Ken H wrote:

Any benefit to polishing/waxing a propeller?


My intuition says that smoother is better, since propellers operate on a
water pressure difference (ahead and behind the prop) to create motion.

Your intuition is absolutely correct. Polishing the face of the
propeller will increase the efficiency of the prop and reduce fuel
consumption. A highly polished surface will reduce the amount of fouling
and increase the time before significant fouling accumulates. The
performance difference on a small boat may be so small as to be nearly
undetectable before fouling occurs but the effect is real.

Waxing the prop is a waste of time, the wax will vanish after a few
minutes operation.

Rick