up to the weekly grass cutting routines.
I am getting ready to order a new deck for my push mower. I was considering over painting it with automotive paint first. Then should I use the formula 3000 on both sides over the new paint job? Is my paint job even necessary with the formula 3000 protection? Thanks for your advice!!!!
Painting is basically a waste of time especially if you have a sandy soil condition on your lawn. Just get the underside of the deck scrapped and wire wheeled to the metal then spray with the Rust Cure 3000 it is dripless if you control the spray amount (too much and it will drip from there). I use a light coating then brush it around for total coverage.
i'am going to do bed liner on top and bottom of my mower deck This what i like PAINT ON Rust-Oleum Truck Bed Coating got excellent texture and dries with in 2 hours
Absolutely, there's nothing wrong with preventative maintenance! We usually do it once a year, and for about $4 (half a can) it prevents the deck from rotting away!
Why wouldn’t using the spray material used to spray truck bed liners work (smooth surface application), especially when the mower deck is brand new? Of course you would remove blades and tape spindles/shaft ends. It’s some really tough stuff and it just gets stronger every hour as it cures.
Great job, your very thorough. I balance my blades with the same tool and I use the Arnold Lawn Mower Blade Sharpener which seems to work pretty good..
Hey eliminator performance, what are your thoughts on the deck wash ports? Do you think this would be a good idea to use after every time you mow the grass? Then do an undercoat at the end of each season?
I have a 2016 Cub Cadet XT1 46”. I actually think this machine is GREAT. I change oil ever 25 hours or less. I dropped my deck today and worked my ass off to get rid of caked on and hardened grass. I mean I really went at it with a demolition flat bar. Let’s say that took 1/2 hour. Then I spent another 1/2 hour with a wire wheel on a grinder to clean it all up down to bare metal. There was no paint left. A couple spots had kinda bad scaly rust. I worked it over real good. Did I get every last spec off? No. 98% or more though. I was happy about it. Vacuumed the thing clean. Sprayed on the Formula 3000 I bought because of this guy’s video. It went on THICK. Thicker than I expected. I then used an old shop rag and just slopped it all around covering every nook and cranny. I believe this guy who made the video and I expect in a year I’ll be glad I did this to my mower deck.
Proves that you don’t argue with someone who has put the time into doing this for years and knows what their doing. Nice of you to share with the rest of us!
None of our decks have ever rotted through. Even our customers that don't wash their decks for a year, they come back for annual maintenance and a little bit of paint plus some undercoating and they're out the door again! Thanks for watching!
I have been using the rust preventative on my JD rider mower for 4 years. The mower deck has over 700 hours. I already had surface rust that I treated only by painting after season. 4 years ago I started using rust converter on rusted areas, paint over with enamel paint, then , and finally paint on the rust preventer. Since that time there is no, none, new rust! It works. In 2018 I bought a Kubota compact and began using only paint over bare areas and rust preventer afterwards. After 4 years of doing this with a new mower deck I have zero rust.
Bought a John Deere 42 inch a few months ago. I plan to stay on top of the maintenance for it myself. I like this video because this looks like the fastest easiest way to protect the deck without a lot work or materials. Pretty straight forward if you LISTEN to what is being said. Thanks for putting this out.
Slim we are still using this and decks we get return service on even if it is 3 or 4 years after you can see the protection it has provided. Not only that any debris that is underneath comes away very easily. Used to be $10 Cdn and we wait until the 50% sale is on, just picked up 24 cans at 50% off with a new list price of 14.98 Cdn
Thanks for the update. I wasn't really throwing a B.S. flag, but I was a bit skeptical about how long a rust preventative treatment would last. Looks like the stuff you used did really well. The dealer that my neighbor bought his mower from sold him some rubberized undercoat spray, and insisted that undercoating the deck was the first thing that he needed to do, before he ever made a pass on his lawn. Well, he did as he was told, and waited 3 days before mowing. After a few weeks, I asked him how this magic undercoat was doing, so we decided to check. Lifted up the mower, and a fair amount of the undercoat was gone (probably half). Nice to see that the stuff that you used did its job, and also good to know that you are honest and showed that it needs to be touched up every year or so, rather than throw some silliness about how the deck is protected forever after being treated. Good stuff!
The rubberized stuff is horrible, it'll trap moisture in between the deck and the spray (Similar to how a truck bed will rot from the inside out with a cheap bed liner).
@@EliminatorPerformance Yeah, I convinced him to blast it off with a pressure washer. Lesson learned. Thanks!
@@EliminatorPerformance what about Line-X professionally sprayed on? Line-X is sprayed on hot, is ready to use in 2 hours, and cures very hard like a hard plastic. It's not soft or rubberized. Would be interesting to try it out just for the hell of it.
Thanks! My last mower deck rusted through, so I was looking for something to use as a preventative on a new mower. I had thought about bedliner, but this looks like this will work much better, just reapply every season.
I ordered 2- 2 packs yesterday to do my 2 Craftsman lawn tractor decks and I just got the tracking number 30 minute ago...can't wait for it to get here so I can save my decks !
I think this is probably the best approximately I've seen on this topic. I'm still leery about pressure washing my deck though. I have a gravely and the dealer told me that once a year wouldn't be a problem but the big thing he said was to make sure it's completely cool. Not to do it while it's hot as the bearing are more likely to take on water.
Yes, and don't aim the hose directly at bearings.
Scrape around those areas, and wash the rest.
We've done decks this way for over 5yrs and have never had an issue!
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I was looking for an alternative to painting or powder coating my surface rusted mower deck. This looks like the perfect hack for me!
My home-use Simplicity Broadmoor is 20 years old and I've probably washed the underside of the 44" mowing deck twice. I scrape the crud off the underside once a year for winter storage and now and again when the side discharge isn't blowing the grass clippings due to an overabundance of tarry crud. The underside has had surface rust as long as I can remember. This year, I finally have a 4" rust hole on the front edge that I patched with a rubber cover, license plate and self-tapping bolts. I'm happy not to have wasted tons of time and possibly done more damage than good by constantly washing the underside of the mowing deck, which has had gobs of wet grass sitting on it every spring. If I get a couple more years out of it, I'll retire from lawn mowing and hire somebody else to do it.
Thank you for posting this helpful video
Thank You Man, you are cool and right! Keep the instruments and machines clean and covered! If you do not believe in the proper maintenance, keep buying new machines!
I am glad I can afford one and maintained it correctly!
WOW. GREAT KNOWLEDGE RIGHT THERE. THANKS AGAIN JAKE FOR THE HELP.. EP HAS GOT ME THROUGH SOME PRETTY GOOD JAMS.. always friendly and willing to lend a hand. Cant wait for next video.
Never Seize is a must have in any shop, good video. I'll have to go to Canadian tire for some of that Rust stuff!
It's great, thanks for watching!
Thanks Jake for that update brother 🙏 nice job 👍 👏
Great video ,a lot of people do not know how good these products are. It is good to see you standing up for what you believe in.I hope you your self use these products like on your own vehicle.
Absolutely, it soaks into the metal and even after driving in the snow all winter, you'll still see it there.
Like I say in the description, best product on the market!
Thank you!!! I am so glad I found your channel!! Your videos are very well done and understandable!!
Hater are always going to hate! Stay positive and keep sharing your knowledge.
Thanks for the kind words Jacob & Devorah!
Wow.. That mower deck looks good & clean..
Thanks for watching!
@@EliminatorPerformance I just finished cleaning my lawn mower.. I watched your video to get an idea on how to keep the mower deck clean from rust. Thanks for uploading this video. 👍
I do similar service for my customers or rebuilds. I wire brush off the rust, use rust converter first, then coat the bottom with truck bed liner, honestly nothing is tougher and it stands up to branch and rock chips just like it does in a truck bed. I'd suggest doing that than just more paint, someday I'll post a comparison of the 2 methods but the truck bed liner is really tough stuff. In addition I clean the top under/around the pulleys and coat that also with the truck bed liner as people usually leave grass/leaves in that area. I always tell my customers never power wash, just blow off the debris because power washing forces water into/around the bearings on the pulleys even though they are "sealed".
You are a true professional, no shortcuts and customer focused.
Thanks for watching!
Yes, I agree totally. I have owned many mowers over the years and using an oil based coating is the best solution. The use of fertilizer on the lawn is another reason for rust. My approach is two complete cleanings per season an include a product called "No Drip Oil" used for undercoating.
I just undercoated mine with chassis saver. The last time I painted it was a few years back and all I used was some primer and farm implement paint.
The friction from the dirt stripped a lot of the paint within a season.
I am at over 100 hours of cure time so far and will probably be mowing this weekend. I hope this paint holds up to the abrasive dirt.
OK! Subscribed! Great info here
I spent a couple hours scraping under my Iseki SXE220 deck and I'm shocked how rusted this deck already is. I've had this SXE220 for less than a year. I'm new to lawn tractors, but not to mowing. I'm further surprised manufacturers don't suggest this from the get go. Anyway, I'll ask my mechanic about him doing this; or I'll do it myself. My SXE220 is still under warranty and is due for annual service...well... my mechanic suggested service every 30 hrs...which I think is a bit too often. I'd rather handle it myself if my mech is sheepish about the undercoating. He's probably just too busy.
BTW, IMO $300 is a bargain for this undercoating! I realize you've changed your service procedure.
Again, GREAT info here :-)
$300 was for the full service, so engine oil filters and spark plugs plus deck clean undercoat, blade sharpened and balanced and also tire pressure and greasing everything. Parts and labour have gone up a bit since then.
I like the performance update. It's the kind of thing that can be very enlightening and be a motivation for others to follow through. However, one year is not very meaningful. Would like to see more updates.
Sorry we have not done an update video but as i commented to Slim Jim32 even after 3 and 4 years you can see the protection it provided and debris comes off very easily.
Another awesome video. Thanks man.
Thank you great point. I use old motor oil with a paintbrush on my trailer hitch works great.You must repeat a few times.I did use the Rust-oleum rust protecive brush paint on my deck seems to be holding up many years now. Like you said you gotta clean & maintain your deck yearly.
I agree with your video that’s the only way to do it. Thanks for the update.
Great JOB , Well Done. As You Say You Can Do All That Extra Work To Do It Properly & Have It All Painted etc, But That's Extra Time, Cost Of Paint & Thinners etc. It All Adds Up, Then You Have Your Labor, It Works Out To Be A Bit Expensive. But The Way You Have Been Doing It Is Perfectly Fine & You Are Preventing It From Rusting Any Further. You Can Also Use Old Sump Oil On It, I Have Done Before With No Problem
Good video, very professional work.
I cleaned my deck and than treated it with Ospho and repainted it black what amazed me is no rust or rot after 9 years thank God and I live in Florida which most the decks I've seen are rusted and rotting
Yea most of the viewers from Florida are saying there's no point in using the undercoating (I agree).
But around here, the humidity is so bad literally everything rusts away, even new cars!
Great video! I do the same on all my push mowers
pro tip - Corrosion Free Rust Cure Formula 3000 is usually half price on boxing week or black friday at Peavey Mart
Thanks. Great video. Very informative. One insignificant correction is the white stuff on the Aluminum deck is not Calcium but Aluminum Oxide, basically Aluminum rust like the Iron Oxide on a steel deck. Hope I can find that spray!
I used CRC cosmoline. Is it a good choice or should I redo it with a different brand?
Good stuff, anything helps
@@EliminatorPerformance thank you.
Its not calcium build up on the aluminium, its aluminium oxide, which is the same as rust on steel. On that Toro, that area is due to spilt battery acid.
I clean my mower decks and re-paint them with rustolem every fall when I service the tractors, I have a 18 year old murray and a ten year old john deer, the murray requried a new spindle berring last year...good video thank you..
yup my murray is 26 years old its getting had to find parts but the deck is still in pretty good shape ..... take care of them they last
I was a landscaper for over 10 years and once a week every week I changed my blades and scraped my back. I had a 52-in exmark zero turn and a 32-in exmark walk behind. I religiously once a week would scrape my deck of any clogged up grass that might as well stick down there and then I would apply a product called mow eaze it is a silicone-based product and once the paint got taken off of my deck it was way easier to keep the deck clean but once a week I would always apply Mow eaze to the underside of my deck in liberally coat the underside of my deck till it was dripping at night time so it would have time to dry by the morning and I rarely ever had a issue with grass sticking to it because it the underside of the deck was so slick the grass would barely ever stick except in the corners and in the baffles and that's where I had the scrape but the paint was completely gone from under the deck and I never had an ounce of rust ever.
Ivw got a cub cadet lt1046. Has the Identical deck as the toro you are servicing. This is goos information thanks fpr posting these videos!
Most lanolin bast sprays and brush on products work very well. We used lanolin products in marine environments with good results. It's cheap and super easy to apply. Lot less work and downtime.
Dude "this s__t really works" been using it since i watched your first video and my deck looks great very minor amounts of grass sticking to the underside. It also helps if your viewers pay attention to lawn conditions when mulching ie: ONLY MULCH WHEN THE GRASS IS DRY NOT EARLY IN THE MORNING WHEN THE DEW IS ON THE GRASS! Was that a True Blue Kevlar belt you installed? I hear they last about 60% longer than regular belts.
Awesome video! Haters will always hate. Thank you for saving me and my family money!
Thanks for watching!
Because air is a fluid, what you're looking at is basically a map of the airflow. You can see where the airflow is fairly stagnant and where it pools so it's not a fault of the coating but instead simple physics prevents good enough air flow to keep that grass moving which is why you see clumping where you do.
I heard to treat with kerosene often and one utuber lawn service business owner uses old motor oil mixed with desiel fuel to treat deck rust
I put that sh*t on everything. Formula 300O is by far my favourite.
Try using an angle grinder with an 80 grit blue flap disc to sharpen your blades. i used to use grinding discs and since using the flap wheels i will never go back. You get much better control from one hand on the grinder and a better finish which isnt razor sharp.
Thanks for the tips
as an LCO, we get around 3000 hours out of our ZTR'S the deck is wore out, engine is gone and it's just plane wore out..... We used to take them down " when NEW" have an undercoating sprayed on the deck like a truck bed. We never balance a blade. " it just NOT an Issue" in the field, you name it, we've hit it........ Nice Video thanks
Thanks for watching!
Good job .keep up the good advice a never mind any1 with negitive coments.
Thanks for the kind words Gerald!
Thank you for the content
i like how you work always a good job and great explanation skills
Thank you for the kind words!
@@EliminatorPerformance
Been doing the same, on my old gx 75. Awesome shape! Also use their lubricant nutzlube for cleaning and detailing
Thanks for watching!
Thanks for the information.
ive been using roofing tar to undercoat all my steel decks for over 50 years and never had one rust out...the tar is tough and stays semi pliable resistant to chips...one a layer of grass blades saturate the surface nothing else sticks...seal off any rust. .had decks go over 30 years outlasting the engine. .
I'm buying a brand new cub cadet zero turn. What should I use on the underside of the deck to keep it rust free??
My method on used and typically rusted decks... Treat with Corroseal then either paint or undercoat or other coating of your choice.
Prep is everything on painting or coating so do right take your time. You cant get water under your coating unless you when fast or dont know what your doing. But the rust preventer seems like it works decent. It just seems like a lot more work really. And having to buy a can of that stuff idk.
Instead of using water, I use my air compressor. Or if handy, leaf blower, to clear debris from the top of the deck/tractor itself.
Anything to get that grass off the surface!
Found out the hard way , a leaf blower is the best way to go
@@EliminatorPerformance Air (blower, compressor) or soft broom is much superior to water to remove grass and debris from a mower deck. First, if you do it straight after mowing as most people do, you don't want cold water on hot parts eg spindles. This causes rapid contraction and damage (cracks the spindles, warps the housings or deck itself). Second, the water increases the likelihood of rust through both the initial application of water, and then longer term because the water drops trap dirt and even when the initial water evaporates off the dirt left behind then attracts more water in future. So, "anything to get that grass off the surface" is completely overlooking how superior using air is instead of water.
@@ApprenticeGM air is better if it's dry, dosn't do much to stuck on wet grass. here in wet west coast for half the season your cutting wet grass. cant even get it off with a hose, you need a good high pressure washer to touch it. some of us use heated pressure washers
we often have to stop cutting 5 minutes in, turn the mower off and scrape fist fulls of grass out of the clogged up deck just so the engine doesn't stall, or burn the belt out (i've had it happen)
I do the same thing but I use fluid film. It works great I also use it to undercoat my truck and the wife’s car no rust at all underneath it.
My 2nd choice after Rust Cure Formula 3000!
Rust never sleeps!
Have you used the new laser. It peels rushed away. Without harming the paint except for Words rusted underneath. I've seen it used on the internet. It does a hell of a job. If I did it every day I would buy one
Those things are like $40,000 for the good ones lol
Even the cheap ones are a few thousand but they don't work as good!
You don’t mess around, you get down to business
Parked mine in the garage over 10 years. Still looking ok but I believe the sand does some damage. The blades get holes
Thanks for smiling.
To be more convincing I would treat 1/2 of the deck! Yeah I know you sacrifice one deck but a Damn good way drive the point accross!
I planned to do that. It was just too fun to spray so I kept going. Neighbor has a mower five years newer than this one so we shall see
Is a rust inhibitor like Krown also good for doing this job? It seems a bit thicker than the Corrosion Free.
Yes perfectly fine!
Hey, Eliminator. I'm about to apply a product called E-Z-SLIDE under my Exmark Radius Series Z-turn. It's supposed to safe guard against rust, etc., because the coating applied is made to have the grass, etc., SLIDE off the deck. Tractor Supply sells it for 42.00 a gallon and it covers 300-400 sq ft. What think ye?
How about you try it out and tell me! I've ever heard of it, but anything that helps prevent rust is better than nothing. That's basically the idea behind these videos!
I just recently got my first riding mower (Craftsman 2017 T3100 42") that was given a.k.a. saved from the landfill ! It slept outside for most of its life. It has rust, tree sap, and 5 years of grass build up ! I will definitely be doing this !!
p.s. Any information about a Craftsman T3100 with the 20hp Briggs & Stratton will be appreciated !!
Will a Husqvarna 42" deck fit under here just in case the rot on my deck is too bad ?
We have trees where I live, that have a non edible fruit, we call monkey balls. They fall in late September. If you run your mower over them, the oils in the fruit clean and coat it preventing rust over the winter. I put a little pile and pull over them for 15 seconds or so.
I have heard of this before but we do not have them here in Canada. All i can say is if we mulch all our leafs mostly maple that drop off in the Fall it does help clean some of the debris under the deck.
My local mower shop charges $80 an hour for labor. That's why I do my own work and take the extra time and trouble to do the job right.
would you use a rust preventative on a brand new deck?
Do you have any videos greasing a gravely zero turn or similar mower ? I have a old one ive neglected a bit and been trying to clean it up
No, but a few on a Walker and Exmark zero turn
I decided to use the Rust Cure after completely removing all the grass under the deck. I sprayed and brushed the Rust Cure on the underside of the deck 2 days ago.... to my surprise it is still wet to the touch and I'm wondering what I did wrong.... A search of the web shows that it should dry in 2 1/2 hours and give it a day or two before you scrubbing it..... Any ideas why it isn't drying... tomorrow will be three days. The mower is stored in a heated shop. Thanks By the way I tried POR and it peeled off while I was cleaning it (I won't do that again)....
It won't dry, don't worry if grass sticks to it because it'll scrape off easy
Isn't it supposed to dry?
Most spindles that I have come across have sealed bearings so they really cannot be affected. Let me know if you have found different. Sometimes we have taken them apart and put bearings in that could be greased but the bearings that are stock usually are non greasable.
Depends if they're built with 2 RS bearings (sealed on both sides) ideally you'd want to check, but when I replace a bearing, I pull the inner rubber off on both Bearings, then pack the spindle housing with grease. This allows the bearing to be greased, and will increase the life of the bearings. If they're 2RS bearings, it really only greases the shaft.
@@EliminatorPerformance Thanks.
My problem is. Like now. Ha what’s good stop rust underneath lawnmower deck. Can you put the names of what you use on the reply. I still have to wire brush it. Get it ready for the rust inhibitor. So far it looks like yours is the best that I’ve seen I have used three different ones and big chunks still keep falling out when I scrape it.
So you could wash it, let it dry, scrape it and then use rust converter, the brown should turn black, then you could paint it if you wanted, but I just spray with rust inhibitor like the rust cure formula 3000 and it keeps everything coated like undercoating a vehicle before winter. I do it every year and they still rust a bit but they never rot out.
@@EliminatorPerformance
Thanks looking for it now. I scrape , wire brush , pressure wash wire brush , pressure wash 48 hour dry when the weather gets better. I’m just doing a lot of prep work getting parts that need replaced in before the weather gets better and hoping I can find something that will fix the rust problem. Or have some fun close up the shed doors turn the heater on. I can just be one of them people that are the reason why there’s Big red warning signs on the back of the spray cans. 😂😂😂😂
I use all the old spray paint cans with a tad left to spray under side of deck 😊
E. P. What would you recommend for a brand new unused deck?
PA LAWN GUY, AIRCRAFT MECHANIC> You should quickly scrape off the loose paint so the eliminator can coat all paint loose areas and no moisture can be trapped under the loose paint.. It would only take less than 3-5 Min.
Providing a good service at good price for your costumers By allowing the equipment to last longer .
I just stripped down my deck for a rehab. Wire wheeled, grinder, hand held sand blaster. Once that was done I welded the holes closed then grinned them smooth. After that ospho rust treatment and 4 cans of rust-oleum. I didn't have a single problem welding the holes closed and the rust treatment killed all the rust. It is practically brand new and total rehab including new belt, two pulleys, 4 new spindle bearings & new blades. Total $112 and about 6 hrs. over two weekends. Looks newer than the mower.
And this is why no one understands why I don't do that for customers lol if I charged someone $112 plus 6hrs labour on top they'd probably have a heart attack lol
@@EliminatorPerformance To be honest, if I was charging someone I wouldn't have taken my time but even at half the hours I could see people saying no. I had just taken the trans axles out to be rehabbed and just saw that sorry looking deck and knew this was the time if I ever wanted to kill two birds with one stone. Now I am pretty sure I can get another 10 years out of it or get pretty close.
Great video thanks. If you’re repairing the top deck after removing flaking paint an rust, when do you apply the colour coat? I guess after the rust converter ? And then you don’t use the rust preventer stuff as well on top of the pain do you?
Nice work and thorough explanations, what about a universal washout port for washing after cuts I'm ready to install one, are they recommended?
Thanks, yes they work alright, if anything I'd install 2 (one for each side). You have to use them when the mower is running and the blades are turning!
I just a piece of PCV pipe, capper one end with a T and put a hose fitting on the other. Drilled a few 1/8 inch holes and I was ready. Just slide it under the deck, urn on the water and mower, and let the water do its thing. I can move the mower forward or back over the pipe for better cleaning.
They do work. When you use it set your deck to the lowest setting.
Hey, great vid. Do you have impressions or opinions on the Honda NeXite decks, They’re not metal and I was wondering how they stand up to the weekly grass cutting routines.
Yea, we had an old Honda with a Nexite deck and believe it or not the engine went before the deck!
Nice video! I like the way you sharpened the blades. A link of what you used would be appreciated.
Looks awesome
Hey mate what about getting the deck powdercoated ?
I am getting ready to order a new deck for my push mower. I was considering over painting it with automotive paint first. Then should I use the formula 3000 on both sides over the new paint job? Is my paint job even necessary with the formula 3000 protection? Thanks for your advice!!!!
Painting is basically a waste of time especially if you have a sandy soil condition on your lawn. Just get the underside of the deck scrapped and wire wheeled to the metal then spray with the Rust Cure 3000 it is dripless if you control the spray amount (too much and it will drip from there). I use a light coating then brush it around for total coverage.
i'am going to do bed liner on top and bottom of my mower deck This what i like PAINT ON Rust-Oleum Truck Bed Coating got excellent texture and dries with in 2 hours
I used the same rust paint & rubberized spray paint undercoat. The grass clippings still stick to deck by discharge must repeat application.
I have a brand new deck, would you recommend Rust Cure initially?
Absolutely, there's nothing wrong with preventative maintenance!
We usually do it once a year, and for about $4 (half a can) it prevents the deck from rotting away!
I just bought a can of bedliner to do my deck. Tougher than undercoating but still dirt cheap compared to deck replacement.
Why wouldn’t using the spray material used to spray truck bed liners work (smooth surface application), especially when the mower deck is brand new? Of course you would remove blades and tape spindles/shaft ends. It’s some really tough stuff and it just gets stronger every hour as it cures.
Simple.. Because that material holds moisture, and moisture rusts metal.
@@Gutslinger
Makes sense.
Anyone use RP-342 cosmoline on their mower decks? Its great on vehicles, assuming it will work well underneath mower decks too.
Looks real good!!!! 👍👍 I gotta do that to my deck.0
I crc cosmolie spary after I use black rustoleum rust converter it's like dry black paint
My friend it is truth what you say.
👏👍🇺🇲
Great job, your very thorough. I balance my blades with the same tool and I use the Arnold Lawn Mower Blade Sharpener which seems to work pretty good..
Thank you!
You can buy that in a gallon jug will it work the same
Absolutely
Arnold makes the sharpen for drill and it comes with cone at home depot
Have you ever tried electrolysis to remove the rust? I've tried it, works pretty good. Takes a little bit of time to get it all gone.
Egg Roll1up
Yes it works well but imagine the set up needed for a part as large as this triple blade deck. Who would do that??
@@Mote78 kiddie pool.
Hey eliminator performance, what are your thoughts on the deck wash ports? Do you think this would be a good idea to use after every time you mow the grass? Then do an undercoat at the end of each season?
Yes we undercoat in the spring, and wash ports work great, but they don't get everything! A lift, and using a scraper works the best.