Mower Deck cleaning and oil treatment

[Brockport Bill 1,933]

Did my mid season Mower deck cleaning -- I had done a fall cleaning including pressure wash and oil treatment before winter storage -- so shell has stayed pretty clean this season but just completed mid season cleaning pressure wash, and wire brush - then the Fluid Film, and then baking in sun per the suggestions here on Red Sq including from what i recall were Pete's suggestions to bake in the oil --- So today it was suggested to me by my son that he was told another technique i had not heard ----------- so wondered if Forum members ever heard this???????? Idea is after oil and sun application to run deck on dirty dusty area and "coat" the oil with layer of dusty dirt  ---- to create another barrier sealing effect that cakes on ---- adding another barrier to stop corrosion and grass sticking -- Anyone heard this idea??

[Ed Kennell 41,802]

Never heard of a dirt coating.    Try it and let us know.  Maybe a dusting of flour while the oil is still baking?

Edited July 6 by Ed Kennell

[Gasaholic 286]

I'd sooner go by the hardware store and get a can of Boiled Linseed oil. It cures after a while, and lasts longer. BLO is also excellent to preserve patina on machinery (We always wiped down our tractors at grandpa's farm with good old plain ordinary linseed oil, only it takes months to cure - which is fine when they are put away and stored at end of season.) It also preserves the paint, prevents rust, and "cooks" well in the sun.. although applying too much can give you a sticky coating that dust and dirt will stick to and be hard to clean off, so you'll need some elbow grease to apply it , let it cure a day and then rub it down. It's cheap enough and more durable than painting. 

 

 

[lynnmor 7,802]

I am not a believer in any of the ideas about baking in a coating.  If steel can absorb oil, how would it stay in the can?  Just apply your favorite oil, now mow for an hour and then pull the deck and have a look, I believe you will find little or nothing left.  I use oil or Fluid Film to preserve the deck between mowings, since I clean after every mowing and see almost all of the coating gone, I am not a believer.

[Gasaholic 286]

18 hours ago, lynnmor said:

I am not a believer in any of the ideas about baking in a coating.  If steel can absorb oil, how would it stay in the can?  Just apply your favorite oil, now mow for an hour and then pull the deck and have a look, I believe you will find little or nothing left.  I use oil or Fluid Film to preserve the deck between mowings, since I clean after every mowing and see almost all of the coating gone, I am not a believer.

Agree for in-season cleaning... The point of "baking" in an oil film is just for oils that cure (such as linseed oil) which gives you a relatively hard surface akin to paint and it actually CAN bond with the surface steel (Not absorb, but bond - much like iron oxides AKA Rust, or the fine film of baked in grass (which does absorb moisture and eventually that acid eats the paint and rust) a built up film finish that repels moisture and corrosion is much easier to clean off the grass in season, repeated baked on applications (much like multiple cured coats of wood finish in woodworking) helps preserve the metal (blocking oxidation) and repels moisture.  However, the amount of time to bake in an oil film of pretty much any kind (including factory made BLO) is usually much longer than the amount of time between mowings, so I just give decks a clean a few times during the season, but when putting them away for the winter, that's when I do an aggressive cleaning and apply a good coat of BLO on everything, as well as a shot of grease in grease points    However building up that film finish takes a LONG time, there's no instant fix. 

[Brockport Bill 1,933]

1 hour ago, Gasaholic said:

Agree for in-season cleaning... The point of "baking" in an oil film is just for oils that cure (such as linseed oil) which gives you a relatively hard surface akin to paint and it actually CAN bond with the surface steel (Not absorb, but bond - much like iron oxides AKA Rust, or the fine film of baked in grass (which does absorb moisture and eventually that acid eats the paint and rust) a built up film finish that repels moisture and corrosion is much easier to clean off the grass in season, repeated baked on applications (much like multiple cured coats of wood finish in woodworking) helps preserve the metal (blocking oxidation) and repels moisture.  However, the amount of time to bake in an oil film of pretty much any kind (including factory made BLO) is usually much longer than the amount of time between mowings, so I just give decks a clean a few times during the season, but when putting them away for the winter, that's when I do an aggressive cleaning and apply a good coat of BLO on everything, as well as a shot of grease in grease points    However building up that film finish takes a LONG time, there's no instant fix. 

very insightful --- great info and suggestions -- However, sorry I do not know what is BLO?

[Bill D 2,246]

11 minutes ago, Brockport Bill said:

very insightful --- great info and suggestions -- However, sorry I do not know what is BLO?

Boiled Linseed Oil.  Be very careful using it.  Rags soaked in it will spontaneously combust.

[Gasaholic 286]

2 hours ago, Brockport Bill said:

very insightful --- great info and suggestions -- However, sorry I do not know what is BLO?

Yep. BLO = Boiled Linseed Oil. Sold in hardware stores and lumber supply places (Miniwax) as a wood finish -  If you have access to it (Old School farm supply maybe) Raw Linseed oil can do as well (But that too is subject to wadded up oily rags spontaneously combusting - Rags can be dropped into a bucket of water, or take them out to burner barrel or burn pile and burn them that way, but whatever you do, don't just wad em up and throw em in the trash)

 

Raw Linseed oil is what we used to use on grandpa's farm for just about everything from implement treatments to soaking in tool handles (and tools for that matter) I still have a quart jar of it, it lasts a long time since you only wipe a thin coating on and let it cure. BLO can take several weeks to fully cure, while Raw linseed can take months (4 months or so at a minimum)  - If you lay out your old rags FLAT on concrete or benchtop (When they are wadded up the curing / oxidation process generates a lot of heat which is what causes them to catch fire)  you can tell when the oil has cured because the rags will become quite stiff (As in board stiff)  A fully cured coat of BLO can give you a nice smooth clearcoat (as long as no dust settles on it while it cures) just as good as a coat of paint.  I use it on all my home made tool handles (I do woodwork too) and the raw oil is quite safe (food safe in fact - Linseed oil is also sold in a highly purified form as Flaxseed oil in the nutritional supplements pharmacy aisle)   BLO has added metallic driers and chemicals to make it cure faster, though. It can be thinned with Turpentine, Mineral Spirits, whatever is at hand... 

[Brockport Bill 1,933]

31 minutes ago, Gasaholic said:

Yep. BLO = Boiled Linseed Oil. Sold in hardware stores and lumber supply places (Miniwax) as a wood finish -  If you have access to it (Old School farm supply maybe) Raw Linseed oil can do as well (But that too is subject to wadded up oily rags spontaneously combusting - Rags can be dropped into a bucket of water, or take them out to burner barrel or burn pile and burn them that way, but whatever you do, don't just wad em up and throw em in the trash)

 

Raw Linseed oil is what we used to use on grandpa's farm for just about everything from implement treatments to soaking in tool handles (and tools for that matter) I still have a quart jar of it, it lasts a long time since you only wipe a thin coating on and let it cure. BLO can take several weeks to fully cure, while Raw linseed can take months (4 months or so at a minimum)  - If you lay out your old rags FLAT on concrete or benchtop (When they are wadded up the curing / oxidation process generates a lot of heat which is what causes them to catch fire)  you can tell when the oil has cured because the rags will become quite stiff (As in board stiff)  A fully cured coat of BLO can give you a nice smooth clearcoat (as long as no dust settles on it while it cures) just as good as a coat of paint.  I use it on all my home made tool handles (I do woodwork too) and the raw oil is quite safe (food safe in fact - Linseed oil is also sold in a highly purified form as Flaxseed oil in the nutritional supplements pharmacy aisle)   BLO has added metallic driers and chemicals to make it cure faster, though. It can be thinned with Turpentine, Mineral Spirits, whatever is at hand... 

terrific info -- love to learn from people with real life knowledge -- Sounds like i should consider two different strategies for in season use versus application for winter storage ! It is sooooo unfortunate to see these decks destroyed by grass rot from neglect -- i see people posting them for sale and they haven't even taken few minutes to clear leaves, branches, clippings from top side -- but then a photo of the underneath and it looks like an entire year of accumulated grass stuck to underneath as if blades would have challenge even turning let alone discharging more cut grass --- Of course end result is rot through holes ruining the deck !!!! I see others with major weld patch repairs! My original 37 inch 1989 side discharge deck from 36 yrs ago was recently rehabbed  plus my grandson and I did some others -- some for family tractors - others for swaps with other WH users and we sold a few we found that were in poor shape after doing some rescue work on them -- Of course the preservation maintenance you mention is the obvious answer to having them last decades - thanks