Body filler on mower decks ok

[Butch 194]

I've been out sandblasting my mower deck and there is a lot of deep pitting. No rust through which is good. I'll be running this deck through the woods to grind up leaves, branches, pine needles etc. No grass cutting. I'd still like to really fix it up nice even though it's going to run through the woods. Will the body filler hold or will I be wasting my time?

Thanks.

Butch

S. Jersey

[Jim_M 178]

As long as it's a thin coat I think you'll be okay.

[Save Old Iron 1,566]

Butch,

as long as you don't count on the "bondo" to do anything structural - like fill an active crack in the metal or large hole thru the metal deck - any catalyzed filler should work ok for small cosmetic fixes.

I would stay away from non- catalyzed body "putties" - they tend to be much softer than the 2 part fillers.

As with any bodywork - the less filler you put on the better, and in a high vibration area such as they deck, you don't want to much mass vibrating around not well attached to the surface that is vibrating - that's when it cracks and become detached.

[tgranthamfd 29]

Along with what everyone else has said, I would use Long and Strong. It is made by Bondo and has fiberglass material mixed in with it. Just grate it down before it gets completely cured, then finish sand after it has set up real good. You may have to go back with regular filler for a good smooth top coat. Good luck and show us how it comes out. :omg:

[Suburban 550 28]

Butch, as long as you're not trying to fill any holes that are rusted right through and are keeping the body filler to a minimal thickness, you should be OK. :omg:

[Save Old Iron 1,566]

Maybe maybe not...

anyone try to use fiberglass resin as a filler in depressions - and has anyone used fiberglass resin soaked matting for hole repair ??

:D

[rickv1957 72]

Chuck,the fiberglass resin and matt repair work very well on a hole repair,will adhere well to sandblasted metal well,a great alternate to welding patches,Rick

[Raider12 13]

A few years ago I rebuilt my deck and has some pitting to deal with. I used lead just as I would in the body shop. BUT. Those days are pretty much gone. Although you can still buy lead for body work, it does take some skill. Other than that, bondo will work just as others said in thin amounts.

[Butch 194]

I have the big dent/crease banged out the best I can. I've sandblasted top and bottom. Found about 12 cracks!! Wish I had a welder! You can see all of the deep craters from the pitting. No rust through at all. Those are the pits I wanna fill with putty.

I'm not going to do any welding or body work until I get the rest of the parts sandblasted that go with this deck. Then I need to take apart a 36" deck and do the same thing with that. The two decks will be my practice pieces to learn welding! That's all I have. Those 2 decks will also be my practice pieces for using a paint gun!! That's all I have!!

Butch

S. Jersey

[Butch 194]

Catalyzed. Non-catalized. 2 part. 1 part. Fiberglass resin.

Is anything easy?

Butch

S. Jersey

[Save Old Iron 1,566]

Catalyzed. Non-catalized. 2 part. 1 part. Fiberglass resin.

Is anything easy?

Butch

S. Jersey

Not around this house !!

I always figure the 2 part processes produce a harder end product - so filler is seems a little more durable than putty.

Butch, if what we did was all too easy - we probably would get bored of doing it. It's the satisfaction of busting your butt and being able to stand back and admire your work that makes it all worthwhile for me .

[Butch 194]

Catalyzed. Non-catalized. 2 part. 1 part. Fiberglass resin.

Is anything easy?

Butch

S. Jersey

Not around this house !!

I always figure the 2 part processes produce a harder end product - so filler is seems a little more durable than putty.

Butch, if what we did was all too easy - we probably would get bored of doing it. It's the satisfaction of busting your butt and being able to stand back and admire your work that makes it all worthwhile for me .

save_old_iron I'm very familiar with standing back and admiring my work. Just ask my wife. I'm a pefectionist and it drives her nuts. My attitude is if I can't do a nice job then why do it and waste my time! My dad was the same way. And my mom hated it too!! But I loved the quality of his work.

[Save Old Iron 1,566]

And my mom hated it too!! But I loved the quality of his work.

Ever see a grown man take half a day to cut perfect miters on window frame molding ?

You can if you stop by this house - drives my wife crazy - her ability to accept 2nd rate work drives me crazy ... so ... perfect marriage of nearly 30 years

[Suburban 550 28]

Butch and Chuck, I know where your comin' from in doing things to perfection. Drives my wife crazy, too. My motto is: if you can't do it right, don't do it at all. BTW Butch, looks like you're off to a good start with the mower deck. :omg:

[can whlvr 993]

i used epoxy and a structural weave fiber glass,it worked great,and i mixed up a filler with epoxy and cabosil,a light weight filler also called micro ballons,the nice thing is i just recoat the bottom every year with a bit of epoxy and shes good to go,i have also replaced the entire top of the deck with 1/4 inch plate,redrilled holes and spindles holes,i have 5 or 6 decks that work and this one is by far the smoothest deck with all that extra metal,she will n ever crack again.

[Butch 194]

,i have also replaced the entire top of the deck with 1/4 inch plate,redrilled holes and spindles holes,i have 5 or 6 decks that work and this one is by far the smoothest deck with all that extra metal,she will n ever crack again.

Howsabout some pics!!

Butch

S. Jersey

[Save Old Iron 1,566]

Catalyzed. Non-catalized. 2 part. 1 part. Fiberglass resin.

Is anything easy?

Butch

S. Jersey

Not around this house !!

I always figure the 2 part processes produce a harder end product - so filler is seems a little more durable than putty.

Butch, if what we did was all too easy - we probably would get bored of doing it. It's the satisfaction of busting your butt and being able to stand back and admire your work that makes it all worthwhile for me .

save_old_iron I'm very familiar with standing back and admiring my work. Just ask my wife. I'm a pefectionist and it drives her nuts. My attitude is if I can't do a nice job then why do it and waste my time! My dad was the same way. And my mom hated it too!! But I loved the quality of his work.

Butch,

I think a lot of the way we do things come from the work we are involved in.

You were responsible for the safety of people's lives with your aircraft assembly work - me, I have always worked in the medical instrumentation field where a stray milliamp or two of current thru the heart could kill a patient. A small miscalibration of an instrument may send someone home thinking they had cancer when they did not !

Details were extremely important - safety was the ultimate.

Thats why I bust folks on the safety issue all the time !

[Butch 194]

Chuck,

Actually the Gulfstream job was only a year. I did that from the time I got out of the Air Force until I was hired y the FAA! But I did find it interesting. I can see now why Rosie the Riveter was famous in WWII. Women were great riveters. Better than the men!!

Butch

[can whlvr 993]

here is a bad pic of the top of the deck,if u look close u can see the cut marks and my mediocre welding,but it has lasted many years,i used 1/4 plate because i had it,it could be lighter but its really smooth now,no vibrations,this deck spit a spindle out the side while mowing now its my best deck and it wasnt that hard to do,the circles where cut with a bimetal hole saw,lots of oil and patience.

[Butch 194]

Looks good to me and I don't see any mediocre welds. :omg:

[PPGman 5]

Butch, your off to a good start there with blasting that deck. As for the filler issue, like others have mentioned you need not be concerned as long as your not trying to fill holes, or tie weak areas together with it, you'll be just fine. Actually the filler does a nice job of dealing with the pitted metal that the sand blasting reveals. If your looking for something that sands nice and is not a bear to work with, you might want to try Z-Grip filler by Evercoat.

I did my own mower over a few years back, and used filler to smooth her up, and have had no issues at all with it. Thats a decent looking deck there, i'm sure it will look great when you lay the paint on her. Good luck!

[Butch 194]

Butch, your off to a good start there with blasting that deck. As for the filler issue, like others have mentioned you need not be concerned as long as your not trying to fill holes, or tie weak areas together with it, you'll be just fine. Actually the filler does a nice job of dealing with the pitted metal that the sand blasting reveals. If your looking for something that sands nice and is not a bear to work with, you might want to try Z-Grip filler by Evercoat.

I did my own mower over a few years back, and used filler to smooth her up, and have had no issues at all with it. Thats a decent looking deck there, i'm sure it will look great when you lay the paint on her. Good luck!

PPGman is that stuff catanized or un-catanized?

Butch

[Butch 194]

What kind of metal should be used to weld on a deck to patch holes?

What thickness?

How much of an overlap?

Apply the patch on the underside or the topside?

Thanks.

Butch

S. Jersey

[PPGman 5]

Butch, your off to a good start there with blasting that deck. As for the filler issue, like others have mentioned you need not be concerned as long as your not trying to fill holes, or tie weak areas together with it, you'll be just fine. Actually the filler does a nice job of dealing with the pitted metal that the sand blasting reveals. If your looking for something that sands nice and is not a bear to work with, you might want to try Z-Grip filler by Evercoat.

I did my own mower over a few years back, and used filler to smooth her up, and have had no issues at all with it. Thats a decent looking deck there, i'm sure it will look great when you lay the paint on her. Good luck!

PPGman is that stuff catanized or un-catanized?

Butch

Butch, the Z-Grip is catalized. Just thow a bit or hardner in it and your good to go.

As for dealing with the holes, i'm not sure how big of holes your dealing with, but for small ones you could just cut a piece of stock and weld in from below, than finish it off at the top with a little bit of filler weld. Grind, body fill, sand and the hole is no more, and no visible sign of repair. as for thickness, i would think 1/8 inch or heavy guage sheet metal would be fine.

If your dealing with bigger areas and taking out a larger section, you can copy the piece you take out if its intact, or create a template with a piece of cardboard to match the size of the hole. Just put the cardboard over the hole you cut out in your deck, and trace it from underneith. When your happy with the fit of your cardboard template, trace it out to your piece of metal and cut it out. Bend and work it to follow the contours of your cardboard template. Grind it to fit tight, but leave a tiny space all the way around for good weld penitration. I would think that the metal on the deck is thick enough that you could just flush fit it and mig it together with little problems. If your worried about it, cut some backer pieces on the underside and make a "lip" for the new piece to sit on.