What would you use to remove the paint from the front of a Hartzell without causing damage? Once off, how many hours with a buffer and polishing compounds will it take to glow like a mirror? Lastly, if you have done this how much effort is really needed to upkeep the shine and keep corrosion away. I do have the benefit of sharing the hanger with an unkept and unloved 172 that seems to entice corrosion to it and keeps it from finding my plane. I'm hoping even with a polished prop the little metal eating germs will continue to prefer this Cessna over the RV. Is this to much to hope for with a polished prop
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Hi Bryan, my Hartz prop has been stripped and polished for 9 years on my RV with no problems, but you do need to stay on top of it. I live in Oklahoma where it is mostly dry but do have some humidity at different times of the year. I try to fly at least once a week or sometimes every other week depending on the weather. I'm estimating that every two weeks I'll lightly polish the prop which takes about 5 minutes to keep it looking nice. One note, if you do strip it and polish, I'd recommend getting the prop balanced as it will change the balance of it, been there done it thing.
Your other question about stripping the paint? Use paint stripper just like you would to strip an airplane that is painted. Now the hard work begins with block sanding. I started out with wet sanding using 320 grit sandpaper, then I worked my way up to 400 grit, 600 grit, 800 grit, 1,000 grit, 1,200 grit, 1,500 grit, then used aluminum metal polish with a buffer to get the end results. the metal polish I used comes in different grits as well. Start out with the coarse then work your way to the final polish.
Yes it's a lot of work and it is a maintenance issue and Hartzell says NO about polished props. Hartzell will not stand behind there props if polished. Hope this helps.
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