MooneyBob Posted March 6, 2014 Report Posted March 6, 2014 I have polished spinner on my 3 blade propeller ( M20J) and I'd like to get it really nice and shiny. I am not sure what kind of material it is made of and what kind of polish agent I should use. 1 Quote
The-sky-captain Posted March 6, 2014 Report Posted March 6, 2014 I stripped and polished my spinner a couple years ago and had good results using Mothers polish from Auto Zone. Several threads, including mine, here on MS concerning this as well. Quote
Cody Stallings Posted March 6, 2014 Report Posted March 6, 2014 We use Mothers an a 8 inch polishing drum here at the PropShop..... Works great. Quote
PTK Posted March 6, 2014 Report Posted March 6, 2014 I have excellent results with the two step California Custom product. Effortless too! It will not remove deep scratches if you have them. It will bring back a stunning mirror shine to the spinner! Mask off the cowl and the prop. Use on spinner ONLY. PM me on how to use it if need to. 1 Quote
ncdmtb Posted March 6, 2014 Report Posted March 6, 2014 I just needed to replace my spinner. Now I have a "matt" spinner and am wondering how to best polish. What is the method? Elbow grease? Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Quote
KSMooniac Posted March 6, 2014 Report Posted March 6, 2014 If it is truly a matte finish, you best use a powered pad to restore the shine. Â You might need to work through a variety of compounds as well. Â Or if you have any hot-rod type shops over there, they could probably do it for very little money. Â I had one do my previous spinner for ~$60 after I stripped the paint but did no other prep work. Quote
Danb Posted March 6, 2014 Report Posted March 6, 2014 Bob, I used California Custom which I got at Oshkosh, they had a display showing how easy it was to use, I had a difficult time so I tried the Calif. product and with a little effort it looked great... Quote
ncdmtb Posted March 6, 2014 Report Posted March 6, 2014 Bob, I used California Custom which I got at Oshkosh, they had a display showing how easy it was to use, I had a difficult time so I tried the Calif. product and with a little effort it looked great... How much "effort"? I.e. How much time? Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Quote
Danb Posted March 7, 2014 Report Posted March 7, 2014 It was really easy ,did a small area at a time and the product did the work, I had used a few other products which were much harder to use and looked terrible..I did the spinner in about an hour and then did a second time much faster, the spinner looked like chrome.. Quote
M016576 Posted March 7, 2014 Report Posted March 7, 2014 A 30 dollar hand held electric buffer and some mothers aluminum Polish make the spinner look like chrome in less than 10 minutes. Quote
scottfromiowa Posted March 7, 2014 Report Posted March 7, 2014 Flitz metal Polish is designed for aluminum and works great. Quote
FBCK Posted March 7, 2014 Report Posted March 7, 2014 Be careful, my spinner is chrome and you can take the finish right off with some elbow grease, and you really don't want that. Quote
MooneyBob Posted March 7, 2014 Author Report Posted March 7, 2014 Be careful, my spinner is chrome and you can take the finish right off with some elbow grease, and you really don't want that. I think mine is polished aluminum. How you can say for sure? Quote
carusoam Posted March 7, 2014 Report Posted March 7, 2014 If the spinner looks like chrome it could just be nicely polished... Chrome is much harder and near impossible to scratch accidentally. Aluminum scratches easily in comparison. When the mechanic checks the timing on your engine, they bungee mount a device on the spinner. If its not one of the fancy new plastic versions, it has probably left a footprint behind as a light scratch. (something to think about when you buy a shiny new TopProp) Check for scratches. If you have them, expect aluminum... Best regards, -a- Quote
Danb Posted March 7, 2014 Report Posted March 7, 2014 Jim, I believe our plane's are considered not air worthy if you have a chrome spinner, I had a check ride about 10 yrs ago with a Faa ee' who w/n fly in the plane until it was remover, a new spinner cost a few scheckles I contacted an engineer at Kerrville and was told it was not allowed? Then contacted Premiere at Fxe arguably the top Msc' and also was told it should be replaced so I ordered a new one from them.. Quote
jetdriven Posted March 7, 2014 Report Posted March 7, 2014 That's funny, ours is very shiny and in 3 years we haven't polished it. I wonder if someone chrome plated it? Quote
Marauder Posted March 7, 2014 Report Posted March 7, 2014 If I am not mistaken chrome plating on an aluminum substrate can lead to galvnic corrosion. The issue isn't the plating, it is the oxidation of the aluminum underneath if the plated surface is compromised. Probably doesn't help either if the aluminum develops a crack underneath and it doesn't penerate the chrome plated surface. 2 Quote
orionflt Posted March 7, 2014 Report Posted March 7, 2014 If I am not mistaken chrome plating on an aluminum substrate can lead to galvnic corrosion. The issue isn't the plating, it is the oxidation of the aluminum underneath if the plated surface is compromised. Probably doesn't help either if the aluminum develops a crack underneath and it doesn't penerate the chrome plated surface. Chris, you are just so enlightened. on the other hand I have a friend who built a christian eagle about 15 yrs ago and chromed his spinner, he has never had any issues at all, apparently the trick is to keep corrosion from being able to form during the process. Quote
orionflt Posted March 7, 2014 Report Posted March 7, 2014 It's hydrogen embrittlement. Byron, I was going to say the same thing but i took a minute to make sure i was saying what i was thinking correctly it appears that it can occur with aluminum but it is more prevalent when chrome plating steel, the formation of corrosion is the big problem with aluminum. Quote
Marauder Posted March 7, 2014 Report Posted March 7, 2014 Chris, you are just so enlightened. on the other hand I have a friend who built a christian eagle about 15 yrs ago and chromed his spinner, he has never had any issues at all, apparently the trick is to keep corrosion from being able to form during the process. LOL! My "enlightenment" comes from some friends who own boats and are constantly battling the elements. My only enlightenment were my days of dealing with steel/chrome bumpers on cars (yeah I'm old) and living in western New York. What I don't understand is why it would be okay to paint a spinner. Sent using Tapatalk Quote
Danb Posted March 7, 2014 Report Posted March 7, 2014 Thats a good point Chris, I know my spinner that was removed, I had it on my J for about 15 yrs. looked perfect, I sent the original to a motorcycle shop that sent it out to be chromed and they did an excellent job, I d/n understand why a chromed one just could not be inspected like the rest of our plane is at annual?? Quote
orionflt Posted March 7, 2014 Report Posted March 7, 2014 LOL! My "enlightenment" comes from some friends who own boats and are constantly battling the elements. My only enlightenment were my days of dealing with steel/chrome bumpers on cars (yeah I'm old) and living in western New York. What I don't understand is why it would be okay to paint a spinner. Sent using Tapatalk I agree, we should powder coat them instead, the finish would hold up better and hide any cracks better   Quote
MARZ Posted March 7, 2014 Report Posted March 7, 2014 I polished mine and was going to clear coat afterwards - never got around to the clear coat, but no matter - 5 minutes of caressing my baby's nose once in a while is ok by me. Quote
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