Now that you all have helped me with the nonexistant "keel crack", I'm ready to paint the bottm. But, the keel, being iron, has a lot of rust where the barnacles pulled off the paint on the keel. So, how much prep should I do on the keel ? Just paint over the keel with 2-3 coats ? Or, should I grind/sand it all down, maybe even use naval jelly ? How concerned should I be about the rust ?
bottom painting the metal keel
- Thread starter Gene16575
- Start date
- Status
Painting Iron Keels
I'm sure you'll get a lot of conflicting advice on this issue. Lots of stuff in the archives, too. I have a H28.5 with an iron keel and do the following: wire wheel the rust spots with an electric drill; fill depressions with MarineTex or POR Patch; paint over spots where rust appeared with a zinc chromate paint; and then paint with regular bottom paint. This whole thing takes less than a hour and I expect to have to do it annually. No big deal. Instead of zinc chromate paint, this year I'm going to experiment with POR-15 on the rust. This product is supposed to chemically bond with the rusted metal and prevent it from rusting again. We'll see.
I'm sure you'll get a lot of conflicting advice on this issue. Lots of stuff in the archives, too. I have a H28.5 with an iron keel and do the following: wire wheel the rust spots with an electric drill; fill depressions with MarineTex or POR Patch; paint over spots where rust appeared with a zinc chromate paint; and then paint with regular bottom paint. This whole thing takes less than a hour and I expect to have to do it annually. No big deal. Instead of zinc chromate paint, this year I'm going to experiment with POR-15 on the rust. This product is supposed to chemically bond with the rusted metal and prevent it from rusting again. We'll see.
Only One Answer
The ekkl was rusting before the boat was built and will continue to rust. Sanding or grinding is temporary. Sand blast the iron and epoxy coat withing an hour or else you are wasting your time
The ekkl was rusting before the boat was built and will continue to rust. Sanding or grinding is temporary. Sand blast the iron and epoxy coat withing an hour or else you are wasting your time
Daryl is right on
I rented a portable sand blaster to clean up the wing keel on my H23 two years ago. It was pretty rusty... I had it blasted to bare metal in twenty minutes and an epoxy coat on it before the first hour was up. I put two coats of epoxy on it and two coats of bottom paint. It is in the water all summer, we keep her on a buoy. Two years later and not a speck of rust.
I rented a portable sand blaster to clean up the wing keel on my H23 two years ago. It was pretty rusty... I had it blasted to bare metal in twenty minutes and an epoxy coat on it before the first hour was up. I put two coats of epoxy on it and two coats of bottom paint. It is in the water all summer, we keep her on a buoy. Two years later and not a speck of rust.
Epoxy coated my Keel . . .
in 93 when I put a barrier coat on the bottom of m 1989 Vision 32. I was on the Chesapeake at the time, then Lake Michigan, and now Lake Lanier, so the bottom has seen a variety of conditions, both salt and fresh. I've only had a few spots that have lifted off or bubbled since 93. I've always ground them down, put on additional expoxy and filler, and new bottom paint. Its a little more work now than in the first 10 years, but it has been 13 years since I've epoxied the keel. I don't find it to be that much work to keep up with. However, it does take a couple days to grind it down, put a few coats of expoxy on, then filler, and then bottom paint. I hope this helps.
in 93 when I put a barrier coat on the bottom of m 1989 Vision 32. I was on the Chesapeake at the time, then Lake Michigan, and now Lake Lanier, so the bottom has seen a variety of conditions, both salt and fresh. I've only had a few spots that have lifted off or bubbled since 93. I've always ground them down, put on additional expoxy and filler, and new bottom paint. Its a little more work now than in the first 10 years, but it has been 13 years since I've epoxied the keel. I don't find it to be that much work to keep up with. However, it does take a couple days to grind it down, put a few coats of expoxy on, then filler, and then bottom paint. I hope this helps.
Iron? I thought it was lead...
Sorry for the dumb question... should I assume my 35.5 has an iron keel and not lead? I need to repair a small rock-induced crater at next haulout.
Sorry for the dumb question... should I assume my 35.5 has an iron keel and not lead? I need to repair a small rock-induced crater at next haulout.
Ah Lori, the hazards of sailing the San Juan's
If you have a 'dent' your keel is lead. I'm jealous!
If you have a 'dent' your keel is lead. I'm jealous!
35.5's are lead.
Earlier models were iron. Never had major problems with my former H31 lead keel.
Earlier models were iron. Never had major problems with my former H31 lead keel.
- Status