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Re: (ET) snowblower paint



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