Want to prep keel 2morrow. Oven cleaner & pressure washer?

[luvitt]

I was gonna rent a sand blaster to prep my keel, but a boatyard employee told me to save $200 on the blaster and buy some oven cleaner and pressure wash it. I have a 3000 psi pressure washer.

The keel isnt too bad, just some surface rust bubbling through a generally good paint job. I can wire brush it too. Do you think it will work or am i wasting my time?

I've used oven cleaner on other stuff and its a miracle. removes paint for sure. I use it on vinyl too, like in a golf cart. only in the shade though. it makes it look brand new no matter how dirty it is. spray it on, let it set a few minutes, wash it off. if you do it in the sun though it will melt vinyl. don't know why.

Im gonna strip the keel and prime it with some yellow primer, I forget the name of! thinks its an interlux product. the boatyard told me thats what i want to use. one of the guys is even giving me a free gallon tomorrow! I just gotta save a little bit for his pontoon. they hook me up all the time b/c im so pathetic and i buy them beer!

 

[seadaddler]

Great

When I kept my boat in a yard for winter storage in NY I hooked up with some of the yard workers who would help me save plenty of $$$$ I would always take care of them.
Nick

 

[luvitt]

yeah, i tip them here and there when i can afford it. I bring em beer a couple times a week. and i chat with them.

 

[CalebD]

This is a decent way to make friends with the folks in the 'boat yard' and they will probably launch you in a moments notice because of your attention to them.
Most boat yards I have dealt with are pretty fractured in terms of management and hands on crew and can be diverted by shiny objects and intoxicating liquids.
They don't all work the same up and down the coast though. There are some that have been bought out by conglomerates and no longer allow DIY work or live-abaords.
Beer works well as a 'tip' for the most part.

 

[duality]

if you havnt fixed your electric problem, make sure you unplug your boat from the ac!!! remember that the keel will also be ground!

 

[Ross]

Brobins, I will bet you a five dollar dog that the SS pole in the cabin is electrically connected to your keel and your keel is on the ground and you only need to wait for a very rainy day for that little electrical shock to become a big electrical shock.

 

[luvitt]

Brobins, I will bet you a five dollar dog that the SS pole in the cabin is electrically connected to your keel and your keel is on the ground and you only need to wait for a very rainy day for that little electrical shock to become a big electrical shock.

Im not gonna use the ac until its fixed. you are right.

 

[luvitt]

it worked great!

Btw, the oven cleaner & pressure washer worked great. I bought 3 different kinds of oven cleaner at a dollar store and the "Easy-off" brand is the one that worked. I went back and bought a couple more cans. the ingredients were different in each can. I think LYE is the ingredient in Easy-off, but cant remember, (Caustic Soda? which is lye?).

I sprayed it on and let it set a few minutes. the bottom paint probably would have wiped off if i had tried. there was a light breeze and the cleaner drifted on my arms and stung a little, but i tried to avoid it. I did a small section first and through trial and error, realized that it works best if you wet the area first. It seems to dry pretty quick, and if its wet first it seems to work a little longer.

I then pressure washed it with the "general" tip, and it just rolled right off. all that was left was a dull metal keel. I thought it was gonna be shiny steel, but it looks kinda tan. not rusty, just tan/brown.

Then I let it dry and Ospho'd it. The Ospho dried overnite, and the next day there is a white/greenish powder left on the surface. The boatyard guys said to rinse it again with the pressure washer and give it another coat of Ospho, and it should only be white powder this time, after it dries. sounds like it might have been a little oxidation? but steel doesnt make green does it? anyway, im gonna Ospho another coat, then brush the powder off and prime it with 1277 and then bottom paint it.

It was pretty darn easy. But my paint job and keel were in pretty good shape to begin with. Guess that means its powerful stuff too, it took off a tight paint job with ease. I had a little loose rust that i basically removed with the pressure washer. I didnt really brush anything except for the sake of just trying out the wire brush.

yeah, yeah, epa....:naughty:

 

[rpwillia]

Re: it worked great!

I think I would get the boat yard guys a case of good beer this time. Sounds like they have saved you a whole lot of time and trouble.

 

[Richard Bryer]

Re: it worked great!

Hmm this is good Brobins. I need to redo my keel- also cast iron- it has a lot more than "just some surface rust" What was on your keel in terms of paint- I have I believe VC tar and VC17. I am wondering if oven cleaner will work as well for mine. Also - what about oven cleaner on gelcoat- any problems using this method to strip the whole bottom (other than finding a cheap source of oven cleaner)

 

[luvitt]

i dont know about the gelcoat. I was concerned, so I avoided it. I may have got a little on it, but dont see any problems.

As for my antifouling paint, not sure either. It was freshly painted when i got the boat. whoever painted it did a really good job though. it was very professional. My keel also had some kind of fairing compound under the paint, and the oven cleaner didnt seem to hurt it.

I got my oven cleaner at the "dollar" store. the 2 generic brands I tried were $1 each. The Easy-off was $2.25. surprisingly it only used 2 cans on one side of the keel.

I suspect you could buy the active ingredient in Easy-off in bulk somewhere. I have a feeling its Lye. there has to be someplace you could buy it cheap, and probably stronger.

good luck.