Kruddy Keel

[SadlerPete]

Afternoon.
Any helpful suggestions please.
Just had our 1985 sadler 26 lifted for winter ashore and as usual the keel is a lovely shade of rusty red. I believe that it was originally covered in some form of
Epoxy, but the "E" has disappeared and now it's just poxy and remains on only about 25% of the surface area.
Obviously the best and most costly form of restoration would be to shot blast and re-apply the original coating, but this being the real world I'm looking for the DIY alternative.

Many thanks
Pete W
Alter Ego (S26)
Holyhead

 

[FullCircle]

I got SWMBO to clean it all off with an angle grinder, then she put 5 coats of Primocon on it.

Now, what was the problem?

 

[Stork_III]

I got SWMBO to clean it all off with an angle grinder, then she put 5 coats of Primocon on it.

Now, what was the problem?

Will she travel to Stockport?

 

[[70521]]

Red antifouling this year?

 

[FullCircle]

Will she travel to Stockport?

In this economic climate, quite possibly. How much is she worth to you?
I turned down an offer of 3 camels and a tent already today.

 

[SadlerPete]

Thanks for reply.
Already use Primacon without great success. Seems the main problem is surface preparation. The remaining rust, even after grinding, causes the Primacon and any other top coatings to fail from the inside out, so no matter how many coats you apply the rust will always break through. The solution, if there is one, would be to seal / neutralize the keel prior to applying any other layers

 

[JimC]

I have had good results on my rusty bilge keels by wire brushing followed by two coats of Hammerite No 1 Rust Beater followed by two more of Primocon followed by antifouling.
http://www.hammerite.co.uk/guide/no_1_rust_beater.jsp I have found the Hammerite No 1 better than the various products based on phosphoric acid that are supposed to convert the rust to an inert black layer.

 

[Ru88ell]

My steel keel had been painted with Jotun Mastic. Admittedly the steel was blasted back, but it looks pretty good.

 

[UncleAlbert]

Hammerite smooth. Used it for first time this year and at ths mid summer (!) scrub all looked good, no growth, not worn away no rust showing though, (I am on a half tide east coast mud mooring so must get a bit of scouring twice a day).
Not yet out of water yet but fully expect there to be plenty of paint and no issues.

 

[William_H]

This is a common problem with old cast ironm keels. T^he solution is to grind it back with an angle grinder with rubber backing disc and course paper disc. You then treat with a rust converter type Ranex is one available here. (also known as Navel jelly) Wash this off after a short time. Then apply an epoxy coat of some sort. Jotun do an epoxy for the job. But I think any epoxy would be fine. Multiple coats may be needed. Then apply your anti fouling. Next winter you will find out if it was effective.
good luck olewill

 

[Hydrozoan]

Ranex - phosphoric acid and ferrous sulphate; no fluff in your navel, then, Olewill

More seriously, any residual or new rust is a problem, so I'd emphasise getting the first coat on immediately after blasting/abrasion.