At 22:25 -0500 3/21/00, John Gaquin wrote:

To add a couple more ideas...  I've now got paraffin wax on my props
and shafts.  I cleaned everything bright and shinny with a die
grinder and Roloc scotch brite pads, then solvent wiped with DNA.  I
then warmed the metal with a propane torch and rubbed out the wax to
a thin film.  Sort of like the process used to apply wax to the
bottom of snow skis.  I was told this worked great for barnacles and
tube worms.  My findings are mixed, base so far on the comments from
my zink diver.  He says they "... looked pretty good, but it was a
still a good that I paid him to come clean everything..." (didn't
seem to take him to long to clean them compared to cleaning before
wax).  I'll see for myself this Spring during haulout.

I've also been very pleased with my experiment using Moly-Disulfide
(Moly Lube, aka McLube Sailkot) on my bow anchor.  I cleaned it
really well (brush/soap/water) then DNA wiped, then sprayed on the
dry film lube.  It cures to a non-sticky (but very slippery) dry film
coating.  It's made the anchor water proof!  Water doesnt stick.  Mud
doesn't stick.  Barnacles don't stick.  Heck, it almost floats!
Purchase was to decrease the mud brought aboard by the anchor and
chain.  I'm going to coat the first 20' of chain next.  I'm also
thinking this might work better for the props/shafts than the wax.
Advantage over the teflon/grease based options is a thinner film,
should have better adhesion to base substrate and therefore a better
chance of staying on the prop over time.  I'll report on results as
the testing proceeds.

Louis Brydon  (WA6OCZ)                              O-
SEASTAR - DF Alaskan 46-018
Redwood City, California, USA
Mailto:mv-seastar@geocities.com
http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/Shores/9280

Sorry, guess my day-time nomenclature is so ingrained that I forget
to spell out acronyms.

DNA = DeNatured Alcohol, standard solvent available at hardware stores
(Also used for stove fuel)
Wiped = As in wiping with a cotton or paper towel
IPA = Iso-Propel Alcohol (more expensive, not as available, works too)
EA = Ethel Alcohol, aka Ethel, aka 200 proof consumable grade booze...
(not to be confused with Ethel who works payroll, or
Ethel gas as in 'High Test' aka High Octane gas...
DO NOT use 92 octane gasoline to clean your props... :)
Cost A LOT more, our drums actually have booze tax stickers on them.
We have to keep it locked up to prevent techs from spiking the
Punch at BBQs...  Very pure cleaning solvent, leaves no residue,
neccesary for micro electronics and spacecraft parts.  Way overkill
for cleaning props and anchors...

-Louis

At 11:58 -0600 3/22/00, Ted Brustowicz wrote:

For those of us who collect three letter acronyms, my favorite is TLA.  It
stands for Three Letter Acronym.

Louis Brydon wrote:

jreitz@altonent.com writes:

And don't forget RLG which I only learned about three days ago and
now have one hanging around.....

jreitz@altonent.com writes:

Actually from my background as an electronics technician, isopropyl
alcohol is one of the best and possibly cheapest degreaser/cleaning
fluid known to mankind. Leaves no residue either. However one must
buy the 99% stuff, NOT the 70% variety usually sold in drugstores as
rubbing alcohol. Believe me, I wouldn't trust my (electrical)
contacts to anything but 99% ISO and I've been in this business for
over 30 years!
George of Scaramouche who made his living installing and maintaining
mainframe computers (that had many gold-plated contacts and needed
frequent cleaning - with ISO, of course).....

Last time I saw Ethel she was at the ranch in Nevada with Cheyenne Pepper.
Richard