what happens when you mirror polish a chopper prop ?

[Toffy]

It shines off course, and adds that extra bling bling factor to your ride !

But I mean performance wise.
I can imagine a mirror polished prop will reduce drag, which could be good for top end.
I can also imagine that it will lose bite at take off, so I would end up with a worse holeshot.

So I imagine a lot, but in fact I'm not sure what to expect.
I also don't want to spend a lot of time and money polishing making my prop worse than it was.
Please share your comments and advice.

Thanks, T.

[RIVERRUMMER 70]

it shines off course, and adds that extra bling bling factor to your ride ! :d

but i mean performance wise.
I can imagine a mirror polished prop will reduce drag, which could be good for top end.
I can also imagine that it will lose bite at take off, so i would end up with a worse holeshot.

So i imagine a lot, but in fact i'm not sure what to expect.
I also don't want to spend a lot of time and money polishing making my prop worse than it was.
Please share your comments and advice.

Thanks, t.

not much besides shiny and pretty wont affect **** perf wise bad or good just be a clean shiny prop.

[steve@scp]

polished props won't rust (as bad at times)

personally I've run satin and polished on the same boat and there is ZERO difference.

polished sure looks good.

another factor for some props is some guys see cracks in satin props better than polished, and vice versa.
that's why on my HP props I use the border pro so a crack can be seen easier.

[RIVERRUMMER 70]

polished props won't rust (as bad at times)

personally i've run satin and polished on the same boat and there is zero difference.

Polished sure looks good.

Another factor for some props is some guys see cracks in satin props better than polished, and vice versa.
That's why on my hp props i use the border pro so a crack can be seen easier.

wow good info ......i dont have enuff power to wory about crackin props :d polished shiny props tend to catch the eyes of those who would remove said shiny prop to their possesion without your permission!

[Coupe427]

wow good info ......i dont have enuff power to wory about crackin props :d polished shiny props tend to catch the eyes of those who would remove said shiny prop to their possesion without your permission!

It doesn't necessarily take that much horsepower to crack a prop. I was running a warmed up 200 until the 225 this year and found 2 blades cracked in a 4 blade prop.

[RIVERRUMMER 70]

My little v-4 looper dont make 225hp!:d but she likes my 27" srx @ 6000 !!! For a whopping 68 mph.

[Toffy]

must be polished then ?

[steve@scp]

My little v-4 looper dont make 225hp!:d but she likes my 27" srx @ 6000 !!! For a whopping 68 mph.

I've had customers (sure many other shops too) that have cracked props at 60mph. it's just something that happens.

[lbhsbz]

I ran a polished 27p RE3 on my Bahner Tunnel (mod vp) and noticed that it felt like the boat was fishtailing...fairly badly, at any speed over 25 mph. It was kinda scary but I had no other choice as I'd cracked my only other prop. As the weekend went on, the fishtailing went away and the boat became much more stable. I had a look at the prop and the polish was gone from most of the blade surface...has a nice smooth, but dull finish. I guess I burned the prop outta the hole enough times to get rid of the polish. Dunno why, but it became a different prop with the different finish.

[RIVERRUMMER 70]

I've had customers (sure many other shops too) that have cracked props at 60mph. it's just something that happens.

in my 25 yrs in the boating world I never had one fail ever ! srx, choppers, rakers, cleavers, mirage, tempest, laser, shooters, renegades,the list goes on.......never one failed ever......I guess im just lucky ! anything from a 90hp ob to 525scmercruiser I/o.
never seen one fail that didnt hit bottom or a rock or a log or some sort of debris. again I must be lucky. those darned prop guys must be thinning them too much.... all that bendin and tweakin just makes em weak! for what 1mph 2mph.......ahhhhh black magic gypsys!

[Toffy]

so they weren't polished then ?

Now, I'm gonna polish anyway. Got my polish kit yesterday and tested it. Seems OK on SS.
I'd like to remove some scratches also, those are from the local prop guy and I believe I can make it better without messing up the ballancing.

I'd like to take this thread one step further : the difference on the PRO ET pro finish (mirror like) and PRO ET labbed finish (dull like).
I always thought 'labbed' was the same as 'mirror polished', therefore requiring more work and being more expensive. but that obviously doesn't apply to the 2 PRO ET types.
I've never seen these 2 props right next to eachother but descriptions tell me the labbed finish features thinner blades and works better on light weight boats. Is this a far more worked prop then compared to the pro finish ? Which could justify it being considerably more expensive ?? How long do they last ? Considering I d'like to use it on my 21ft phantom with 200hp.

Thx, T.

[phillnjack]

I dont understand the term labbed finnished at all.

If the prop was "laboratory finnished" in other words finnished under micrscopic conditions,
would it not have the least marks on the blade surfaces.

Now these tiny minuscule marks should infact lead to a perfect mirro finnish.

But if we took what the average boater calls "a mirror finnish" and looked at it
under a micrscrope we would probably see huge tram lines running across the
surface where its not as perfectly smooth as we think.

So where does the term lab finnish come from ?
its definitely not on the suface of the blades as most seem a dull finnish.
And cannot just mean its microscopically sharp like a surgeons scalpel or it would
just snap off in chunks the minute it hit the water.

I personally think anything super shiny not only looks nice and BLING on the
boat, but also gives a nice impression to those who dont know any better

If people think its fast when its on the trailer, then its already doing half its job


phill

[steve@scp]

jmo.

the term "labbed" is very generic now a days.

satin finished is what a lot of guys are calling labbed.

blueprinting is also a "new" term for "labbed"

just depends on what a shop wants to call their work. a lot of terms have been taken out of original context.

[RIVERRUMMER 70]

jmo.

the term "labbed" is very generic now a days.

satin finished is what a lot of guys are calling labbed.

blueprinting is also a "new" term for "labbed"

just depends on what a shop wants to call their work. a lot of terms have been taken out of original context.

like cavitation and ventilation???? sorry couldn't help myself! it was the perfect Segway!

[phillnjack]

Yes i agree with the terms being taken out of context.

blueprinting is a very old term over here in the uk, labbed is just getting here ha ha ha


i wonder if a prop was finnished under a microscope to shine if it would actually be better?
pistons on f1 cars go under the microscope as do many other parts on the f1 cars at mercedes.



before anyone ask's no im not trying to sell microscopes and will not be looking at mine with one.
ok so i might just look at it, but i wont be trying to get it polished to that extent.
ok ok so i might try it on one blade ha ha ha


phill