The Old Lawnmower Club
Collection, Preservation and Display of Old Lawn Mowers
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Is it possible to treat a rear roller to stop it rusting?

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DavidA66 Thu, 03/11/2022

Hi. I'm new to vintage lawnmowers (I have a feeling I'm going to get totally sucked in by all this - much to my wife's amusement) and have just acquired an old Greens Zephyr 8-blade which has the grooved iron split rear roller (not the aluminium roller with chevrons). I'm trying to clean it all up (restoration, not preservation) and wondered if there is a 'best' way to stop the roller from going rusty again. Is it just a case of using somethig like Jenolite Rust Converter (which I understand will turn the roller black rather than restoring it to its original silver colour) or get rid of all the rust and use Jenolite Rust Shield which is a lacquer, but I am then worried the lacquer won't last long when the mower is being rolled over paving on the way to the lawn!

Also, what is the best way of restoring the cylinder blades to a nice shiny red? That part seems a bit more fiddly.

I am not a natural at taking things apart and putting them back together again so I'm taking it very slowly and taking photos at every stage and giving all the nuts and bolts etc numbers so I know where everything has to go back later!

I'd appreciate any pearls of wisdom from my esteemed fellow lawnmower enthusiasts! Thank you.

Greens Zephyr iron rear roller

Forums

wristpin Thu, 03/11/2022

I get mixed messages here - restoration - as in when it left the factory , and rolling it across gravel to mow the lawn. A Restored finish to a rear roller will never last long on a working machine. If you are going to enjoy using the machine, I’d settle for a preserved or natural finish. After all it’s a working tool not as ornament. May be buy another, one to use and one to look at. 

DavidA66 Thu, 03/11/2022

Thank you, Wristpin. I DO intend to use it (I have always wanted a mower with a nice heavy roller) and I think my expectations on keeping a vintage working mower looking pristine are probably unrealistic. I'm new to all this, but looking forward to learning more!

Herby Fri, 04/11/2022

With my experience of working on cast iron, steel and aluminium you can clean up a roller and make it look beautiful but as soon as you use it it's just going to rust again! But being a professional welder I know a thing or two about metallurgy,  the cast iron roller on your machine is highly porous, a lightweight oil put liberally on a dry roller and left to soak in will prolong the corrosion process somewhat. In general I find a roller in regular use will get a quite tough, thin outer crust (so to speak) which seems to protect it provided once you've finished with the machine you brush off any grass or dirt and don't put it away wet.

Aluminium gets a surface oxide which is clear and protective,  it's the acidic liquids that get under it that does the damage and turns it to white powder.