Spring clean - stainless props

[Jimbo 22]

Looking for a little advice on the cleaning up my Bravo 3 Duo Props...

Have given them a good spray and scrub with prop cleaner purchased from Force 4, they still need a little something extra to remove all the crud.

A few threads of old suggest using Hydrochloric acid / good old ‘cementone’ brick cleaner, and a few suggesting that whilst this will clean them, the hydrochloric acid may also damage them...

What are the latest views on this? Does anyone have any recommendations?

Thanks!

 

[Hot Property]

I cleaned my Verado prop and leg as it was encrusted with limescale having sat in the Thames for a few years. I didn't know the prop was stainless when I bought it - it was that thick.

Brick acid painted on with a brush is a good way to remove limescale/barnacles. It fizzes at first as it does its work then you need to apply more. I used 5 litres!!!

You can't go wrong for a fiver... https://www.toolstation.com/bostik-cementone-concentrated-mortar-brick-cleaner/p98902

 

[mlines]

Brick cleaner and polish.

For the polishing I popped them to a local metal polishers. £40 the pair and they are so polished they stay in that condition all year as nothing sticks.

Here we had the wrong anodes fitted but thought a day or two in the water would not matter......

Quick dip in brick cleaner

This is the result of the annual polish

 

[dpb]

Blimey....I just go over them with a bit of old sand paper!!!

 

[jrudge]

Don't try brick cleaner with a zinc anchor. I had an old one for the rib I inherited with the boat. Covered in scale.

Dipped in acid. Well chuffed! Looked amazing.

Until ..... about 5 minutes later when it started rusting before my eyes. Just as well a new one was only 12 Euro!

Acid is wonderful stuff

 

[Hot Property]

Are you from the 70's perhaps??

 

[Assassin]

4 1/2" angle grinder and a surface conditioning pad does the trick very nicely, and I get the pads from work for free which is a bonus.

 

[Jimbo 22]

Thanks all, off to Toolstation at the weekend!

 

[QBhoy]

Hi
On all the merc stainless performance props I’ve had...I use wonder wipes to get the crud off, then a wee polish with normal marine polish like megaures.
Go easy on the brick cleaner I’d say. These are precision machined with little tolerance for deviation...
They ain’t cheap either. Haha.

 

[Fishtigua]

Brick Cleaner and a brush. Not gone wrong with that combo for the last 35 years.

For the really thick stuff, a green scratchy pad does come out.

On one boat, a hammer and chisel was needed to just find the bleedin' trim-tabs. Horses for courses, I guess.

 

[QBhoy]

I supppse it’s each to their own...but I wouldn’t put a green scratchy pad anywhere near a stainless performance prop. Just me maybe.

 

[Fishtigua]

I supppse it’s each to their own...but I wouldn’t put a green scratchy pad anywhere near a stainless performance prop. Just me maybe.

Go in gentle, it's not a battle. Just ease the crud off.

 

[QBhoy]

Oh you’re probably right. I just couldn’t do it, haha. It’s too bloody expensive my prop. spent too long trying to eek every inch of performance out her. I’d hate to scratch it

 

[dpb]

a green scratchy pad does come out.

.

+1 for the green scratchy pad (sponge scourer) doesn't seem to damage the surface but then I am not after the polished finished. ...... I was joking about the sandpaper in post #4 by the way.

 

[jon and michie]

I use a stainless steel scouring ball takes about an hour each prop