Deck Cleaning

[lynnmor 7,505]

Often I read on here about various methods to stop the buildup under a mowing deck.  Personally I think it can't be done.  Here are photos of a 60" deck on Country Clipper zero turn that I chose for the ease of cleaning.  I scrape and apply Fluid Film about every other mowing with a garden hose wash on the week I don't scrape.  This mowing was really dry with enormous clouds of dust, so it can't be blamed on mowing while wet.

 

Before scraping:

 

 

Pounds of material removed and freshly sharpened blades installed:

 

 

Fluid Film applied:

 

 

At least half a bucket of grunge from one mowing and this is less than average:

 

While this isn't my 60" Wheel Horse decks, the results are exactly the same.  Can you imagine dragging out a 60" deck every other week to do this service?  All I can say is that anyone with a real solution can come on down and show me.

[Racinbob 11,536]

You're not going to stop it. The issue it the wet grass clinging to the deck and rusting it. I've dinked around with a couple of decks trying things like POR-15 with mixed results but the 40+ year old 48" deck that I purchased new is proof that nothing is needed. After every mowing I simply scrap off the clumped grass to allow the steel to dry. No need to hose it off, no need for spraying anything on it. The only time I spray them is when I put the decks up for winter storage. Apparently that's good enough because the 70's deck is still as solid as it was new. 

 

That being said, one of my ventures into coating the deck is quite a few years ago when I used POR-15 on a 42" deck. It is still holding up well but I still scrap the clumped grass off after each mowing. The coating makes it a bit more difficult to scrap and I doubt that it added any more life to the deck. 

[SylvanLakeWH 26,711]

I scrape after use and then let it bake in the sun. 
 

[Handy Don 13,131]

Unless you are mowing straw, grass has moisture in it and when it’s cut, the moisture is released.

[lynnmor 7,505]

1 hour ago, Handy Don said:

Unless you are mowing straw, grass has moisture in it and when it’s cut, the moisture is released.

Agree, I just started this thread so the folks with no problem could share their "secret."  The reason I use Fluid Film is to have some oil penetration between the layers of the steel deck and around the fasteners, it does little to nothing for preventing buildup.