How to Repair Deck Holes on a Riding Mower

Clean the top and bottom of the mower deck with a wire brush to remove as much dirt, debris and loose rust as possible.

Grind away all of the rust that you can around the hole with an angle grinder until you have a hole with no rust.

Cut a patch out of a piece of sheet metal that measures at least 1 inch larger in diameter than the hole with tin snips. The patch must overlap the hole by at least ½ inch on all sides.

Sand the edges of the patch with a file to remove the burrs and sharpness from the metal.

Place the patch over the hole in the deck. If the hole is over an area that is not flat, bend the sheet metal to conform to the contour of the deck with your hands.

Clamp the sheet metal onto the deck with clamps and then drill a hole approximately every ¼ inch around the diameter of the hole. Position the holes so they go through the patch and the mower deck. Use a drill bit that will accommodate your rivets. The rivet packaging will indicate the exact drill bit size to use.

Place a rivet into the rivet gun and then place the shank of the rivet into the first hole. Press the trigger on the rivet gun to secure the rivet to the patch and deck. Repeat this for each additional rivet hole.

Clean the surface of the patch on both sides with mineral spirits to remove dirt and grease.

Paint the patch with spray enamel that has a hardener included in it. This will help to protect the patch from rusting.