RE: (ET) painting mower deck...

["Steven Naugler" <snaugler earthlink net>]

Dave and others,
        I've used POR 15 for automotive uses with good success.  And it 
doe not
need a topcoat where UV exposure is not an issue.  The underside of the
deck, no problem.  The top side would be OK without a top coat for a garge
kept tractor, but if parked outside, a topcoat would be needed.  And the
slick surface should be an improvement over the normally rusty GE deck
undersides.
        Restomotive Laboratories, the makers of POR 15, make a UV 
resistant top
coat that can be applied at your liesure as opposed to while the POR 15 is
still tacky when you use normal paints.
        The best automotive repairs of stone chips and the like I used POR 
15 and
then the matching touch up paint was applied before the POR 15 dried.  That
is usually between 15 and 45 minutes depending on temperature and thickness
of POR 15.  It should work great on our ETs.  I have also used it in the
battery boxes without much success.  I guess that the sulfuric acid
resistance in marginal.
        Hope this helps,

Steve Naugler


> [Original Message]
> From: dave barden <daveb speakeasy org>
> To: <elec-trak cosmos5 phy tufts edu>; <fiskfarm mediaone net>; MR23
(Christopher M. Meier, Mpls, MN) <mr23 mn rr com>
> Date: 8/6/00 12:49:19 PM
> Subject: (ET) painting mower deck...
>
> Well before putting the mower to use I decided to paint it.  Searching 
> the
> archives I decided to use POR 15 on the underside and rustoleum topside.
> 
> I had visions of quickly sandblasting the whole thing down to bare metal
> with a friends compressor and sandblasting gun.  It didn't take long to
> burst my vision.  It takes a lot of air to blast, I quickly discovered.
> I've now lowered my expectations (and increased effort) to wire brushing,
> disc sanding, and blasting only the small nooks and crannies the wire
> brush and disc can't reach.  Perhaps my blast media is too course?  I'm
> using (trying to use)  #35 Kleenblast which is copper slag medium fine.
> For the blast gun tip size I'm using it recommends 10-15 cfm of air.  I
> have 9 max.  I can blast about 40 seconds before the compressor motor
> kicks in again.
> 
> So you folks that have done this before what are you using?  Do you 
> remove
> all rust and paint over the entire piece or just spot prep before
> painting?  I know, it depends on how good you want it to look.  I don't
> care much about looks I'd just like it to be effective and last a while.
> 
> Any other tips and suggestions would be greatly appreciated.  Oh one 
> other
> question.  I am debating whether or not I need to topcoat the POR 15.  
> I'd
> rather not (it is  underneath where the shine don't shine so I'm not
> worried about UV light) but would like as slick a surface as I can
> reasonalbly get so the grass won't build up so bad.  I need to decide
> before I apply the POR 15 as the primer/top coat needs to be applied
> before it dries.  Will the POR 15 (brushed on) produce a reasonably 
> smooth
> surface??
> 
> Thanks much,
> 
>     dave
> 



--- Steven Naugler
--- snaugler earthlink net