Epoxy coat for lead and bottom paint
I couldn't keep bottom paint on my lead keel so I stripped it down to bare lead using a belt sand and sanding disk on an electric drill. Ok to rough up the lead a little as the whole point is to remove the lead oxide that form from exposure to oxygen. Metal oxides are very difficult to get paint to stick to (think aluminum oxide, used for grinding wheels for example). So once down to bare lead, as soon as possible coat the keel in west system epoxy. Let it cure then coat it again. Before it is completely cured paint the first coat with epoxy barrier coat that will bond to the epoxy chemically. Add another coat if desired for full coverage. The barrier coat acts as a good primer for the bottom paint. Now before the second coat of barrier coat is fully cured paint with a coat of bottom paint, this should chemically bond with the barrier coat to form a lasting high adhesion layer that will resist peeling. Let it dry and add as many more coats as desired depending on the type of paint (ablative, etc). I did this to my 35 maybe 9 years ago and never had adhesion problems on the keel again.
