So the temperature is now warm enough to repair the keel Presto and I am getting a thousand opinions. My plan was to:

1)Rough up the surface of the existing layers and the exposed lead (the lead was not damaged).
2) Put down a layer of West System 105 plus 205 expoxy
3) Use 3Ms Marine Premium Filler (Vinyl ester plus micro spheres) to fill in the large void
4) Use a slurry of West Low Density-Filler 407 as the fairing layer.
5) Put down a thin layer of Expoxy (West 105 +205)
6) Barrier Coat & then
7) Vivid Bottom Paint

So please comment...

To date one alternative suggestion was simply to:

1) Rough up the surface
2) Put down the Vinvl ester Filler
3) Put the 407 slurry down as the fairing layer
4) Barrier Cost
5) Bottom Paint

Please provide your thoughts. I was planning to start with the warm weather but have plenty of other items to work on.

Thanks!

one question ... why go to 3M ... and not stay with 105?

• Rough up the exposed lead with a wire brush really well.
• Mix up some neat epoxy using the West 105 and the fast hardner.
• use a chip brush and apply the neat epoxy to the exposed lead
• grab a wire brush that you will throw away, then work the neat epoxy into the exposed lead
• let cure, rinse to remove any amine blush, then dry and lightly sand to rough up the epoxy surface so whatever you use will adhere.

This will guarantee that you have a good bond to the lead and won't get flaking or cracks.

You can fair with West Systems epoxy and filler, which will be more durable than Vinyl Ester based resins and will not be as subject to water absorption. The softer fillers are easier to sand, but are more susceptible to damage.

Barrier coat is a must for longevity. Shoot for 10 mil thickness which for me was 4 coats Interprotect 2000e

Good information - thanks! Bill's first 5 steps align well with Don Casey's book which is nice, but I have a few additional questions.

- Any special handling of the keel to keel stub joint area?
- Any special handling using 407 microballons below the waterline?

Thanks

Chris,

I used 403 Microfibers mixed with 410 Microlight and did not use 407 Microballons. I found that the 406 Colloidal Silica seemed to leave little void bubbles that needed to be sanded and faired.

The key is make sure the temperature supports curing - 60 degrees or better. I fought mother nature on the temps the spring I faired the keel and mother nature won. No matter how thick the epoxy was mixed, the mixture still sagged before it cured, requiring more sanding and filling.

When I planed the keel, I made sure it was a little narrower than the templates to compensate for filling. This included the joint at the keel stub. I epoxied a tape of glass cloth about 4" wide around the entire joint and sanded smooth before fairing. You may see some good pics in this thread.