- Dec 30, 2009
- 680
propeller paint
- Thread starter redhead78
- Start date
No paint on the prop here. A diver cleans off a few barnacles each year then clean and polish every seventh year when I redo the boom paint at haul out. Original 1991 prop has always been in sea water; looks like new after polishing. Two zincs on the shaft.
I tried the Petit spray paint and barnacles, oysters, and assorted soft critters love the stuff. From what I can tell it had no effect. I dive to clean it myself so I had a pretty good view of it. Last haul out I tried a thin coating on the prop of WEST epoxy followed by some hard bottom paint. I figured the epoxy would insulate the prop from the paint and I hot coated it for adhesion. I just hauled out and the outer half of each blade is bare with just baby barnacles on it. If anyone has the ultimate solution I'm all ears.
There is no definitive answer to this. I used it regularly when we were in Narragansett Bay and the Petit prop paint was very effective in minimizing growth and critters. Here in Florida, it's essentially useless.
The only thing about which you can be assured is that it won't hurt anything so why not try it?
The only thing about which you can be assured is that it won't hurt anything so why not try it?
Practical Sailor did a test on them if you can get to it. One important note: don't paint the anode.
https://www.practical-sailor.com/issues/37_75/features/Propeller-Paints-that-Last_12173-1.html
https://www.practical-sailor.com/issues/37_75/features/Propeller-Paints-that-Last_12173-1.html
I'm going to try lanolin on my prop this year, but we don't get the same rate of growth as in Florida!
I used Zinc based cold galvanizing spray cans from Lowe's. Gave several coats with sanding in between. Made a smooth, hard surface that held up well.
Lanolin doesn't work, and it doesn't last either. I've tried all kinds of things and I think zinc spray paint is just OK, and better than nothing. Pettit prop guard (a lower cost alternative to propspeed) workers OK also but it takes more time to apply the coats. I've also tried Pettit Vivid bottom paint (it's a hard ablative) and that works well but might cause electrolysis.
In this case, screw practical sailer and shame on them. Far more pratical is zinc primer from your local hardware store.
Barnacles use to be a real problem when I coated our shaft and prop with anti fouling paint. Someone here was kind enough to post the results of a test at their club. Based on that I used hardware store zinc primer last spring and in the fall had a virtually barnacle free strut,prop and shaft. The 6 dollar can will last me three or four seasons. It doesn't get much more practical than that.
The biggest issue is adhesion to the prop. Years ago I was told a process with a tye coat and so forth. Not sure about the new spray paint from Petit but will find out what I was advised and get back with you all. It worked for me as a dealer in North Carolina
Seems to make sense, I don't remember barnacles attaching to my shaft zincs. Maybe zinc is toxic to them? I'll give it a try. Thanks.
OK, I'm not Red, but we did upgrade from a 2 to a 3 blade in 2015; motor is a Yanmar 4JH2E, boat a Hunter 40.5. The difference was significant. Motoring was noticeably smoother and we went from ~5 to ~6 knots at 2000RPM in calm seas, 10kts wind on the beam for each test.
I used Rust-Oleum Cold Galvanizing Spray Paint from Kent last summer (based on a number of recommendations) and virtually barnacle free strut, prop and shaft as stated in a previous thread. Before that I tried a number of products with various results. For the dollar value I will be using the same product again this summer unless someone comes up with a better bang for my buck.