Since I am painting the bottom of my boat with Micron CSC-Extra, I called the Interlux Customer Support line today to ask what they thought I should use to prepare/fair/paint the cast iron keel of the H23. Of course, since I called Interlux, all the items listed below are Interlux products. Here, step by step, is what they told me: 1. Remove all the old paint from the keel. Grind it or sandblast it down to bright metal with 36- or 80-grit paper. 2. Clean the keel using Solvent 216 to remove any residue, paint strippers, grinding dust, etc. 3. Apply one thin coat of PrimeWash 353/354 (a two part epoxy primer). Note: Primewash must be thinned 25% with Solvent 355. 4. Apply 5 coats of InterProtect 2000E to the keel. 4a. If fairing needs to be done to remove pits from rust or gouges in the keel, use the two-part fairing compound, 417A / 418B. To avoid sanding the primer away when fairing, The representative recommended putting on 3 coats of the Interprotect 2000E, then applying the fairing compound, and then the remaining 2 coats of 2000E. 5. (Assuming the rest of the hull is prepared,) Paint the bottom with 2 coats Micron CSC-Extra. Here is my cost estimate, priced through the 2000 West Marine catalog (your mileage may vary, with sales/promo's, etc.): 216 Thinner: $10.99 (1 Qt, P.324) 353/354 kit: $26.99 (1 kit, P. 324) 355 Thinner: Not available (Uh-oh...) InterProtect 2000E: $23.99 (Qt, P.321) 417a compound: $17.99 (Pint, P.324) 418b compound: $17.98 (Pint, P.324) Micron CSC paint*: $144.99 (gal, P.315) *- I can no longer get Micron CSC at my local WM store; the product has been replaced by Micron CSC Extra, at the same price. The Interlux customer support number is (800)INTRLUX (468-7589). Good luck! --Jon Bastien H23 '2 Sheets to the Wind'