Cleaning Propellers

discovery2

discovery2

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Having spent some time today (and still not finished!) trying to clean the propeller to a shiny finish, I wondered if there was an alternative to: elbow grease, wet & dry paper, wire wool, etc.

I know there have been posts debating the mertis of antifouling propellers, and applying a range of substances to maintain a shiny finish, but are there other methods/techniques folk use to restore a bronze propeller to a 'showroom finish'?
 
Probably too late this time but I took the worst crap off mine with Cillit Bang, then polished the metal with a buff on my Dremel....it still took a loooooooooooooooooong time tho'.
 
Depends on what surface / result you are after.

A shiny bronze propeller will attract the best of sea life, dependining on how often you use it.

I tend to antifoul the prop after a rub with a wire brush.

A smooth and clean surface is a good starting point for both options, so sugest a wire brush. Anything that resits that is a real beast!
 
If you want to do a proper job! first use 240 grade wet and dry paper to remove any barnacle glue and marks. Then use Brasso wadding to remove any remaining marks this took me a very loooooooooong time as previously stated. Over several years the barnacles that managed to get on the prop gradually decreased until last year when the prop was barnacle free. The use of Farecla sounds like a good idea I would use the G3 paste, then the G10 finally buffer.

If you have to use a wire brush to start with it sounds as though you have left it to late, unless you are prepared to spend an even looooooooonger time getting it smooth.

Trevor
 
Thanks for your comments. It's interesting to hear other people's comments.

As I had to do this over the Easter weekend, I was not able to purchase any products! A wire brush (including one attached to an electric drill) took ages to get any deposit off - let alone scratck the metal surface! I then tried a flat (paint) scraper and this scraped off the rather hard-crusted deposit with relative ease, then finished off with a couple of brillo pads.

Total time for a 4 bladed prop - just over an hour!
 
I have a foolproof method ....

I have a habit of running aground quite often and my engine is quite strong for the boat. So a liberal use of throttle while extracating from the putty - prefer nice clean sandy beach of course - tends to scour off all sorts of crud .........

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That's a good idea but be careful not to direct the sand, etc. towards the sea water inlet for your engine cooling. It won't do the impeller any good.

On most boats I would suggest that this is only done when in ahead, not astern.
 
Don't worry - SBC has tank tracks on the bottom of his keels ... saves any problem when he hits Ryde Sands (again) ...
 
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