# Let's talk about mower decks. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 27, 2015, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-mower-decks/718650 "2015-04-27T15:59:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2015, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-mower-decks/718650/1 "2015-04-27T15:59:32Z")
Springtime again. Grass-cutting season. We have a garden tractor with 54 inch mower deck. Every now and then I jack up the tractor to clean the underside of the deck. I usually find that grass is heavily caked to the deck, and it takes about 30 minute to remove the grass using a scraping tool. The biggest problem is that it causes the deck to **rust**. When I scrape the old grass off the underside of the deck, rust often falls from it, too. ☹ It has a washout port for use with a garden hose. I’ve tried it a couples times. It seems useless. To minimize the rusting problem, I suppose I should religiously clean the deck immediately after cutting the grass. But I often forget. Or I just don’t feel like it. Or am too damn lazy. If I do a thorough job of cleaning it with a wire brush wheel, is there some kind of paint I can apply to the underside of the deck that will protect it? It would have to be an _extremely_ durable paint. You know the hard, non-stick finish applied to pans and skillets? I wonder why they don’t apply that to the underside of mower decks. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2015, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-mower-decks/718650/2 "2015-04-27T16:39:44Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > It has a washout port for use with a garden hose. I’ve tried it a couples times. It seems useless. Damn. I have seen those hose connections and thought they would be very useful. Bummer. Rustoleum then spray with PAM before each use? ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2015, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-mower-decks/718650/3 "2015-04-27T17:09:08Z")
a sweeper or jet nozzle on a hose will dislodge grass and dirt quickly if it’s fresh. you do have get down there but it is less work than scrapping. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2015, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-mower-decks/718650/4 "2015-04-27T17:15:43Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > If I do a thorough job of cleaning it with a wire brush wheel, is there some kind of paint I can apply to the underside of the deck that will protect it? It would have to be an _extremely_ durable paint. > > You know the hard, non-stick finish applied to pans and skillets? I wonder why they don’t apply that to the underside of mower decks. Question asked and answered in the same post. Non-stick finishes can’t even stand up to utensils made of anything more scratchy than silicon. They’d last about ten minutes when faced with abrasive grass, rocks, and sand. ---
**Author:** ![moldmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ee59a6/32.png) [@moldmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moldmonkey)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2015, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-mower-decks/718650/5 "2015-04-27T17:31:04Z")
I didn’t do it this last fall but I usually drop the deck, wire wheel, and spray paint the inside of the more deck once a year. The paint doesn’t last long but I think the good cleaning helps prolong the life of the deck. I’ve often wondered how well the spray-on bed liners would work. ---
**Author:** ![SmellMyWort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SmellMyWort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmellMyWort)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2015, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-mower-decks/718650/6 "2015-04-27T18:42:49Z")
The times you used the washout port did you have the mower running? ---
**Author:** ![leftfield6](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leftfield6/32/18780_2.png) [@leftfield6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leftfield6)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2015, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-mower-decks/718650/7 "2015-04-27T19:06:27Z")
Don’t know if you’re up for the amount of effort this would take, but [POR-15](http://www.por15.com/POR-15-Rust-Preventive-Coating_p_8.html) is just about the toughest, hardest, thing you could apply. Application is a bitch though. How durable and long lasting it is, is likely directly proportionate to how well you prep before final coat. ---
**Author:** ![Turble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Turble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turble)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2015, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-mower-decks/718650/8 "2015-04-28T15:43:39Z")
I was told by the mechanics at the local John Deere dealer that using those hose ports actually causes more rust problems.