Cablemaster 50 amp cords color fade... paint ??

Viking 65 CMY has two 50 amp shore power cords that are starting to look a little faded and wondering if there is any yellow vinyl paint that works to restore the appearance and slow down further fade ? If not Cablemaster I'd just wait till they got disgusting and replace them....but replacing these cords at the output source would be quite a project (very difficult to get to the drums they coil into)

Or do most folks just let them get disgusting and then *splice* on a new cord (to a never exposed to weather section..assuming they have never been fully extended from inside) rather than trying to connect one at the source ?

It would have to be some very flexible paint. That's why painting '67 GTO front ends are so hard. Maybe ask someone at an auto paint store what he would do.

Have you tried cleaning it with a product like Gojo hand cleaner? It's been reported to be pretty good for cleaning power cords.

GoJo Orange Original .5 Gallon Pumice Hand Soap Pump-095804 - The Home Depot

A good cleaning (there are even some products marketed as being for this use) followed by an application of something like Mop n Glo works pretty well. You could try calling the very helpful people at Glendinning, who makes the Cablemaster, and ask them what they recommend.

Tom.B said:

It would have to be some very flexible paint.

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I used some "vinyl upholstery" spray paint on some rubber seals for a machine tool glass scale once and it worked great.. covered their bright orange color with dark gray nicely and was durable. But they were not subject to the elements or as much chafing as shore power cords would be...so I wonder...

caltexflanc said:

A good cleaning (there are even some products marketed as being for this use) followed by an application of something like Mop n Glo works pretty well.

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Problem is not so much dirt or mildew as it is color fade from bright yellow to dim yellow/white color.

Greetings,
Mr. C. Whatever happens, I would NOT splice your power cord. I've used this plastic paint with great success to change a red 1 gal red plastic gas can to a yellow diesel can. 1 gal is a lot easier to handle when priming filters in the ER. Fusion for Plastic® - | Krylon
Even diesel drips seem to have no effect on it once cured. As to UV-???? Says it's for outdoor furniture...

RT Firefly said:

Greetings,
Mr. C. Whatever happens, I would NOT splice your power cord. I've used this plastic paint with great success to change a red 1 gal red plastic gas can to a yellow diesel can. 1 gal is a lot easier to handle when priming filters in the ER. Fusion for Plastic® - | Krylon
Even diesel drips seem to have no effect on it once cured. As to UV-???? Says it's for outdoor furniture...

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Might work...but can says hard vinyl....no mention of it's flexing possibilities like upholstery paint.

Greetings,
Mr. C. Granted, a power cord flexes a whole lot more than a plastic gas can. T'was just a shot in the dark...

I have read cleaning the power cord toooo well sometimes hoses up the Cablemaster's ability to grab and reel.


FWIW, we keep our entire Cablemaster-mounted cord inside the boat when at our home dock. We use a spare power cord semi-permanently mounted and running from dock pedestal to near the boat attachment point... largely to make it faster/easier when we leave and return. The result is our on-board cord still looks decent...


-Chris

Caladan said:

I used some "vinyl upholstery" spray paint on some rubber seals for a machine tool glass scale once and it worked great.. covered their bright orange color with dark gray nicely and was durable. But they were not subject to the elements or as much chafing as shore power cords would be...so I wonder...

Click to expand...

There are special paints made for vinyl upholstery and such. I had to replace the coiled cable to my remote VHF microphone and all the manufacturer had left for that model was an ivory color and I wanted black. I used the special paint to paint the cable black and it has held up for about five years now.

I forget the brand name but a good auto paint store should have it in spray cans. I got mine at Parks Auto.

That said, I don't think I would go to the trouble to try and paint a shorepower cable. I would clean it the best I could with something that would not damage the plastic and leave it at that,