Fulmen
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Posts: 1716
Registered: 24-9-2005
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Homemade marine antifouling paint?
I have a persistent problem with fouling on my boat propeller (bronze or some similar copper alloy).
It wasn't a problem in the past as it was used "bare", but after noticing it had become somewhat porous during some repair I added a zinc anode. Now
it gets encrusted with barnacles to the point where the boat will barely move.
I've tried regular (copper based) antifouling paint, but it simply won't adhere. Also tried some old-stock tin based stuff made especially for
propellers and outboard drives, no luck there either. Nothing seems to work.
So I'm looking into a more permanent fix, 'm thinking in the line of epoxy paint with lead or copper oxide added. Or would a more traditional linseed
oil be better? I assume it's more permeable allowing lead to leach out.
Any other ideas?
We're not banging rocks together here. We know how to put a man back together.
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violet sin
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Registered: 2-9-2012
Location: Daydreaming of uraninite...
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So this may not be useful at all,..
but I mentioned in another thread the metal plating/finishing website finishing.com
They have a lot of information for anyone interested in the subject. Many of my searches end up there, kinda like searching electronics subjects and
ending up on " https://electronics.stackexchange.com ".
Not to belabor the point, but a tin nickel intermetalic coating was specifically mentioned for boat propellers in racing circuits. They were adherent
enough to stay well, hard, take mirror shine, and totally sacrificial to copper and copper based alloys in the electromotive series. The coating
resisted cavitation erosion too.
Now I know yanking a propeller off a big boat is a huge pain, prepping it for plating even more so. Is yours by chance smaller and easier to mess
with? My brother has an oceangoing commercial fishing vessel, alternatively I could ask what he uses on his 44 footer. Double bowed, wood salmon
vessel from the early 60's I think. Anyhow you could get an idea of what works for that and reverse engineer something suitable
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Fulmen
International Hazard
Posts: 1716
Registered: 24-9-2005
Member Is Offline
Mood: Bored
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The propeller isn't that big, appr 40cm in diameter. But removing it does involve some work, so it's not something I'd like to do unless I have to.
Either way, plating really isn't an option. I've messed around enough with that to know that getting a bath to work properly is a lot of work, too
much for a one-off job like this.
I've considered tinning it either with lead solder or the newer lead-free type. After all, both tin and lead compounds are powerful biocides. But I
fear the anodic protection will prevent this from working.
We're not banging rocks together here. We know how to put a man back together.
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