Paint the bottom of the deck with used motor oil?

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Has anyone ever heard of this? Is this beneficial? I was watching a lawn mower maintenance video and he does it here: At 7:40 mark.
 
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I guess it would add some level of waterproofing and anti rust protection, but I don't think it would add that much.

It would be better to either buy a lawnmower with a cast aluminium deck.
Although you could wash off the steel one you have with a pressure sprayer, hit the clean surface with a scotch bright pad and some dish soap to get it really clean and grease free, wash that off, and then hit it with several thin layers of spray paint (Rustolium comes to mind).

Used motor oil would not have the rust protection that a quality paint would have. Although it would get beaten off down there as I imagine the bottom of a deck gets pretty much sand blasted/grass blasted every time you mow the yard.
 
Either paint the bottom or use Fluid film since it is not hazardous and non-toxic.

Quote:
Containing a unique lanolin base and being completely solvent free, Fluid Film leaves less of an impact on the environment. Fluid Film will also not burn greenery or freeze, making it perfect for year round maintenance.


Product information
http://www.fluid-film.com/applications/lawn_garden/index.html
http://www.fluid-film.com/applications/lawn_garden/applications.html

Good place to purchase FF online, shipping for aerosols is included.
http://www.kellsportproducts.com/AS&NAS.html

Its a great non-toxic product. I was spraying some on a piece of equipment and one of my rottweilers walked up to take a sniff and got a face full of spray. He was not particularly crazy about the taste otherwise he's fine.
thumbsup2.gif


I use it on battery terminals, hinges and latches. I use it on my mowers, tractor, car, truck etc etc. I prefer Amsoil MP for door hinges in the house and seafoam Deep Creep for my sliding glass door. If metal protector sprayed at any angle I might prefer it for the sliding glass door.
 
This sounds like an idea where need and available materials coincide, but the long term effects aren't good for the environment, machinery (moisture entrapment), or the owner.

Somewhat like when my Dad told me of working for the county during the depression spraying used motor oil over the county roads to keep the dust down during the summer. The used oil coated everything including the workers and the vehicles using the roads. It did clump up the dust for a while and kill any nearby mosquitoes though!

If the EPA ever takes a soil sampling by one of those old county roads, Love Canal will look like a minor blip on the scale of environmental disasters.
 
Originally Posted By: MrBeachcomber
Somewhat like when my Dad told me of working for the county during the depression spraying used motor oil over the county roads to keep the dust down during the summer. The used oil coated everything including the workers and the vehicles using the roads. It did clump up the dust for a while and kill any nearby mosquitoes though!


Kinda reminds me of the old-time way of making a black-top road using the already-there gravel and covering it with used motor oil.

Not exactly EPA approved, but it did work somewhat. They would have a come-apart today!

Rob
 
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There was a dirt road to our truck garage and when I was a kid, I would go out with buckets and have to sloush oil with a scooper all over the road, you would fling it, to keep the dust down. There were trees on both sides and grass and a field on the downside. I never in 25 years saw the oil kill the trees, damage the grass or the field where rain washed off into. I think the oil contaiminated soil thing as hazardous waste is a big money making gimmick. The City boro would come out actually spray the fairgrounds with used oil, again no side effects whatsoever. I am one that experienced this , not read about the impacts. Did not do a thing. About the mower deck, I think the decks are made of better metal now, its been a long time since I seen one rust out, I think if you clean it out ever time, scrape the grass off, you will get sick of the mower before it rusts out.
 
I wipe down with new unused oil, cut 25% with kerosene, or use liquid WD 40 on all my outdoor equipment before storage. ie, snow blower, tractor, push mower, rototiller. I wipe under mower decks a couple times a year after power washing and drying. I would find it hard to believe an ounce of oil on a rag rivals the Exxon valdeez for an enviromental impact. I do caution for the cost of a quart of generic 5-30, or a gallon of wd 40, why does anyone handle used oil?

I could debate which rusts faster with your moisture entrapment
arguments, based on the antique age of some of my equipment.
Even if I give you that, I know the rototiller and mower clean easier.
 
Blast the deck every so often with a pressure washer to get the caked on grass clippings off. With the underside of the deck relatively clear of grass clippings, the spinning blade will keep the deck dry unless cutting wet grass.

I don't like the use of used oil. As mentioned, it's a contaminant.
 
After 30 years with the same bargain-basement lawnmower, and it still did not rust out......... why do anything??
Whatever oil is slopped when adding was always left on the lawnmower, but no other deck maintenance has ever been performed.
Maybe, after the first thick layer of grass clippings inside drys and hardens the interior is adequately protected from new wet grass??
 
I use fluid film or krown rust protectant on the underside of deck once a year before storage. Seems to work well as no rust has formed.
 
Please don't laugh , awhhh you will anyhow.
On my ole tractor , I'd clean all the old grass out with the power washer...leave it dry for a day or so. Raise the deck up and block the wheels.....THEN I'd put on rubber gloves and dip my hand in a can of wheel grease ( I liked the red stuff) and smear it all over the underneath of the deck really thick. The grease really takes hold and doesn't wear off, in fact in the fall when it's clean up/maint time, the old grass comes right off easy. But the grease is still there leaving the metal nice and clean ready for another application if needed.
I have done this to all my car and truck frames too: the grease oozes into all the nooks and crannies .....zero rust.

BOB in PA
 
Boeshield T-9. It was developed by Boeing to protect aircraft parts. You can find it all day long at Marine/boating supply houses. This stuff is no joke. Where it is applied, is where it stays. I spayed down my snow blower 4 years ago because I was leaving it outside. Still no corrosion. I'm not sure how it would work on a mower deck with all the dust and abrasive impacts by debris. I know it would definitely stay in place and not rust. It leave a very light waxy film so some dust may stick to it.

Here is a link
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&s...amp;safe=strict
 
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I have never spayed the bottom of the deck but i do wipe a coat of WD40 over the paint before storing it for the winter. And come summer I wipe, or rather just spray the blower down. One place i always coat with oil on my tractors is behind the dash...the wiring. Its one of the first things i do when i acquire a tractor. If it gets dusty, oh well at least i know the wires wont corrode in there.
 
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