Prop color

[lff]

I was looking under the boat and the prop seems to have lost some luster. Instead of being the nibral color it was originally it seems to have turned kind of gray with a little bit of a purple hue to it. Anybody else ? It's a Acme 515 circa 2006 on an RLxi.

[Kelvin]

Run it through some sand. That will bring back the shine.

[thager]

Try lemon juice mixed with some salt. Rub it in with fine sand.

[ForrestGump]

You should probably check the muffler bearing while you're under there polishing that prop.

[Not_The_Pug]

@ShaneH I find that if the piston return springs are going bad, the prop will not spin as fast and have a dull color.

[Dirt]

Our steering cable lost its luster last year. I spent hours removing, polishing and reinstalling.

[JC McCavit]

You could go looking for some Prop Wash. It is often found behind the boat when it is underway. All joking aside, there must be something we could just spray on our props to bring back their luster. That hardware under the boat can be prettier than jewelery.

[boarditup]

OK - Get some Never-Dull polish from the hardware store and polish until your OCD is scratched enough. Sheeesh - I would have never thought to polish the prop.

[colo_skier]

A mixture of hydrogen peroxide, lime-away and lysol toilet bowl cleaner sprayed on will get it back to original. Rinse it well with water afterwards and don't get any of it on the chrome pieces. Worked for me.

[ScaredOfCorbets]

This is NOT for how to get your shine back, but how to preserve it. However, it may not be a good solution, because it involves hazardous material. But here it is anyway.

 

First, find someone with a 80's vintage Porsche 911SC/Carerra, and ask if you have their used antifreeze mixture (from the overflow tank or when they are flushing). The good part is that you don't need much. Get that, and you can diluted with some distilled water, maybe 3 to 1 ratio. Most have silicone in it already, but you can spray a little WD40 in it if you want.

 

It must be from that 911 vintage, otherwise, you're wasting your time.

 

This used antifreeze is special, because it has been exposed to the special aluminum alloy engine block and head that were used in those years. So, it serves as a metal preservative.

 

Then all you have to do is to smear this onto your shiny prop with a shop rag. Wear gloves and make sure your pets or children are not around to ingest it. Viola, your prop will remain shiny for awhile.

 

Finally, don't get it into the lake or public drainage.

 

Staying with the 80's theme, got too much time on my hands.

[jackski]

That's pretty funny as 911 SC's and Carerra's in the 80's were air cooled (until the 996).

 

I can let you have some out of my 1976 RS

[lff]

So many funny people on this forum.

I was asking if it might be an indication of a problem like excessive cavitation. from the lack of any serious responses i guess not. thanks.

[thager]

IFF. Sorry, sure didn't get that from your post .Probably just your water chemistry. Excessive cavitation will also affect the gelcoat above the prop. Look for burning/pitting. I was serious about the lemon juice and salt. Mix some up and drop a penny in it. It will look like new. Just rub the mixture on the prop. let it set a bit then rinse off with water.

[Dirt]

Was not trying to piss you off. Our prop, rudder and fins are dull also. Its normal

[Horton]

Be serious people. That dull prop is caused by too much power in your under arm at the second wake.

[skibug]

The driver's under arm or the rope biatch's....?

[jackski]

@lff - sorry. No it's not a problem, a friend of mine is a chemical engineer he reminds me that pretty well all metals rust or corrode in some fashion. On a nibril prop, the corrosion just gets polished a little black due to the forces. Different water will accelerate this. If it was excessive cavitaion, thager has got it right (pitting on the prop also.)

[BlueSki]

Periodic doses of diluted uric acid applied while the boat is in the water can help maintain the like-new luster of the prop and rudder. It can be delivered from in the water or even above the water from the swim platform. Applying while the boat is on the trailer is generally frowned upon.

[Horton]

I just moved this into the CLASSIC threads section

[thager]

Ahhh, piss on it then!!

[A_B]

@thager, it would probably depend on what you ate or drank to determine if your piss would be acidic enough to brighten the prop. If you had some asparagus, longer lines might be in order for a while....

[Guest]

SOS pads do well

[Jody_Seal]

Bead blast it!

[RichardDoane]

This year's promo needed a little extra clean up upon arrival from the factory. Bambi's took a hit somewhere between TN and WA, it washed right off on the initial slalom set though

[A_B]

When I use to be a river boater with a merc i/o unit, I used a brass cleaner on the prop, as I found that it spun a few more rpms than a dull prop. I did this on my SN one time, and it actually felt like it was cavitating on the first few takeoffs, so not sure a polished nibral is the way to go on an inboard.

 

Jody runs some high performance boats, and maybe can elaborate his findings on polished vs dull props.

 

[teammalibu]

The knueten valve might be out of grafufnick. Much easier to polish the prop while it is spinning! Hope you got a couple of steaks out of that mess!