Anyone look into having old mower deck dipped?

[shacky]

The mulching mower I picked up is pretty ratty looking. I've heard sandblasting/painting doesn't work out that well. Anybody ever try having it dipped like they do for car restorations? Not sure how much that would cost.

Did Snapper use a special paint process?

 

[Mow Joe]

Did Snapper use a special paint process?

Yes, they did. It is called "Electrostatic" painting.

 

[shacky]

That makes sense. Also makes it hard to recreate.

 

[motoman]

You are referring to an acid bath? Since the gauge is pretty thin (on mine at least) if the rust is deep you might be left with a flexible , tin foil deck. Also I would guess an operation that would do it likely has high minimums . I would blast to a reasonable level and then use one of the rust converting primers (rattle can),followed by some decent paint (rattle can). With some practice you can get surprisingly good results.

 

[shacky]

I do not have a sand blaster.

 

[reynoldston]

Have you tried a paint striper? I am just wondering if a radiator shop would dip a mower frame, I guess it wouldn't hurt to ask. I also live close to Rochester NY and you can find businesses that strip furniture and they might do a mower deck. I have gotten into auto body work and find you don't need to remove all of the old paint to have a nice looking new paint job. Yes it dose take a lot of hand sanding. I also find stripers can react with the new paint and can cause more problems then good. Just why do you want a custom paint job on a mower?

 

[motoman]

Find a sandblaster. Shouldn't cost that much. By the time you get it home rust will already be forming. No worry. Use a solvent like laquer thinner and wipe with a clean cloth. Then use a good anti rust primer and let it dry thoroughly. Then 1-2 topcoats. Hang it from a wire and then reverse for the second coat. You can get good results without spending a lot.

 

[gfp55]

The mulching mower I picked up is pretty ratty looking. I've heard sandblasting/painting doesn't work out that well. Anybody ever try having it dipped like they do for car restorations? Not sure how much that would cost.

Did Snapper use a special paint process?

There is a way to remove rust and not take any of the metal away. They call it electrolysis rust removal, it will not eat the metal like acid, just the rust. You can google it and find all you will need to do it. You can get all the stuff you need at local stores and you can save the solution bath for other metal parts. It works on metal and iron, not for brass, copper, aluminum and other alloys.

 

[SnapperRiley]

Electrolysis takes a while, did that ona 78 f250 restore with suspension parts and it still requires a little scrub, best thing I do is twisted wire cup brushes they are amazing they will remove your face in .2 seconds. Honestly dude use plastidip in a rattle can it works fantastic, remove rust, etching primer on it then plastidip, the underneath you'll want to use anything with a slick finish so grass fly's out easy. I just finished my restore and that plastidip is just awesome