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Should I paint my replacement deck pulleys?

#1

cprice12

cprice12

So I am replacing a few old deck pulleys on my zero turn. The new old ones were painted... not sure if the previous owner painted them or if that was factory.
The new ones came unpainted. Should I paint them? If so, what kind of paint is best?
Thanks!


#2

exotion

exotion

Do you want them painted. It's really an aesthetic thing just make sure when you paint it it doesn't glob anywhere it will throw balance off. Also I would not paint the inside where the belt sits


#3

cprice12

cprice12

I don't care what it looks like. My thought was painting so it doesn't rust as easy.


#4

exotion

exotion

I can't imagine the pulleys being made of a rust easy material. And unless you sit it where the water will collect and sit you should not have that problem. Pulleys by nature fling water off when used. Like I said it would be mostly aesthetic


#5

djdicetn

djdicetn

exotion said:
Do you want them painted. It's really an aesthetic thing just make sure when you paint it it doesn't glob anywhere it will throw balance off. Also I would not paint the inside where the belt sits
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I agree that my only concern would be adversely affecting the balancing or belt drive(if the inside was painted). How many hours did the "old painted" pulleys last???? That may be an indication of any adverse effect if they didn't last very long:0(


#6

cprice12

cprice12

djdicetn said:
I agree that my only concern would be adversely affecting the balancing or belt drive(if the inside was painted). How many hours did the "old painted" pulleys last???? That may be an indication of any adverse effect if they didn't last very long:0(
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I bought the mower used a couple months ago.
It had 400 hours on it. It had sat for a couple years in a barn and there was some corrosion & rough spots in the V's of a few of the pulleys...so after trying to smooth them out with a wire brush on my bench grinder and and going through a couple belts, I just bought some new pulleys.
Most pulleys don't seem to be painted...so, I probably won't paint them.


#7

gfp55

gfp55

You can paint them if you like, but if you use your machine on a regular basis there is no need to paint pulleys. I'm not telling anyone what to do here, but when I'm done with my hay rake, tedder, sickle bar mower, mower decks, etc for the season, I paint them with the cheapest paint I can find. The paint is going to be worn off when I use them the next year. Painting them in the fall is way easier then dealing with the rust in the spring and summer.


#8

djdicetn

djdicetn

cprice12 said:
I bought the mower used a couple months ago.
It had 400 hours on it. It had sat for a couple years in a barn and there was some corrosion & rough spots in the V's of a few of the pulleys...so after trying to smooth them out with a wire brush on my bench grinder and and going through a couple belts, I just bought some new pulleys.
Most pulleys don't seem to be painted...so, I probably won't paint them.
Click to expand...

What do you think of the overall quality of that Bush Hog?? I assume with the ZT 25 model# it's their Residential ZTR. Several users have inquired about Bush Hog ZTR's and I looked at their website. They seem to be decent machines. After you get it tweaked let us know your thoughts on the overall quality(understanding it's already got 400 hours on it).


#9

cprice12

cprice12

djdicetn said:
What do you think of the overall quality of that Bush Hog?? I assume with the ZT 25 model# it's their Residential ZTR. Several users have inquired about Bush Hog ZTR's and I looked at their website. They seem to be decent machines. After you get it tweaked let us know your thoughts on the overall quality(understanding it's already got 400 hours on it).
Click to expand...

It's not residential...it's a commercial grade mower. It's a heavy duty machine. Very well built. I couldn't be happier with the quality. It was definitely built to last.

Here's a photo right after I bought it:
bush hog.jpg

I have 5 acres to cut and I've cut it with the Bush Hog about 6 or 7 times now. Aside from some issues with the belts breaking due to old pulleys, which I'm working on, it's been great.
It can move...it's fast. And it cuts clean and level. Nice and even, even when the grass was a bit higher and thicker it didn't struggle near as much as my previous mower. I'm very impressed with the power and how well it cuts.
It has bar tires on it, which I love because I have some hills and it tackles them no problem. My previous mower was a lawn tractor with turf tires, and it would get stuck and spin it's tires frequently when turning on the hills.
The deck being out front is nice, because it tilts up for easy cleaning and blade removal.

It used to take me over 4 hours to cut the grass. Now it takes just over 2 hours. Can't beat that. :smile:


#10

gfp55

gfp55

Thats great that you got it working like you want. It looks nice in the picture, heavy duty. I hope you get many years of service out of it.


#11

djdicetn

djdicetn

cprice12 said:
It's not residential...it's a commercial grade mower. It's a heavy duty machine. Very well built. I couldn't be happier with the quality. It was definitely built to last.

Here's a photo right after I bought it:
View attachment 22044

I have 5 acres to cut and I've cut it with the Bush Hog about 6 or 7 times now. Aside from some issues with the belts breaking due to old pulleys, which I'm working on, it's been great.
It can move...it's fast. And it cuts clean and level. Nice and even, even when the grass was a bit higher and thicker it didn't struggle near as much as my previous mower. I'm very impressed with the power and how well it cuts.
It has bar tires on it, which I love because I have some hills and it tackles them no problem. My previous mower was a lawn tractor with turf tires, and it would get stuck and spin it's tires frequently when turning on the hills.
The deck being out front is nice, because it tilts up for easy cleaning and blade removal.

It used to take me over 4 hours to cut the grass. Now it takes just over 2 hours. Can't beat that. :smile:
Click to expand...

Wow....that is a very nice machine!!! With a little TLC it'll serve you well for many years to come. 400 hours on an out-front deck ZTR like that is nothing. They must not make those anymore because the ZT series is now their Residential model and has a mid-mount deck on it. The upper models are the Estate Series, Commercial Estate Series and Professional Series(all mid-mount decks). Enjoy!!


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