I recently tried balancing the props and used nail polish on the underneath side of the prop, right in the middle of the blade, on the tip end, using short, smooth strokes. It seemed to balance the props well and doesn't appear as if it will adversely affect air flow. I notice a lot of people seem to say they sand their props, but it makes more sense to me to add weight versus take weight away. I did notice the Phantom was a lot quieter after balancing them.

Has anyone else tried this way?

Just curious.

Sanding is best, if one side is slightly heavy, remove a micro amount of that side of that rotor blade, to make them balanced.
Why would you want to add more welght, in regards to turning the blades even?

Besides, a single guy here, so no her. Unless you're a Rock Star, Where would I come up, with nail polish? What colour did You use?

RedHotPoker

I never thought of fingernail polish. The guru at my local hobby shop adds slight weight (when he thinks it's needed) to his props with super-glue. If you do use super-glue, make sure you use the type that doesn't destroy plastic! I think it's called something like CA Safe.

Art - N4PJ

RedHotPoker Posted at 2016-11-15 17:07
Sanding is best, if one side is slightly heavy, remove a micro amount of that side of that rotor bla ...

I guess if you cannot find cheap clear nail polish at (almost any) store, you could always buy it online. That way you won't have to assure the cashier that you are a real man and you are only using it to balance the propellers on your unmanned aerial vehicle.

RSW Posted at 2016-11-15 07:42
I guess if you cannot find cheap clear nail polish at (almost any) store, you could always buy it o ...

Or I could paint my toes and pretend I'm a UFC fighter. Haha



RedHotPoker

fans30254479 Posted at 2016-11-15 07:04
I never thought of fingernail polish. The guru at my local hobby shop adds slight weight (when he th ...

CA stands for contact adhesive. Please don't get any of that on your fingers.

It's a B to remove, without taking a layer or two of flesh, with it... Yikes!!


RedHotPoker

RSW Posted at 2016-11-15 04:42
I guess if you cannot find cheap clear nail polish at (almost any) store, you could always buy it o ...

LOL. In today's world, no one seems to care what you're buying.

RedHotPoker Posted at 2016-11-14 23:07
Sanding is best, if one side is slightly heavy, remove a micro amount of that side of that rotor bla ...

LOL. For me, it is like balancing a car tire. They don't sand the rims, but they add weight. The amount of weight being added it very slight. I could see where sanding a prop over time might start to weaken it, even though the amount being sanded is very slight. I notice if the weight is added at the very tip, there is more leverage, so not much polish is needed at all. Maybe one small stroke or two. There is a You Tube video of a guy doing it this way, and of all the videos I saw, his made the most sense.

Using nail polish is a great tip. I have been an RC aircraft flyer for many years and balance my plane's props with nail polish.

Nail polish is a great idea.  I used small pieces of electrician's tape that worked very well and adhere well, but clear nail polish is even better.  I just got a new set of blades and will use that to balance.  Thanks!  
Redhot:  I am also a ceramic artists, and i have a wonderful collection of nail polish for minor prepare of ceramic artworks.  Glaze and nail polish look alike if you color match - as long as it is a decorative piece.  Nail polish is also a great insulator for the amateur electronics person.  So many uses for clear (or not clear) lacquer!  

There is no harm or danger, in a light sanding of your rotor blade, where I am mentioning it be done.

If you look closely at a Phantom 3 rotor blade, near the hub, you'll notice a tiny arrow, pointing in the direction, that particular blade should spin onto the motor shaft.
That arrow, is where the sanding I am referring to, is done. No part of the actual meat of the blade has been removed. ;-)

& therefor there is No real danger in this sanding method...
Paint yours if you choose. Personal preferences may, very well vary. Haha.

RedHotPoker

fansb8e5c662 Posted at 2016-11-17 03:36
Using nail polish is a great tip. I have been an RC aircraft flyer for many years and balance my pla ...

And when the nail polish solvent evaporates, you will have to paint them again.... and again....  

That's why I recommend using super glue gell, contains no solvent that will evaporate.

Betamace Posted at 2016-11-17 16:08
And when the nail polish solvent evaporates, you will have to paint them again.... and again....   ...

And like I say, I've been doing it for years on RC planes without issue. Some of my pylon racer props are spinning in excess of 25k RPM an unbalanced prop is very noticeable at those speeds. You keep using CA gel as it works for you, and I will continue to use nail polish.

I simply dip my props in molten lead.  Then sandblast with walnut shells if I get too much lead on.  Works....

RedHotPoker Posted at 2016-11-15 09:01
CA stands for contact adhesive. Please don't get any of that on your fingers.

It's a B to remove, ...

I had a small bottle of foam-safe CA. Per the advice of my guru at the local hobby store, I kept it in the refrigerator. He said it would last longer. I guess three years was too long! LOL

Art - N4PJ

fans30254479 Posted at 2016-11-15 22:04
I never thought of fingernail polish. The guru at my local hobby shop adds slight weight (when he th ...

Thats "foam safe" CA. Regular superglue should be fine on props.

RedHotPoker Posted at 2016-11-16 02:01
CA stands for contact adhesive. Please don't get any of that on your fingers.

It's a B to remove, ...

Actually, CA stands for CyanoAcrylate, the main component of superglue.

Geebax Posted at 2016-11-23 17:11
Actually, CA stands for CyanoAcrylate, the main component of superglue.

Eh thanks, it's nice to be informed. We call it Contact Adhesive , and as it reacts much like crazy glue, a dangerous substance... I only use it sparingly, and quite irregularly. But always have a fresh bottle around my RC hobby work bench.


RedHotPoker

Hello. I am a newbie in nails industry. After 23 years, I've retired from old job, and I am looking forward to start working as a manicurist. This is my hobby since I was young. Can you recommend me which are the best products? What gel polish, nail lamp, scissors etc. should I use? I've found many reviews here https://www.nailproducts.reviews/ regarding the best nail products. Are these really the best products? Please advise. Thank you!

Whether you add or remove that tiny bit of weight is up to to the individual and both are valid.

All I recc'd - is that its done as a nice sweep along the back of blade.

I know some do the tip .. but that puts weight out as a lever and imagine that tip - the momentum it builds up !

OK - it will not make great difference - BUT adding weight to a prop increases the amount of power needed to spin it up. So if you combine only adding to Tip and the weight added - that may be a small amount of robbed power.

I can remember in Pylon Racing years ago - Officials used to inspect our props as well as motors - to make sure we had not lightened them more than just balancing to get an extra bit of RPM .... seriously !

Nigel

It is a double catch, adding weight increase the stress on the frame at rapid speed changes, removing material would weaken the already imo too soft plastic props also adding to the response time.

I use super glue, even used it to repair chips on the blade

As for adding more weight to the prop and causing motor issues, i do not see that to be honest, the amount needed is negligible, i have only been in this RC lark since Oct last year so i dont know squat about drones really, but i do know common sense, having a well balanced prop over the nano wight added would far supersede any issues you might think the nano gram of extra weight would cause, thats my opinion only, do not bet any lives on it as i take no responsibility for words i put on public forums

I agree with Bashy apart from one item :

'' repair chips on the blade'' ...... I would never repair chips on a GFN blade such as these DJI props ....

GFN is Glass Filled Nylon and has a specific structure where the glass creates a strength grain in the nylon resin. A chip would create a break in that grain and therefore a weak point. It may fly fine - but would be more likely to shed a blade in any slight encounter ... or even worse if someone tried to repair a serious chip - could cause injury when spun up.

Blades are cheap to buy ... a bottle of CA is about same price !

Nigel

fans30254479 Posted at 2016-11-15 06:04
I never thought of fingernail polish. The guru at my local hobby shop adds slight weight (when he thinks it's needed) to his props with super-glue. If you do use super-glue, make sure you use the type that doesn't destroy plastic! I think it's called something like CA Safe.

Art - N4PJ

nice sharing!!

i recommend you to buy some branded nail polishes and hope you not facing any problem

also check out the list of some best nail polishes hope you will like it  http://thefashionupdates.com/best-nail-polish-brands/

I also think that branded nail polishes are best, some of them I've reviewed here https://reviewnails.com/my-best-gel-nail-polishes/  hope it helps!

I've always used the gentle sanding method, towards the blade tips.

The problem with removing weight from the hub is that you have to remove a heck of a lot more material to achieve the same result. Unless the hub bore is off centre, it is unlikely that the unbalance is there.
In the unlikeliest;y event that the out of balance is quite significant, you can trim the blade tip back making sure you retain the same profile.

Make sure you have good balancing equipment including the spindle where you mount the blade. Ideally the should be the same as the fixture on the motors.

The most important thing about balancing is repeatability, make sure your result is repeatable. Initially rotate the blade and make sure it stops in exactly the same place each time and remove weight from the heavy blade. In the case of "in balance" of course, it will stop anywhere, not in the same place.