Best Way to Scrape the Prop Clean

[charliehows]

spent an hour in the water yesterday scraping my prop with a piece of wood to get the blasted barnacles that were strangling it (45 knot westerly gusts, found i couldnt get enough headway to steer) off...must be a few refinements on a piece of wood to do the job, any suggestions?

[impi]

Sounds like we were doing the same thing yesterday except I was doing it in clear water in the BVI. I use a regular scrubbing brush with a wooden back. The back is sharply squared on the back edge and I find it sweeps barnacles off the prop and hull without any proplem whatsoever. The odd stubborn one ... I give a dierect hit ontop of the barnacle which causes it to break ... I also take a large screwdriver down with me incase I missed any in 'difficult to reach places'.

[osirissail]

I found this tool the best at doing propellers, propeller shafts and struts. It has a metal blade and the various shapes work all the areas easily. It is available in most hardware stores in North America and the Caribbean.

[Sandero]

I use an scraper to knock off the barnacles and then an orbital sander... starting with 80 grit and going finer until it's almost polished. Before and after.

[IslandHopper]

Originally Posted by defjef

I use an scraper to knock off the barnacles and then an orbital sander... starting with 80 grit and going finer until it's almost polished. Before and after.

How's that orbital sander working under water going for ya.....

[Sorry just being a smart arse, i think the OP was talking about doing it in the water]

[delmarrey]

Originally Posted by osirissail

I found this tool the best at doing propellers, propeller shafts and struts. It has a metal blade and the various shapes work all the areas easily. It is available in most hardware stores in North America and the Caribbean.

Yep! That's what I started with in 1980 and have gone thru 3 more since. But you have to look for the good thick ones now. The china clones are junk and flimsy.
Just remember to soak it in fresh water afterwords and then spray it down with WD-40. They should sell SS ones.

[Ex-Calif]

I get by with a 1 1/2 inch putty knife. Although I tie it off it is cheap to replace when it invariably unites itself and heads to the bottom.

[chrisjs]

I highly recommend getting a hookah system. I assembled my own using an inexpensive oiless compressor and various diving components. Means I can stay down (10-15 minutes) in one go to clean our (large) prop. using an inexpensive steel paint scraper. Except last year in the Bahamas (not much growth) I do need to wear a wet suit. Usually need to do it 3x a season here in New England regardless of prop paint etc. Have not tried PropSpeed - it is too expensive.
Chris

[charliehows]

i thought about using a metal scraper but im worried about dinging the prop. - thought i might make something with a copper edge - too precious?

[charliehows]

Originally Posted by impi

Sounds like we were doing the same thing yesterday except I was doing it in clear water in the BVI. I use a regular scrubbing brush with a wooden back. The back is sharply squared on the back edge and I find it sweeps barnacles off the prop and hull without any proplem whatsoever. The odd stubborn one ... I give a dierect hit ontop of the barnacle which causes it to break ... I also take a large screwdriver down with me incase I missed any in 'difficult to reach places'.

bet its a bit warmer in the water there - getting on to the shortest day here, bit nippy

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by IslandHopper

How's that orbital sander working under water going for ya.....

[Sorry just being a smart arse, i think the OP was talking about doing it in the water]

Well, back in the mother country rather than the colonies we wait for the tide to go out

Cup shaped steel wire brush in an angle grinder for me. Looks vicous and you think it would tear a bronze prop apart, but in fact it takes off the barnies in 30 seconds and leaves a smooth shiney surface, ready for paint, sheep fat or chilli peppers etc, which ever is this years fashion.

[bstreep]

Originally Posted by delmarrey

Yep! That's what I started with in 1980 and have gone thru 3 more since. But you have to look for the good thick ones now. The china clones are junk and flimsy.
Just remember to soak it in fresh water afterwords and then spray it down with WD-40. They should sell SS ones.

And yet another one that uses this. Yes, they should make one out of SS.

[simonmd]

Out of the water, use Aqua Forte (a mild acid) to dissolve the little creeps, works a treat and no scratches.

[GeoPowers]

Originally Posted by bstreep

Yes, they should make one out of SS.

They do:

Stainless Steel "5 In 1" Painter Tool

Frank

[chrisjs]

No risk of doing damage to your prop with a hand held scraper. The tools shown above have their place but I mostly just use a more flexible simple scraper with a 1.5 inch straight blade. Like others, at the end of the season when we haul, the prop gets cleaned with a rotating wire brush on an electric drill.