Rust on keel

[slawosz]

Hi,
my coppercoated keel is showing some rust signs, I am a bit concerned if I can launch (from beginning of May to end of October) and take care of this next year?

 

[Tranona]

In the next 2 weeks there is good weather for dealing with it. Get a repair kit from Coppercoat (AMC). As soon as it arrives, grind back to clean metal and immediately apply the epoxy primer. You need at least 4 coats of that and when it is cured the Coppercoat will only take a couple of hours to apply in one go. It will then be cured before you launch.

 

[slawosz]

In the next 2 weeks there is good weather for dealing with it. Get a repair kit from Coppercoat (AMC). As soon as it arrives, grind back to clean metal and immediately apply the epoxy primer. You need at least 4 coats of that and when it is cured the Coppercoat will only take a couple of hours to apply in one go. It will then be cured before you launch.

Well, the problem is I have to prepare an old boat for selling - and I have very stretched schedule already. Hence asking if it could wait. I have some coppercoat left by previous owner and I am thinking if I could risk using it - its 5 yo. Although West System says its fine so I presume CC will be fine too. Will think about it.

 

[Tranona]

Rust tends not to creep under the CC if it has adhered well, so it may not get worse. However it is difficult to tell how well it has adhered. I patched for 2 years and then gave up and had the whole keel blasted and started again. Don't know how long that has been on but the rest looks OK. It is a bit of a gamble leaving it, but a rushed repair with old material is probably a greater risk!