heck yeah id paint it or dude, it is what it is?

If you are not going to do a good job of preparing the deck before you paint then don't waste your time. I have done a lot of old decks and it is a lot of hard work to get them ready to paint. I think you are looking at about 5 hours of hard work to get that deck in decent shape to sell. If the tractor looks as bad as the deck just forget about it and sell it as is.

As others have stated, does the rest of the machine look the same, worse or better? Next question you have to ask yourself is, is this going to make or break a sale? 3rd question is, if I spend say 500 properly sandblasting, and repainting this deck will it make a difference in the selling price? You could potentially spend the money on it and it not make a difference in the overall selling price, and you could potentially be out that 500 dollars for nothing.

Thanks all for the input. I tried to keep the rest of the machine out of the discussion out of respect for the lawn and garden tractor forum. The rest of the machine is in far better condition and will likely polish out nicely and then a little touch up paint in a rub spot. I'm going to pull the heated cab off and sell both it and the blower separately then try to create a solid 6' diesel 4WD mower that someone who has a decent sized property and doesnt need a perfect machine would buy. Other than the deck the only other real issue with it is the seat. There is no point in going after restoration grade here just respectable take it home and knock some lawn/field down with it at a decent price point. I think a lot of potential buyers me now included would not even look at it as is but also dont need a perfect powder coat finish for a machine destined to maintain a rural property.

Any thoughts or pointers to threads on what process best achieves my goal for the deck?

I wouldnt sand blast the deck. And if it costs $500 to have it done, youre paying waaaay too much.

Bead blasting is much much less harmful to the metal and you can buy an entire home sand/media blaster set up for $500. Not a cabnet that will hold a 6' deck but a roll around blaster and compressor that will give you enough air to do it in spurts. And thats brand new. Second hand sales would be cheaper.

Check with a local powder coater, or even heavy equipment refurb shop. See if they'll just take it down to bare metal and prime it. Tell them you'll paint and take care of the rest. That is what I have done in the past and it has worked out well for me. I have been told that the guys running the sand/ media blasters don't care what the parts are (what the parts are for etc.) They just know they need to be cleaned up and do great work. Same with the painters/ powder coaters. They know they need primer and paint and quality of work has to be the same across the board.

Putting lipstick on pigs works.

Remove what you can part wise, metal brush cup on an angle grinder to knock back whatever rust you can.

Tape off the lables and non-yellow pieces. Rattle can a few coats of big box store JD yellow.

This could be done in a couple of hours and make a huge cosmetic difference.

It's not much different than washing and waxing a car or cleaning the engine bay.

Looks go a long way for getting online shoppers to your door.

I agree that putting lipstick on a pig works. You do not have to knock yourself out but get the surface rust off and then use a cheap primer and a cheap yellow paint and you will be surprised what a difference it makes. Buyers are looking for the best when they come to see your stuff. If you make an effort to clean and paint it, it will make a difference. I have looked at tractors where there is so much dust and grass on it that I cannot read the labels on the deck. The engine bay looked like a dirt dobber's nest with so much red clay. I would never sell a tractor without cleaning it up first.

I have used Duro "Extend" (made by Permatex/Loctite) and Rustoleum "Rust Reformer" and several other similar rust converters,they do work pretty good,I used them on rusty floors and body parts on vehicles I had..

They need some rust to work,so don't wire brush or sand it to bare metal--get all the loose crusty stuff off,blow off or vacuum the dust off,wipe it down with some laquer thinner,then apply the rust converter..it will look like milk going on,then dries to a clear coating after the rust gets turned black..it does resist further rusting quite well..

POR-15 is a coating that converts rust and dries to a very tough coating,that will lat a long time provided its not exposed to UV rays--they do have versions that are more UV resistant..however its very expensive,like $30 a quart,and your better off using it all up at once,its tough to store unused portions without it "welding" the can lid or glass jar top on permanently..

Auto body supply stores also sell chemical rust converters like Morton's "Rust-Mort" and some paint brands like R-M had a coating/converter that uses phosphoric acid to convert the rust to a black primer and prevent further rusting..

I would be honest and tell a potential buyer ,yes,I painted the deck--but it did have a few pinholes that'll need attention down the road"...
|I don't like people coming back angry when I sell something,I tell them every known "issue" it may have--if they don't buy it,its better than having them come back wanting to kick your butt if you failed to disclose any potential issues..
I'd be a lousy used car salesman..

inspectorudy said:

If you are not going to do a good job of preparing the deck before you paint then don't waste your time. I have done a lot of old decks and it is a lot of hard work to get them ready to paint. I think you are looking at about 5 hours of hard work to get that deck in decent shape to sell. If the tractor looks as bad as the deck just forget about it and sell it as is.

Click to expand...

What he said :tango_face_grin: If you can see daylight through it, I don't think you want to see what sand blasting will show you :tango_face_wink:

Yeah, I have no business welding that or any other deck. It has nice heavy covers that will cover up the rough section anyway. This is the smaller 2WD version but the deck is the same.