Shined my propellor in 15 minutes!

[NPMR]

I decided, some while ago, that the age old problem of what to do, to keep the barnacles off the propeller, was to polish it to a high gleam and then wipe off the slime some time, during the Summer.

The problem was how to get the 'high gleam' and years of buffing with wet and dry, emery cloth and Brasso was a complete effort.

This year, I found, in a metal suppliers shop, some little discs to fit my angle grinder. They are made of various grades of 'Scotchbrite' type material (used for paint stripping I think) and felt. I chose the felt disc (with polishing compound) and the very gentlest grade of the paint stripper.

Using virtually no pressure, to test what happens, I tried the felt pad but it made little impact on the residue from last years so switched to the other pad.

Again with the gentlest of pressures, I set to and within minutes the prop was clean and shiny and most importantly, undamaged in any discernible way. I then 'polished' with the felt disc and finally 'Brasso'd' it.

The work of moments. Easy and cheap to do and a marine engineer who saw me doing it also commented that it seemed to be a no-damage and fast way to get the result.

 

[Neil]

Interesting! I'll probably doing my own prop shortly, but more useful if we had a manufacturer, supplier, part No.s etc

 

[Stemar]

Interesting! I'll probably doing my own prop shortly, but more useful if we had a manufacturer, supplier, part No.s etc

+1

A link would be helpful

 

[Halo]

I achieved the same result with virtually no effort at all - just dipped it in a 50/50 solution of brick cleaner !

 

[[70521]]

I achieved the same result with virtually no effort at all - just dipped it in a 50/50 solution of brick cleaner !

Would Oxcilic Acid work?

 

[longjohnsilver]

Would Oxcilic Acid work?

No, not fierce enough, tried all sorts, brick cleaner is best, but what the OP used sounds interesting, hope he posts a link.

 

[[70521]]

Thanks

 

[nigelmercier]

A link would be helpful

I've used these before:

http://amzn.to/1hsmRtM
http://amzn.to/1lmkL5C

And I guess this is the felt one:

http://amzn.to/1hsnMdt

 

[Sailfree]

I have a feathering prop and went to the experts on metal polishing for my supplies Moleroda in Salisbury.

Bought a sisal grind wheel for a 9" grinder. Dip it spinning in a brick of abrasive then apply to prop blades. Brilliant

 

[NPMR]

..... more useful if we had a manufacturer, supplier, part No.s etc

Apologies but now got the details of what I bought.

http://www.dronco.com/xist4c/web/Polishing-Flap-Disc_id_17114_.htm

The mildly abrasive disc seems to have ref. numbers EN 13743.And a description of 'Polierrad' - It's a German manufacturer. Size is 115 x 22,23.

The felt pad is just that. Both discs have D-95623 on them.

I hope this helps.

I mentioned my success to another owner in the boatyard and he has now done his prop with the same results. He's very happy with it and again, mentioned the speed but he did mention that a thick barnacle needed bit more persuasion to come off.

From my experience and the now second opinion, the mildest versions work well and the website mentions that polishing non-ferrous metals is what they are used for.

 

[nigelmercier]

Apologies but now got the details of what I bought.
http://www.dronco.com/xist4c/web/Polishing-Flap-Disc_id_17114_.htm ...

Cool! They are a bit like the excellent grinding discs I reported on recently, but with ScotchBrite.

[Later] Much better value in a 2-pack, with virtually free delivery. I've ordered one of each pack.

Fine: http://amzn.to/NUzaH7
2-pack: http://amzn.to/1drTdJc

Medium: http://amzn.to/1drQfEA
2-pack: http://amzn.to/NUBCxt

Coarse: http://amzn.to/NUzvcY
2-pack: http://amzn.to/1drTpIs

 

[Nicholas123]

Let us know when simply having a shiny prop deters barnacles!

 

[NPMR]

Let us know when simply having a shiny prop deters barnacles!

I don't think anything deters the little blighters but the shiny/slippery prop seems (from last few years evidence) to slow them down a bit! Or maybe it's just because we keep on the move more?

Who knows, but it's our attempt to beat them.

PS P & O spend a great deal of money shining their ferry propellors so I wonder "why"? if it doesn't help in some way, with something?

 

[Nicholas123]

I don't think anything deters the little blighters but the shiny/slippery prop seems (from last few years evidence) to slow them down a bit! Or maybe it's just because we keep on the move more?

Who knows, but it's our attempt to beat them.

PS P & O spend a great deal of money shining their ferry propellors so I wonder "why"? if it doesn't help in some way, with something?

I should think it adds to efficiency & economy,maybe even helps eliminate vibration.
If a boat dos'nt actually come into contact with the ground & dry out as mine does I expect that is a benefit also?

 

[djblanc]

How about using Dr Barnacle on it to keep it free. Have used it on my prop and log and after Two years they are still working. It was never like that before I found Dr Barnacle.

 

[JumbleDuck]

This year, I found, in a metal suppliers shop, some little discs to fit my angle grinder. They are made of various grades of 'Scotchbrite' type material (used for paint stripping I think) and felt. I chose the felt disc (with polishing compound) and the very gentlest grade of the paint stripper.

I've just bought a packet of 'em, reduced to £2.37, in Lidl. Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[talltim]

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/..._productId_223687_langId_-1_categoryId_165557

I used these on my props

They also sell a drill mounted version

1 pad cleaned each prop

Wilko's also sell similar items for about the same price

 

[NPMR]

How about using Dr Barnacle on it to keep it free.

Any ideas as to what is in this stuff? Is it the Lanolin based grease, or something else?

 

[theguerns]

I had this problem when I bought my latest boat. The previous owner had painted the prop. So paint stripped, wash, rubbing compound medium and a polishing machine. 3 hrs later and I had a like new prop. Then applied 2 coats of languard lanolin and it lasted a good year with no growth on the prop. Cheers maties

 

[Boo2]

Would Oxcilic Acid work?

Citric acid works well and is what I used on my prop to get the barnacle residue off.

Boo2