Why do Bravo 3 propellers get that hard coat of scaling?

Cableguy Greg

Alswagg said:

To much over thinking. Simply clean the props. Sooooo easy.  No reason to remove. From drives.  Simply clean and rinse.   We acid wash roughly 40 boats a year at $12.50 per foot.  

I used to acid wash my boat until someone told me about a mixture of blue Lysol toilet bowl cleaner and peroxide. Mix them in equal parts and spray on. The river grime just comes right off. I was very surprised at how well it worked.

Michael T

@Cableguy Greg, I like that suggestion. I have some peroxide and blue TB cleaner - I'll try that.... point the drives down and spray some on - don't want to damage those prop shaft seals! 

earl1z19

Cable Guy Greg, The river scum is far less difficult to remove than what we get out here on Lake Erie. My brother in law lives on the Allegheny and he can use Slimy Grimey and it works like a champ. I use it out here and nothing... I think some waters are a lot harder than others. With that the lime scale builds on the bottom of the boat and then the **** starts to grow on that. We have to use Zing or something similar to get ours clean.

Michael T

Yeah, I don't have Slime I have Lime! I's say LOL but it isn't funny

Dream_Inn

I'd think the works toilet bowl cleaner should clean the props.  I never had issues with mine on my 310, but again it was lift kept.  I also used muriatic acid mixed half with water.

Michael T

Heck my props never lost their shine when I put them on my boat lift. Two weeks in a marina will start to change that! :-(

Handymans342

You think the mercathodes attract growth?

Michael T

No, Steve, I think that hard scale comes from electro-deposition from a number of origins: poor shore power in a marina, poor electrical systems in adjacent boats, an owner's boat that does not have galvanic protection or an owner's boat whose cathode system has failed.

 I do not think that type of scaling on the props has anything to do with the anodes on the owner's boat because poor anodes result in loss of metal not deposits on the SS props.

As to why Volvo SS props seem to stay much more deposit-free than Mercury props I don't know. I can guess that it might be either a SS composition of the prop that resists deposits better or a better cathode system.

Glassguy54

It would be interesting if not enlightening to see a comparison of the Volvo vs Mercury alloys used for casting their respective props, but those are likely closely guarded trade secrets?

LaRea

Fat chance. Mercury refuses to publish even basic technical information.  

Black_Diamond

All you need is a scrap prop from each, machine off some chips and get it spectrum analyzed. 

Michael T

That would definitely be interesting!