Does there exist power cord yellow paint that holds up a year or two outside ?

This for dual 50 amp Cablemaster (is 2 cords) where most of the cord is still inside and appears as new but the dozen feet or so on the outside looks bad enough that no amount of cleaning does much good plus the yellow itself is faded a bit

I've used vinyl upholstery paint on car seats before and it worked surprisingly well... But vinyl paint exposed to the elements might be more problematic... you tell me ...

Think you will have an issue with the cord flexing as much as it does going through the Cablemaster.

Ted

A far better way to spend your money...

what_barnacles said:

A far better way to spend your money...

Click to expand...

Can't run that through the cable master.

The fix that I see is to reverse the cable if you don't want to cut off the weathered end.

With respect, much ado about nothing.

Cablemaster for those less burly?

Toss it and regain those unused muscles.

Xsbank said:

With respect, much ado about nothing.

Click to expand...

I agree. I really don’t care how pretty my shore power chord is.

Greetings,
Mr. mb. (post #5). "...reverse the cable..." Not possible without switching plug ends as well.

Mr. D (OP). You might try this: Fusion for Plastic® - | Krylon

I don't much care about the cord, but it rubs on the boat when I am loading and unloading it. Leaves nasty scuffs that are tough to get off. Those I care about.

Dune said:

This for dual 50 amp Cablemaster (is 2 cords) where most of the cord is still inside and appears as new but the dozen feet or so on the outside looks bad enough that no amount of cleaning does much good plus the yellow itself is faded a bit

I've used vinyl upholstery paint on car seats before and it worked surprisingly well... But vinyl paint exposed to the elements might be more problematic... you tell me ...

Click to expand...

The coiled cord on my upper helm RAM mic got into a fight with a buffer and lost. Since it's an old model radio, there were no replacement mics available and the only cord SH had to sell me was ivory and the mic is black.

I bought the ivory cord and a can of black vinyl upholstery paint from the auto parts store.

I cleaned the cord with alcohol and hung it from the garage ceiling with a weight on the other end and sprayed it with several light coats of the paint.

I installed the mic and connector and have been using it for five or six years now. It's covered when the boat isn't being used but is exposed to sun and of course flexing and the paint has held up well.

It's worth a try if the fading bothers you.

mbevins said:

The fix that I see is to reverse the cable if you don't want to cut off the weathered end.

Click to expand...

Thats not a bad idea, except it would be very labor intensive. In fact the barrel that holds my coiled Cablemaster is nearly impossible to get to. Plus remember I have two of them, not just one.

Auto vinyl upholestery paint not standing up to the cable flexing I should think if anything a car seat flexes even more and the paint does work surprisingly well for that purpose.

The big unknowns are how long will it last outside plus color and testure matching

dhays said:

I agree. I really don’t care how pretty my shore power chord is.

Click to expand...

Then perhaps you should paint it purple with pink polka dots at regular intervals

WesK said:

The coiled cord on my upper helm RAM mic got into a fight with a buffer and lost. Since it's an old model radio, there were no replacement mics available and the only cord SH had to sell me was ivory and the mic is black.

I bought the ivory cord and a can of black vinyl upholstery paint from the auto parts store.

I cleaned the cord with alcohol and hung it from the garage ceiling with a weight on the other end and sprayed it with several light coats of the paint.

I installed the mic and connector and have been using it for five or six years now. It's covered when the boat isn't being used but is exposed to sun and of course flexing and the paint has held up well.

It's worth a try if the fading bothers you.

Click to expand...

ive done the same thing on the Tigerstop moving fence coiled cords of woodworking machinery and the vinyl paint worked great for that purpose....but the machines were always inside.

RT Firefly said:

Greetings,
Mr. mb. (post #5). "...reverse the cable..." Not possible without switching plug ends as well.

Mr. D (OP). You might try this: Fusion for Plastic® - | Krylon

Click to expand...

thanks Firefly,,,the yellow looks close...may be too glossy but worth a try

Xsbank said:

With respect, much ado about nothing.

Click to expand...

I see it as little to do about something....if the cord is clean already, assuming a calm wind day, what could be easier than aiming an aerosol can at a cable jacket ?

Many folks wouldn't worry about this and that's their right but the OP wants to restore the color and asked for suggestions on how to do it.

Not if you would do it to your cord.

WesK said:

Many folks wouldn't worry about this and that's their right but the OP wants to restore the color and asked for suggestions on how to do it.

Not if you would do it to your cord.

Click to expand...

Thanks for that Wes....spot on.

what_barnacles said:

Cablemaster for those less burly?

Toss it and regain those unused muscles.

Click to expand...

Good grief.... with the Cablemaster with just the touch of toggle switch, you can pay out only the cable you need instead of lugging around an entire long cable. Plus it was "free" essentially....came with the boat as standard equipment*. Plus not having all the extra cable lying on deck makes for easier cleanup.

Plus it is "hard wired" at the inside end, making for less potential lug sparking/pitting as on conventional cable plugs.

=======================

*In other words the market value of the (used) boat was probably exactly the same with a Cablemaster as it would have been without same.

mbevins said:

Can't run that through the cable master.

Click to expand...

Yep, exactly.

As it is a good practice to chop off 6 -12 inches of cable after a years service , or swop it from end to end ,

I wonder why folks are willing to purchase expensive cables with sealed ends?

RT Firefly said:

Greetings,
Mr. mb. (post #5). "...reverse the cable..." Not possible without switching plug ends as well.

Mr. D (OP). You might try this: Fusion for Plastic® - | Krylon

Click to expand...

Yes that was assumed, most 50a plugs are removable. If you have the capability to flip the cable then you can do the same with the plug.

However I personally would just leave the whole thing be. Keeping a shorepower cable "pretty" is a fools game.

Just thinking out loud here... If you apply any kind of paint or coating, won't THAT also rub against your boat and leave marks?

There have been threads about cleaning cords before. I think MEK was suggested as one option. I know folks have also used acetone, but that can (depending on who you ask) leave the cord gummy.

There's always the option to get a length of cloth chafing gear and use that in areas where the cord rests against something you don't want scuffed.

For cleaning go to http://www.trawlerforum.com/forums/s32/power-cords-14671.html

I have a can of The Marine Strip recommended by HopCar for cleaning power cords.

After cleaning I have ordered a Sunbrella canvas cover from these folks:

http://www.allamericanpowercordcover.com/

For cleaning I've let the cord soak overnight in oxyclean. Wiped off the grime the next morning

Recomnend canvas sleeve cover

You can clean it with acetone. Use gloves.

dhays said:

I agree. I really don’t care how pretty my shore power chord is.

Click to expand...

Others do; hence the inquiry by the OP. With respect, if you don't why make any comment at all unless you have a suggestion that would help the OP.

MVDarlin said:

You can clean it with acetone. Use gloves.

Click to expand...

I tried using acetone. It didn't work for me. Took some of the more topical grunge off but did not touch the embedded grime. What does work and I have seen work is a UK product called "The Pink Stuff", available on Amazon. It comes in a small tub but goes a very long way.

I watched the captain of a 52 x 28 sailing cat clean the boat's very dirty cable using a toothbrush, rubbing lightly and patiently. In a few hours of modest work he had that cable looking almost brand new. The boat in question was being prepared as the manufacturer's demo boat for the Annapolis Sailboat Show which was two weekends ago. The captain was getting the boat ready for the arrival of the manufacturer and the owners.

Based on his demonstration to me I purchased a tub. It's also useful on stainless steel using the same toothbrush method. I can attest to its performance on my railing stanchions and on my stainless steel galley sink. I had used Barkeeper's Friend on the sink in the past. The Pink Stuff far outperformed Barkeeper's Friend all other products I have used.

Depending on how badly sun damaged your cord is, I have used Gojo, or similar orange oil cleaner with pumice, given it a really good clean and then used Armorall to shine it up again and protect it. Worked for me FWIW.