Re: (ET) snowblower paint

[Stephen & Carol Welch <welches paonline com>]

I know some of you have had great luck with POR15.  I tried it on a  
number of my ET parts before last mowing season with some mixed  
results.  The main mixed result was my deck.  I had it thoroughly  
sandblasted, and then I prepped and applied the standard POR15 black  
to the entire deck, following the instructions and using their  
chemicals.  Since the underside doesn't see daylight (UV) much, I  
left it at that.  I used their Hardnose paint (yellow) on the  
topside, both for UV and looks.

As long as I remembered to clean off the accumulated grass clippings  
from the underside of the deck each time, the POR15 surface did quite  
well.  Where I ran into problems was when I forgot to do this for  
several heavy cuttings in late fall.  When I went to do my final  
cleanup on the deck for winter, I discovered that the underside of  
the deck shows signs of rust despite the POR15.  Also, the  
accumulated grass was very difficult to get off.

I think perhaps part of the problem is that (unlike a snowblower  
chute) the underside of the mower deck was already rough from years  
of mowing and rust.  POR15 doesn't fill all of those pits, so there  
were plenty of irregularities to hold the grass and perhaps allow for  
more corrosive penetration.  I am pretty sure the paint would have  
done a better job if applied to a smooth surface.  Also, the  
accumulated clippings hold a surprising amount of moisture against  
the deck for quite a long time (even after they have formed a dry  
outer "crust").

Maybe others have had better luck with the deck application of  
POR15.  I'm not sure what step I will try next - POR 15 again (to  
confirm my results), or maybe powdercoating...  My other applications  
of POR15 seem to be holding up fairly well.

Guess YMMV...

Steve
Alltraxed E20