Chrome spinner on a cessna legality?

[Lowe Approach]

A friend has a chrome spinner on his older cessna and got some pushback from his IA at annual. Is this a common issue? I thought chrome spinners were kinda common but perhaps I’m just seeing polished and assuming it’s chrome.

Something about it not being a “factory” or “original” finish is causing the AI to have concerns.

Anyone heard of this?

 

[skyking3286]

Yes it's a problem with chrome or removal of TC finish, usually with polished props.

 

[Bell206]

A friend has a chrome spinner on his older cessna and got some pushback from his IA at annual. Is this a common issue?

Provided the spinner is actually chromed vs polished, then yes chromed spinners can get push back from some people to include me. Chromed spinners are notorious for cracking due to the chrome process. If you know what you are doing you can make an aluminum or stainless spinner shine equal to chrome without the structural issues.

 

[Gary Ward]

Provided the spinner is actually chromed vs polished, then yes chromed spinners can get push back from some people to include me. Chromed spinners are notorious for cracking due to the chrome process. If you know what you are doing you can make an aluminum or stainless spinner shine equal to chrome without the structural issues.

Which is what I did with my aluminum spinner years ago. Stripped the paint off with aircraft paint remover and then started with 600 paper to 2000 paper then polished it. That was 6 years/1400 hrs ago and luckily it is holding up with no cracks. Did find a crack in the forward bulk head during annual a few years ago but the spinner is staying in tack so far. My AP/IA did not have a problem with it.

I am weird, the trainer 172s had polished spinners and my friends 172 had a polished spinner so I wanted one also. One of the first things I did was polish it. Looking back today it would be at the bottom of my list of things to do.

The painted spinners were not made to be polished because I found filler under the paint smoothing out the marks left by the forming process.
I went to 2000 grit and could have gone farther but didn't. 2000 is plenty enough to polish. Probably should have started with 400 also but started with 600.
This was after paint stripping .

My late friends 172.

I polished it after I screwed it back on. Not as good as a polished one from new but not bad for free. I just started it up and held the polish cloth on the spinner...

A few annuals ago I put nylon washers under the screw heads. They were not there when I got the plane.

 

[Gary Ward]

This was the bulk head that I found cracked. We take the spinner off every year to check for pit's inside the crankshaft. The inspection plug is removed in this picture.

 

[Silvaire]

If actually chrome plated then I'm with the IA. There is no approved procedure for one and the electroplating (first with copper then nickel/chrome) adds weight, possible imbalance and embrittlement. Great for door handles but spinners not so much.

 

[PaulMillner]

If actually chrome plated then I'm with the IA. There is no approved procedure for one and the electroplating (first with copper then nickel/chrome) adds weight, possible imbalance and embrittlement. Great for door handles but spinners not so much.

I thought there was at least one repair station with an approved chrome process… not that every chromed spinner followed that route.

Paul

 

[Bell206]

I thought there was at least one repair station with an approved chrome process… not that every chromed spinner followed that route.

There's a guy in FL that will chrome spinners all day long and has even advertised as such. But he'll be the 1st to tell you its up to the owner and their mechanic to determine whether its legal to use or not. Its not his place to say. However, I've never seen an approved process for spinners yet.

 

[NordicDave]

Here's one way to do it: