I'm planning to fair, and fill the keel/hull joint, of the iron keel of my Hunter 28.5 this spring with a product called "POR Patch." I may also use the same maker's "POR 15" to seal the whole keel prior to bottom painting it. Does anyone have any experience to share in regard to these rust preventative products?
Fairing Iron Keel
- Thread starter Warren M
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Rust
Your keel was rusting before Hunter assembled the boat and it's going to keep rusting like it or not. Grinding and filling slows it down. I tried that many times along with various chemicals and coatings. Rust converters, Petit RustLoc and epoxy tar don't work. After doing the battle for ten years here's what I learned. The best method to almost eliminate the rust is to sand blast the keel to bright metal and epoxy coat within one hour. I added some cloth to the epoxy coatings, filled and faired with west and micro balloons the coated the whole thing with Interlux 2000. I hope the new owner appreciates my work.
Your keel was rusting before Hunter assembled the boat and it's going to keep rusting like it or not. Grinding and filling slows it down. I tried that many times along with various chemicals and coatings. Rust converters, Petit RustLoc and epoxy tar don't work. After doing the battle for ten years here's what I learned. The best method to almost eliminate the rust is to sand blast the keel to bright metal and epoxy coat within one hour. I added some cloth to the epoxy coatings, filled and faired with west and micro balloons the coated the whole thing with Interlux 2000. I hope the new owner appreciates my work.
POR
Warren, I don't have any long term with POR but the lawn furniture I redid last spring has held up well. Well enough that I now plan to do the iron keel on my Rhodes 19 with it. The one problem I can see is painting over the POR 15 with bottom pain........Just don't know what I'll have to do to prep it.
Warren, I don't have any long term with POR but the lawn furniture I redid last spring has held up well. Well enough that I now plan to do the iron keel on my Rhodes 19 with it. The one problem I can see is painting over the POR 15 with bottom pain........Just don't know what I'll have to do to prep it.
What Daryl said about coating the keel is the
way to go. If you have a failed coating, remove it. Then glass it in. For coating the keel, epoxy is overkill. It's expensive too and doesn't setup quickly. Solution? A gallon of polyester resin. Home Depot. Go get it. Buy your fiberglass cloth and fairing materials elsewhere though.
way to go. If you have a failed coating, remove it. Then glass it in. For coating the keel, epoxy is overkill. It's expensive too and doesn't setup quickly. Solution? A gallon of polyester resin. Home Depot. Go get it. Buy your fiberglass cloth and fairing materials elsewhere though.
Iron Keels, II
Thanks all for the advice. I'm reluctant to coat and or encapsulate my iron keel with epoxy or similar materials. My surveyor convinced me that if such a keel coating is breached (by grounding, hitting something in the water, etc.)it may allow water to wick under the entire coating and create a nightmare problem requiring stripping the whole keel again and re-doing it with something or other. I'm at peace with the fact that my iron keel is going to rust and feel no need to go overboard to avoid the inevitable. All I really want to do is stay a few paces ahead of the rust, get a decent enough surface to live with, and do more sailing..... BTW, the POR people tell me that ordinary bottom paint can be applied directed over "POR 15" but suggest a light sanding first to give the paint something to adhere to.
Thanks all for the advice. I'm reluctant to coat and or encapsulate my iron keel with epoxy or similar materials. My surveyor convinced me that if such a keel coating is breached (by grounding, hitting something in the water, etc.)it may allow water to wick under the entire coating and create a nightmare problem requiring stripping the whole keel again and re-doing it with something or other. I'm at peace with the fact that my iron keel is going to rust and feel no need to go overboard to avoid the inevitable. All I really want to do is stay a few paces ahead of the rust, get a decent enough surface to live with, and do more sailing..... BTW, the POR people tell me that ordinary bottom paint can be applied directed over "POR 15" but suggest a light sanding first to give the paint something to adhere to.
YachtPaint.com
Warren: YachtPaint.com has informaton on how to properly seal the cast iron. Many sailors use this method. If you are not up to doing it yourself, you have have the yard to it. The key is to clean the cast iron to bright metal and immediately seal it before you add any coatings. We have had an epoxy coating on our keel since it was new and there has not been any problems. If you get some rust you can just touch up the area.
Warren: YachtPaint.com has informaton on how to properly seal the cast iron. Many sailors use this method. If you are not up to doing it yourself, you have have the yard to it. The key is to clean the cast iron to bright metal and immediately seal it before you add any coatings. We have had an epoxy coating on our keel since it was new and there has not been any problems. If you get some rust you can just touch up the area.
Thanks Warren
Hadn't got far enough in my restore to ask them yet. Just got half the new ribs in yesterday.
Hadn't got far enough in my restore to ask them yet. Just got half the new ribs in yesterday.
A word of caution
If you decide to do the POR 15 application, be careful in your use of a mask. Isocyanites are supposedly pretty bad news. Some say fresh air supply mask is the only way to go for these paints. I recently tried a latex (safer) version, "Rust Doctor" for an auto body application, and it seemed to encapsulate the rust similarly, but not sure if it is suitable for marine applications. Not hard to find on the internet.
If you decide to do the POR 15 application, be careful in your use of a mask. Isocyanites are supposedly pretty bad news. Some say fresh air supply mask is the only way to go for these paints. I recently tried a latex (safer) version, "Rust Doctor" for an auto body application, and it seemed to encapsulate the rust similarly, but not sure if it is suitable for marine applications. Not hard to find on the internet.
Be sure to use "metal ready"
Warren, I've been a big user of and believer in the POR-15 products. I think they have a high probability of good results on an iron keel, which their "metal-ready" prep wash is formulated for. I'm not so sure how this system would work on a lead keel. My suggestion for leaving a "gripable" surface for the bottom paint would be to go back after the paint has been drying for 20 minutes and press some kind of nubby cloth against the painted surfaces. It will look funny, but since with POR-15 you only have a choice of black, silver, or clear paint, it isn't going to look like much without the bottom paint anyway...
Warren, I've been a big user of and believer in the POR-15 products. I think they have a high probability of good results on an iron keel, which their "metal-ready" prep wash is formulated for. I'm not so sure how this system would work on a lead keel. My suggestion for leaving a "gripable" surface for the bottom paint would be to go back after the paint has been drying for 20 minutes and press some kind of nubby cloth against the painted surfaces. It will look funny, but since with POR-15 you only have a choice of black, silver, or clear paint, it isn't going to look like much without the bottom paint anyway...
Rust Never Sleeps
My steel keel has always required a minor touchup each spring. Grind to bare metal, wipe clean and dust free with acetone and fill with 3M Epoxy. Sand smooth, apply 2 coats of interprotect 2000 and then a bottomkote or VC17. That's it....nothing else can be done that will ever work better. Except replacing it with a lead keel. Have fun!
My steel keel has always required a minor touchup each spring. Grind to bare metal, wipe clean and dust free with acetone and fill with 3M Epoxy. Sand smooth, apply 2 coats of interprotect 2000 and then a bottomkote or VC17. That's it....nothing else can be done that will ever work better. Except replacing it with a lead keel. Have fun!
Iron Keels
Warren, What Darryl says is pretty much true. Sory Fred, but poly resin ain't the way to go here. It's not impervious to water absorbtion. If it were we wouldn't have all these problems with blisters. Anyway, sandblast to clean metal, blow off any dust, wipe clean with acetone and if at all possible start coating within an hour with epoxy resin to seal the surface from air and oxidation. Fair the surface with resin and fillers. When fairing is complete seal with 3-4 coats of epoxy resin to fill pin holes and complete the job. As long as you're using epoxy resin there's no need to spend the money on Inter-Protect 2000. This product requires at least 10 mils thickness to be effective and you won't get that with just two coats. I use Inter-Protect when doing blister repair on fiberglass hulls. If I had to relaminate for the repair, I'd be using West System and wouldn't need to use Inter-Protect. As far as Por products I know nothing about them. Anyway, just my 2 cents worth. Good luck.
Warren, What Darryl says is pretty much true. Sory Fred, but poly resin ain't the way to go here. It's not impervious to water absorbtion. If it were we wouldn't have all these problems with blisters. Anyway, sandblast to clean metal, blow off any dust, wipe clean with acetone and if at all possible start coating within an hour with epoxy resin to seal the surface from air and oxidation. Fair the surface with resin and fillers. When fairing is complete seal with 3-4 coats of epoxy resin to fill pin holes and complete the job. As long as you're using epoxy resin there's no need to spend the money on Inter-Protect 2000. This product requires at least 10 mils thickness to be effective and you won't get that with just two coats. I use Inter-Protect when doing blister repair on fiberglass hulls. If I had to relaminate for the repair, I'd be using West System and wouldn't need to use Inter-Protect. As far as Por products I know nothing about them. Anyway, just my 2 cents worth. Good luck.
Sand blast it!
Simply sand blast it. It's cheap. Harbor Freight sells them and all you need is a compressor and a bag of sand from Home Depot. Then if you wish to fair it, simply use epoxy and micro-ballon filler for easy sanding, primer, paint and your done. didereaux
Simply sand blast it. It's cheap. Harbor Freight sells them and all you need is a compressor and a bag of sand from Home Depot. Then if you wish to fair it, simply use epoxy and micro-ballon filler for easy sanding, primer, paint and your done. didereaux
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