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I have restored a few gas mower decks. Here are my thoughts.
If you sandblast the deck, you will need to etch it with phosphoric acid solution in order to get any remaining microscopic rust. I use the "kleen-strip" brand phosphoric acid prep which can be found at home depot for $15. There are others. OSPHO, and Picklex20 come to mind. Once the deck is stripped clean then do all of your structural repairs, and re-etch the repaired area's. Your other option is to have the deck acid dipped if you are lucky enough to have a facility near you that does this. It is normally done when restoring antique cars. The whole body goes into acid as liquid goes where sand cant. POR15. I have not used POR15. I have used their competitors product called "rust-bullet". Both of these are nasty stuff and the MSDS are nearly identical. You need a respirator to apply. I painted my deck right over the clean and etched steel. SEVEN years later the deck is still nearly perfect. And we are talking a deck that had holes all over and is used to cut brush on occasion. Yes it absolutely does work and it does hold up. However prep is the key! I would never "paint over rust" despite the manufacturers claims. Prep it properly and it will last... If you dont, you are wasting your time. > > QUESTION 2: > > Over the years I've read some other ideas on this list - POR-15, I think > powder-coating (someone at work suggested that too), and even galvanizing. > > I know we have some POR-15 advocates here. I've never used it, but just > about fainted at the price. Some say you can brush it right over rust, but > I really want this deck sandblasted. Would it be pointless to use POR-15 on > clean metal? Does it need a primer on clean metal? > > What about POR-15 over powder coating? Something else? > > And - is POR-15 really all that durable? Will it last for, say, 5-10 > seasons of mowing? > > It's also nice if it's not too sticky and the grass is easy to scrape off (I > use a plastic windshield scraper). > > What's worked LONG TERM for you for protecting mower decks? > > Thanks. > > > David Roden - Akron, Ohio, USA > ****************************************** |