Fairing my keel?

[Bob S]

I had some damage in my keel. It appears to be delaminating. I think this is caused by the lead cooling before it becomes a solid. I know it's a common problem in investment castings. I sanded a section today and a chunk of lead came of. I'm a little tentative sanding too hard because I can see more delamination.

How far back do I need to sand and can I just fill the cavity with fairing compound? I am using Progressive Epoxy's Wet/Dry 700 per Paul's recommendation. How do I etch the exposed lead before fairing. Acetone?

 

[Dean5735]

yup, wipe it down and filler up !!!! and re-paint

 

[RON20406]

I had some damage in my keel. It appears to be delaminating. I think this is caused by the lead cooling before it becomes a solid. I know it's a common problem in investment castings. I sanded a section today and a chunk of lead came of. I'm a little tentative sanding too hard because I can see more delamination.

How far back do I need to sand and can I just fill the cavity with fairing compound? I am using Progressive Epoxy's Wet/Dry 700 per Paul's recommendation. How do I etch the exposed lead before fairing. Acetone?

Bob, if the lead in the aft end of the keel is degraded, you need to grind it back to solid lead before you repair it. Otherwise, all you are doing is encasing the crumbling lead in an epoxy slurry. Once you reach clean lead, you might have to reconstruct the aft edge of the fins with layers of mat and roving which, although not as structurally sound as encapsulated lead, will give you a solid functional structure. In a worse case scenario, if you lose an inch or so on the aft end of your wing/keel, it will not affect the performance of the boat and will be done properly. Best, Ron