The success of every paint job of any size is dependent on the preparation of the surface being painted.

If you want to do it once and not again for a very long time then remove ALL the hardware and have the deck sandblasted. You can buy pretty much any decal on a GT series JD deck so no worries there. Also gives you a chance to closely inspect the bearings and pulleys.

Use a high quality primer and take your time.

John Deere rattle can paint flows very nicely and you can get a really nice job out of those spray cans. You have a choice of the real JD paint at the dealer at $10 a can (bordering on extortion) or Tractor Supply carries the Valspar JD colors and Lowes carries the Rustoleum JD colors for about $4 a can. I've had great success with the Rustoleum JD yellow.

I have a buddy who had his deck powder coated in JD yellow and it does look better than factory paint. If I had to refurb my deck and could get it powder coated I'd do it in a heartbeat.

Let us know how the project goes and pictures would be great...

My opinion is to stick with the Valspar brand if you can get it. I've used it and it seems to be pretty good stuff.
I don't have anything against Rustoluem brand so far as durability is concerned. My biggest beef with Rustoleum has been that if you apply the paint a bit heavy (as in "you get a run" or near run sag) it develops a lot of tiny bubbles that show up looking like pinholes in the paint that do not disappear when the paint cures. Each time I have seen this occur was when I also used Rustoleum primer as the undercoat.
I don't know if it might be due to some constituent component of the primer not fully curing or drying that causes this, but I've never seen this when I used Valspar brand primer and paint.

OK, thanks guys. I did call a couple of powdercoat shops here in CT and tell me what you think of this pricing:

to degrease, sandblast, powdercoat (1 thick coat, 1 thin coat) $200.

to degrease, sandblast, zinc powder primer, powdercoat $300.

Evidently the zinc powder primer step (which evidently even the Deere factory does not do) helps prevent flaking and helps in retarding rust. Your thoughts?

Does that pricing seem reasonable? It is more $$ than I wanted to spend, but the more I learn about it, it seems to be money well spent for good results and factoring in my time as well

Your thoughts?

Mownie: You have to allow the air to exit each coat of paint, before adding another. Do not apply the primer in too heavy a coat-allow for flash time, and feel it with a knuckle, for tackiness, before adding another coat. This applies to primer. 3 coats of primer should be enough. If there are any pits or slight depressions to fill, use the auto body "putty", allow it to dry fully, then sand it smooth, re-prime it, and scuff it smooth when dry. For deep depressions, use auto body plastic with hardener, allow it to harden up, then block sand it to smooth, and prime it 3 coats. When all is ready, then apply the color coats. Before doing any painting, always "wash" off the fingerprints, and oils from your hands, on the part you are going to paint, because they will make "fish-eyes" in the color coats. I use mineral spirits for that.
As for the color to buy, i don't think it is as critical as refinishing a car fender. Just buy a color that is close to original. A month of use, will cover up any mistakes in color match.
Also, i had to replace a front fender on my 97 Ranger. I got one at the scrap yard (cars and trucks) And sprayed it with the correct color from a spray can. Looks nice.
This from 50+ yearts in the auto body trade.

My buddy who had his deck powder coated moved away so I can't ask him what steps were done on his deck but after 3 years his deck looked better than the deck on my new JD the first day I brought it home. If you do powder coat your deck remember to chase any threads in the deck with the appropriate taps before you reassemble the hardware.

I have never had powder coating done, but if you went that route- I would have him do the prep and priming for the money he's charging. That $100 will take the nasty prep work out of the picture and hopefully ensure a great finish. Unless you can hook up w/somebody who can blast it reasonably, you get to clean, strip, clean, sand- bleh! The cost of the supplies to do that and then hit it w/ a time bomb and hope for the best adds up. Plus there is the area prep and know the temperature and humidity needs to be reasonably good to have a great result. By me, that is cutting season!

tomplum:

So it sounds like your saying that the biggest bang for the buck (say for maybe $100 or so) would be to have someone clean, blast, & prime it and then paint it myslef?

Might an autobody shop be a cheaper way to go versus a powderpaint shop?

Fcarp

It's always better to let the pros do the entire job from start to finish and they'll stand behind it.

You do the cleaning and blasting or the priming and six months down the road the finish bubbles or lifts and they'll blame your prep.

I've seen decks that were taken to bed liner places and sprayed on. They look awful but they'll last and were no cheaper to spray than powder coat.

There are far too mnay (not too old) cars I've seen where the paint isn't holding up so I'm not convinced that I'd repaint my deck.

Id my deck get to the point that it needs a refurb I'll be standing at the powder coat shop early in the morning.

There's always a way to do anything cheaper... thing is what do you want? Do you want to do the job once and be done with it? Do you want the deck to look like factory?

It's your money and only you should spend it.

If I were in your shoes, look at the whole project, the time and effort you would need to put into it vs the results you want. If you want to refinish yourself, you will need a heated area that needs to stay warm, dry and clean for the refinishing. (That is if my version of what February in CT looks like is correct.) You could say to yourself, hey- it's a lawnmower. I'll spot prime what has delaminated and shoot it w/ close enough. You can brush it on if you wish if you don't want to deal with the overspray and lessen the fumes. BTW, the Deere spray paint will appear lighter than what you have. When I do a deck repair, I make it clear that it isn't going to be a paint match when I touch up after welding/ reinforcing. I've never had anyone care.
That being said, if you have an area that you don't mind turning into a spray booth that can provide a good environment for refinishing- I'm sure that you can do a satisfactory job. If I were to refinish it myself, I'd clean it, scrape it and use a chemical stripper on top, rip off what i could on the bottom w/ a wire wheel. As said above, a good refinish starts with a good prep. I've never had lasting finish underside anyways. I'm sure someone has a super finish for it though. Candy apple the top for that custom look. Pride of ownership! A decent powdercoat would be your best chance of a clean look for years to come. BTW, the bedliner decks I've seen have shrunk and started to chunk underneath.

I wonder what a new deck shell would cost?

Naked deck = $690

I had looked into that as well (buying the deck shell) after I got the $300 estimate. Will probably go the powdercoat route in a few weeks. I will definately take before & after pictures and post them.

Thanks to everyone for their advice.

Regarding this winter in CT, we had about 80 inches of snow from Dec 26 to first week of Feb...to make it worse, it wasn't until early this week that the temps broke 40...probably won't be cutting much grass anytime in the near future...

Wow! 690. I thought wheel horse parts were expensive.

While the red stuff can get pricey the green and yellow stuff raises price shock to new levels... but hey, JD 6x45 snow blower shear bolts are only $1.15 and those gearbox the shear bolts protect is only $300

Hi Folks,

If you Google "Craftsman Club" it'll take you to a forum where I recently posed a question about painting the bed of a garden cart. Amazed at all the responses and the various products available and how to apply them.

Tried to post the link, but it's on one of the "taboo" sites per Garden Web.

Ev

FWIW....even if a URL is censored/prohibited by the GW website, you can usually copy and paste it into a regular post instead of the designated Optional Link URL box.
It just means an interested reader will have to copy and paste it manually to their browser instead of the streamlined process of just clicking the link.
File under heading: "Second of various ways to skin a cat".

OOPS! I forgot the forum changed their name a while back to Craftsman/Sears Forum, it's in the MTF site. Guess Sears had proprietary rights to Craftsman Club.

Sorry,

Ev