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Does one have to double over the second pass to make the stripe stand out?

jnmoor00 said:

Does one have to double over the second pass to make the stripe stand out?

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I only go over my lawn once, but my mower came with a rubber strip on the back of the deck for striping. You should not cut your lawn any lower than 3 to 3.5 inches depending on what type of grass you have in your lawn. The taller the grass, the more noticeable the stripes. I cut my Bermuda at 3.25 inches. The stripes are noticeable, but not as much as they would be if I let it grow taller. I don't cut it any taller because my wife doesn't like it any taller.

Thanks for the info

Keep in mind the direction you are looking at the stripes makes a big difference in how visible they are. When the sun is up, it should be at your back for best viewing. Below are 2 photos of the same lawn...one when the sun is in front of me, one when it is behind me so you can see the difference.

Sun in front of me (can't see stripes well):

Sun behind me (stripes!):

lawn mower fanatic said:

Keep in mind the direction you are looking at the stripes makes a big difference in how visible they are. When the sun is up, it should be at your back for best viewing. Below are 2 photos of the same lawn...one when the sun is in front of me, one when it is behind me so you can see the difference.

Sun in front of me (can't see stripes well): View attachment 26490

Sun behind me (stripes!): View attachment 26491

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Man those are some straight lines. Good looking lawn.:thumbsup:

There's always a million ways to skin a cat. We try to mow east to west directions. Sun playing off the grass will help pronounce the stripes. We don't use stripe kits, but run our baffles wide open mid or high lift blades and I'll get upset if i find a deck set below 4"s. All our decks are level as we'll, no pitch or toe or any strange i heard from that guy tricks. Deck design, mower speed, blade selection, cutting height, turf type, direction of cut, can all play a role in how pronounced your stripes are.

Lawnmowerfanatic, can stripe with a push mower better then anyone I've ever seen. But i think he just played with it enough and is skilled with his push mowers enough to get nice stripes.

Just try some different cutting heights and directions until you get it.

Thanks everyone for your inputs I've been reading up as well and I think some of my problem is that the yard is zoysia and it's a real tough grass blade. The blades get tougher the longer it grows so the recommend keeping it cut 2" or lower. Coming from Maryland and Kentucky Bluegrass to SC Zoysia is half my problem.

But
1. Sun to the back
2. Try cutting east to west
3. Cut high on 4 or better.