Whats with these Winches?

[Jkenny13]

My winch has a what looks like a blue coating on it. Have you seen this before and if yes, is there something I can do to make it look better?

 

[jsalley]

Those winches once had rubber Winchers on them ( sort of makes them self tailing). They leave that residue when they're removed after a few years of use, sun, etc. Try scrubbing with a solvent like MEK, after scraping off as much as you can with a plastic razor blade.