BogMonster Posted October 27, 2018 Share Posted October 27, 2018 The other day I ran all the rope off my 14 year old Milemarker drum for the first time for quite a while, to spool it back on under tension and tidy it up, following a couple of days of off road use including several winch recoveries. I was quite shocked by the amount of deep corrosion on the drum - really heavy rust about 1-2mm thick. I've just chiselled it all off (enough rust flakes to fill a dinner plate) and I have coated the drum with Kurust, with possibly another coat to follow, but I'm wondering what to finish it with. Maritime wisdom suggests that you shouldn't paint drums on winches because the paint layer itself can be a weakness, but if I don't then the drum will do the same again, and the usual solution on a boat is to plaster everything with axle grease, which isn't going to work well with Dyneema Two questions: has anybody seen a winch drum actually fail with serious corrosion (and if so how bad does it need to be), and secondly, any thoughts about whether to paint it and what with? I'm thinking about just a thin coat of spray primer over the Kurusted layer, and then a thin top coat of spray paint, just to keep the moisture out. The root cause I think is that the synthetic rope tends to hold moisture against the drum, which I suppose is inevitable - I probably should take it off once in a while and dry it, but realistically I probably can't be bothered! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arjan Posted October 27, 2018 Share Posted October 27, 2018 Yes, winch drums can rust through although it takes some time etc. for it to happen. If you pay out a lot of line, it can become an issue, esp. with skock loads because the last layer pushes directly into the drum. Some form of treatment could be wise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie_grieve Posted October 28, 2018 Share Posted October 28, 2018 Redwinch on their site advise against paint on a drum. I'm thinking if it was mine I'd give it a coat of that brush on galvanising you get, it's not shiny like paint, it'll stop further rust and it won't care about moisture. It is still a kind of paint but not really if that makes sense. I used it on a bulkhead that's been out in the rain for 5 years and it's still perfect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon White Posted October 28, 2018 Share Posted October 28, 2018 I did the same with my m8000 recently and was shocked at how corroded it was also. i galvafroided mine, but I have subsequently picked up a replacement drum at Newbury for £5 so will fit that at some point. jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anderzander Posted October 28, 2018 Share Posted October 28, 2018 They come with paint on though don’t they ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie_grieve Posted October 28, 2018 Share Posted October 28, 2018 5 minutes ago, Anderzander said: They come with paint on though don’t they ? Not always, the quote below is from redwinch. The winch drum is unpainted on the core to support the capstan effect performed on the drum by the rope tightening under load. During trials this has been shown to give a much better long lasting grip onto the drum. A minimum of eight (8) wraps of the drum must be seen on the first layer before winching under load. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mo Murphy Posted October 28, 2018 Share Posted October 28, 2018 I just grease mine then lay the synthetic on that. Mo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BogMonster Posted October 28, 2018 Author Share Posted October 28, 2018 Decision made, so I have just painted it with some spray black and will see what happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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