Bravo III Prop. Polish Idea

[surfinjoe]

I have a Bravo III outdrive and don't like the dull look of my counter-rotating props. Has anyone decided to polish their prop? Is this a bad Idea? I don't suppose that there will be much of a performance increase however I think the boat will look better with a couple of shiny props. Any ideas/experience? Any links/how to info.?

 

[wish2fish]

I can't see my props from the helm so I never really thought about it!

 

[Nehalennia]

I have a Bravo III outdrive and don't like the dull look of my counter-rotating props. Has anyone decided to polish their prop? Is this a bad Idea? I don't suppose that there will be much of a performance increase however I think the boat will look better with a couple of shiny props. Any ideas/experience? Any links/how to info.?

I think you need to take the boat out more. Shiny props are cool looking on land for sure, but save the $200 you'd spend on polishing them and stick it in your gas tank and go for a ride.

 

[surfinjoe]

I have the boat in my driveway and was thinking about this as a winter project that I would complete myself. I don't have any desire to spend a nice summer day polishing my props. The long winters here in Michigan make us want to fondle our boats in the winter. It sucks making a monthly payment on something you can't use!

I think you need to take the boat out more. Shiny props are cool looking on land for sure, but save the $200 you'd spend on polishing them and stick it in your gas tank and go for a ride.

 

[midway]

A nice thing about being in the South, we can boat 12 months out of the year. :grin:

 

[Nehalennia]

I have the boat in my driveway and was thinking about this as a winter project that I would complete myself. I don't have any desire to spend a nice summer day polishing my props. The long winters here in Michigan make us want to fondle our boats in the winter. It sucks making a monthly payment on something you can't use!

completely understandable. Polish away. Let us know how you do it and take before and after pics

A nice thing about being in the South, we can boat 12 months out of the year. :grin:

now you're just taunting.

 

[midway]

Me taunt!!! :grin:

 

[Presentation]

Jeremy did it on his last boat. I remember the pictures on the old message board.

I dont know if the pictures made it to this board.

You may want to PM him and ask

http://www.clubsearay.com/forum/member.php?u=518

From memory, no performance gain.

Oh, I think he also had the props tuned for some performance gain. He can tell you more.

Again, from memory only, I remember thinking it really looked great.

 

[Larry&Leisa]

Mine shined up nicely about the 3rd time I took the boat out. (I learned a bit about our lake and one of the few sandbars. :smt021)

I actually shined mine up using boat bottom cleaner and a wire brush this spring.Still looks good. I just like it to look nice on the lift. :smt001) Didn't even think about a performance increase, but I sort of doubt it to be of any consequence.

 

[avguy]

I polished mine right after we bought it with a polish called Nuvite but any SS metal polish will work. Took maybe an hour & my props looked great while the boat was sitting in the driveway. Must have been bored that day.......

 

[Half Off]

I took a wire wheel and some industrial metal polish/protectent to mine last winter. I'll let you know this fall how they held up. We're up north also, 6 months in 6 months out.

 

[surfinjoe]

I bought a stainless steel polish kit at harbor freight for ~$25. Started polishing last night. They shined up pretty good however I think I need to hit them with some 300-600 grit sand paper to get out some of the pits on the surface. It really was pretty easy. I spend maybe an hour yesterday and they look 200% better (no more oxidation). I didn't take and before pic's but I'll post some after pic's for sure.

 

[billandamy]

A nice thing about being in the South, we can boat 12 months out of the year. :grin:

Tell me how that works out when ya want to go snowmobiling, skiing, snowboarding, making a nice roaring fire in the wood stove, having hot chocolate, snuggling up in bed on a snowy winter night, sledding with the kids, making a snowman, having snowball fights, relaxing with no yard work to do etc....:grin:

oops, on topic...who the hell cares if ya got a frikkin shiny prop? It should be in the water when it counts anyway...

 

[Dirtguy]

Well, on a std drive "Lab polishing' the prop does improve the performance. And it actually thins the blade and profiles it. It also lightens the prop.

I can't see how it wouldn't improve the performance even a bit.

And it would look cool...

Here in AZ, we can go to the snow and ski in the morning, then be on the beach in the evening for dinner.

 

[Searay Jim]

Well, on a std drive "Lab polishing' the prop does improve the performance. And it actually thins the blade and profiles it. It also lightens the prop.

I can't see how it wouldn't improve the performance even a bit.

And it would look cool...

Here in AZ, we can go to the snow and ski in the morning, then be on the beach in the evening for dinner.

Te difference is, just polishing as what's being discussed, can't make the changes that really do any good. BIII props are crap!! Every one that comes out of a box could use balancing and truing (bringing it to it's tru pitch) and actually, thinning can be good and bad and isn't always needed, but can help. Just the difference in balance makes a huge difference in some props enough that the motor is much happier with less to no vibration. Some shops will do a clean up and polish but to do much more, the right way, you need to have a specific need and have a good prop guy work toward that goal.

And BIII props can be expensive to do since many shos price by the blade.

Did I meniton BIII (not XR, but the regular, original ones) really suck? :smt043

 

[surfinjoe]

OK, so now I am getting the feeling that I need to polish, tune and balance my BIII props. Is there a good shop that can do the work for a decent price? I also saw that you can get a 3 blade & 4 blade prop. for the BIII's. Any experience with this? I was a guy who was selling this set-up with a custom tune/balance/polish for $700. Sounds like a good deal to me~!

Te difference is, just polishing as what's being discussed, can't make the changes that really do any good. BIII props are crap!! Every one that comes out of a box could use balancing and truing (bringing it to it's tru pitch) and actually, thinning can be good and bad and isn't always needed, but can help. Just the difference in balance makes a huge difference in some props enough that the motor is much happier with less to no vibration. Some shops will do a clean up and polish but to do much more, the right way, you need to have a specific need and have a good prop guy work toward that goal.

And BIII props can be expensive to do since many shos price by the blade.

Did I meniton BIII (not XR, but the regular, original ones) really suck? :smt043

 

[Groucho]

I had my share of smaller boats, and did lots of things to improve perfomance...or so I thought.
For the hour or so..I would polish and wax the prop...not really any difference..but looked pretty.. I bought a Turbo prop for 600 bucks or so..gained 2 mph..But I really don't think 700 to balance and shine will make any difference. I bet you could spend 700 or so on the engine and get more bang for your buck. Also...props after having work done like balance and blueprint are sometimes brittle..and will shed an ear or two @ times..Ask my buddy who spent lots of $$ and had it happen to him.

 

[surfinjoe]

What kind of upgrades do they have for the 350 MAG (2007)?

I had my share of smaller boats, and did lots of things to improve perfomance...or so I thought.
For the hour or so..I would polish and wax the prop...not really any difference..but looked pretty.. I bought a Turbo prop for 600 bucks or so..gained 2 mph..But I really don't think 700 to balance and shine will make any difference. I bet you could spend 700 or so on the engine and get more bang for your buck. Also...props after having work done like balance and blueprint are sometimes brittle..and will shed an ear or two @ times..Ask my buddy who spent lots of $$ and had it happen to him.

 

[Dirtguy]

Yeah, I understood that "polishing' is the topic. I just thought I'd expound on the "polishing " a bit more. Yes the thinner prop isn't always desired. It's also cross section profiled to a more efficient shape.
But to know what the wider range of his prop options might be is a good thing. Knowledge is power.

On the quality of BIII props, is this industry wide or dependent on the manufacturer? I do know that you don't always get what you paid for in quality.

DG

 

[islandhopper00]

I sent mine to a shop and had them checked for pitch and they offered to polish for 50.00 bucks. I had them do it and they look great. I don't think they have any performace gains, bu they do look great.