J/30 Class Association Forums J/30 Forum The Boat, Sails and Equipment Keel Preparation

Over the last few seasons my keel has developed exposed lead on both sides. This happened gradually through mild sanding (see photo). It seems like there is a barrier coat in places but not over the entire surface. I've been repairing to some success with 1 or 2 coats of epoxy. Anyone come across this? What's the best solution? Do I need to strip the entire keel of paint and apply a barrier coat or epoxy coats before painting? thanks for all replies/comments!

If only I had this problem. It is a non issue. The only thing to worry about is water getting behind the fairing material where the lead isn't showing. Unless you want to do a refairing job, just put a coat of epoxy over the lead and exposed fairing material, feather it in, and paint. From MANY years of working J-24 keels.

Check this old thread for an extreme case of water infiltration in the keel.

Personally I found when fairing the keel that by using a mixture of West Systems epoxy lightly thickened (mayonnaise consistency) with microbalons and painted over freshly sanded lead using 60 grit paper, it creates a good bonding surface to apply fairing compound. For that I use West Systems epoxy thickened (like peanut butter) with the microlight fairing filler.

Bill, thanks. Is the microballons filler West System 407 and the microlight West System 410? Will I have any issues with the light color under black ablative bottom paint?

thanks Sailon, glad to hear its not a big issue

Andrew - those are the West System numbers. You should also paint over the faired area with a good Barrier coat such as Interprotect 2000e before bottom paint. The barrier coat comes in white and gray. When I did the entire bottom, I alternated colors to make it easier to see between the 4 coats.

The bottom paint should cover the barrier coat without any bleed through. Since you are using an ablative bottom paint, I'd recommend a couple of coats. One trick is to make the first coat of ablative paint a different color so you can see when the ablative has worn off enough to require repainting.