# Fluid Film on Deck Underside



## DForal (Jun 30, 2011)

I recently had to take my deck off (to make a repair) and decided to clean it while I had it off. I did some research on materials to coat the deck with and saw Fluid Film had some good reviews and decided to try it.

I ordered the material from the website and it arrived in two days. I used a sprayer to apply it and it only took about 3 minutes to be done. The company claims a consistency like latex paint and I guess that is pretty close. It is definitely lower density than latex paint as the one gallon can is quite light.

Pictures are before/after. This is a Craftsman 54" deck that is one year old.

I'll report back after mowing a few times and see if I notice any difference.


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## enigma-2 (Aug 16, 2012)

DForal said:


> I recently had to take my deck off (to make a repair) and decided to clean it while I had it off. I did some research on materials to coat the deck with and saw Fluid Film had some good reviews and decided to try it.
> 
> I ordered the material from the website and it arrived in two days. I used a sprayer to apply it and it only took about 3 minutes to be done. The company claims a consistency like latex paint and I guess that is pretty close. It is definitely lower density than latex paint as the one gallon can is quite light.
> 
> ...


Been a little over a month so far. How is the coating holding up? Recommend or pass?


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## DForal (Jun 30, 2011)

Thanks for the reminder. I'll take a look and report back. Hopefully this weekend. It will be a good test as I've mowed wet grass due to the frequency of rain. Dave


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## DForal (Jun 30, 2011)

OK, I went out last night and took a look under the deck to see what it looked like. I had been cutting some pretty thick and wet grass lately.

There was build-up of grass at a few locations. I was surprised at how clean the rest of the deck looked; I'd have to say that the grass is not sticking as much as it did before. I did not take the time to see how difficult it is to remove the build-up that I saw - the machine was in the garage and I didn't want to get stuff all over the floor.

The main reason I got the coating was to prevent rusting and keep the grass from building up. The build-up I'm seeing is where there is a "ledge" for the grass to collect on. The "roof" of the deck is quite clean and I was pleasantly surprised by that. 

I would say at this time the stuff appears to be helping. After the cutting season, I'll take the deck off and do a cleaning and see if there are any indications of rust. As you can see in my pictures above, there was some rust on the one year old deck.

This stuff is not cheap, but either is a new mower deck. So far, I don't feel "ripped off", but the jury is still out until I find out if this stuff really stops the rust like it says. Anyone else use this stuff? Please weigh in if you have. Dave


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## DForal (Jun 30, 2011)

Another update. I went out and finished mowing long wet grass this morning (supposed to rain this afternoon and for the next few days).

After mowing, I hooked up the water hose and ran the mower for about 10 minutes. I moved the deck up/down and moved the mower back and forth a short distance - an effort to "dislodge" any grass clumps.

Afterwards, I pulled into the garage and inspected the deck with my work light. It looks very good; I only saw one place where there was any grass clumping (on a ledge) and it was not too big. Most of the deck was basically free of grass material.

Bottom line, I never got that kind of cleaning from running water before. In fact, I had quit running water because it didn't seem to help too much - oh, that and I'm lazy 

So, I have to say that it is making a significant difference. Real test will be when I take the deck off this fall and inspect it more closely for rust, etc. I'd have to say I'm glad I did it and that it was worth it to me so far. Dave


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## enigma-2 (Aug 16, 2012)

Been wondering if coating the underside of the deck with a pickup truck type of bed liner (such as Rhino and the like) would an be effective rust deterrent?


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## MBTRAC (May 28, 2012)

I use it Penetrol as a rust preventative undercoat on all my farm & truck gear, including slashers (i.e your bush hogs), fertiliser sprayers, chassis, mower decks etc..- some of which are now 20+ years old without any signs of rust as a result - some of our farms are in highly mineralised/corrosive soils where a steel black star picket will rust out in c.3-5yrs, this environment combined with lime/phosphate/nitrogen fertiliser usage & chemical sprays really takes it's toll if our gear is not treated to prevent rust. 

On the mower decks, every 6 months I drop the decks & paint with 2 coats of penetrol & then 2 coats of industrial gloss black paint to prevent rust, these also seems prevent most of the underdeck grass "hang ups" -As the seasonal mower "recoat" is about due I'll try & post photo's in the next few weeks.

Penetrol is relatively cheap & used in marine applications - it seals to prevent/treat rust like no other product I've found available & also if required provides an ideal bonding undercoat for any topcoat. 

Whilst I've tried also the bed liner products & many other rubberised/polymer type products, & still use lanolin coatings in specific applications, in my experience most seem to be flawed as once they scar, wear or chip the water/moisture gets in behind the "coating" allowing rust to form quickly/unseen in the humid environment between the remaining"coating" & the metal- Penetrol because of the way it bonds doesn't let this happen.


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## enigma-2 (Aug 16, 2012)

Out of curiosity I emailed Rust-Oleum and asked about using their Truck Bed Coating on the underside of a lawn mower deck. 
_Would you recommend the use of tour "Truck Bed Coating Spray" on the underside of a lawn tractor mower deck? _

Just got this reply:
_We would recommend our Professional Rubberized undercoating instead. make sure it has the "professional" logo on the outside of the can._


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