What to paint or coat a folding prop with ?

[Aerandir]

Hi All -

I am bottom painting an acquired 30-2, for my first time. I have that all worked out with sanding and fairing etc.. using an interlux micron CSC

But i would like some advice, now that I have learned I should paint or coat the folding prop and exposed drive shaft ?

I was told a cheap hack is a steel-it or rustoleum cold galvanized spray ? Is that ok on a folding prop ?

thxs !!

 

[gabriel]

If anything just prop anti-fouling paint.

These are anti rust coatings for carbon steel (cold galvanized spray is mainly intended for touching up joints that have been worked after hot dip), your prop and shaft don’t rust but make sure your zincs are good and left BARE, that’s what protects them.

 

[Aerandir]

So, I can’t say it has been treated in the past and with anything .. I am trying to figure that out.

I have been taking off layers of old paint on this boat, so I don’t want to start building them up on something that hasn’t see it before. Or doesn’t need it.
On the other hand I was told the boat limited steering in reverse get worse with prop growth and barnacles ..

There all the “prop wash” and “prop speed” two part paints.. I don’t want to paint blue bottom coat either..

Picture enclosed ! And thx!’

 

[goldenstate]

There is a Pettit product designed for exposed running gear that can be sprayed on.

Pettit | Prop Coat Barnacle Barrier

There is an even more expensive paint - Propspeed. https://propspeed.com/

I used a can of the Pettit and it held up well for about six months. I don't know if it will degrade, I just mean my boat is hauled after six months and thing look good.

I learned the annoying way (as in after the fact, once the boat was back in the water) that one should maintain bare metal-to-metal contact between the anodes and the shaft/strut. I think the advice is also not to paint the anodes.

One can of the Pettit stuff is pricey, but enough to cover your metal you might as well give it your best shot if you are going to bother to do it at all. A wire brush on an angle grinder makes short work of the the accumulated junk.

Before:

E32-200 - Haul Out, Initial Conditions

Up into the slings she goes. The underside was not exactly bright red: Power-washed and placed on a cart: Can you tell where the straps were for the power-washing? The sacrificial anodes had been treated like Aztec teenagers before...

ericsonyachts.org

After:

E32-200 - Haul Out, Initial Conditions

Up into the slings she goes. The underside was not exactly bright red: Power-washed and placed on a cart: Can you tell where the straps were for the power-washing? The sacrificial anodes had been treated like Aztec teenagers before...

ericsonyachts.org

 

[Aerandir]

Thx.. great photos ..

And thanks for the links.

 

[ddoles]

I use Petit Prop Coat on my Martec folding prop, which looks to be the same as your prop. It is a cheap, easy and effective spray paint. One can has lasted years. At haul out in the fall, I've had no hard growth on the prop. The only real work is to scrub the prop down at the end of each season to remove any loose build up and prepare a good clean surface for repainting in the spring. Regarding the shaft, do not put anything on this. The zinc you put on the shaft must meet a clean surface to provide proper cathodic protection. While I do see some hard growth on the shaft, I don't believe it is enough to cause a meaningful performance issue. I just clean it up at each haul out.

 

[Aerandir]

Thanks, I think that’s going to be the ticket.