Rusty fastener bleeding apparently solved.

[ron ll]

My 1943 boat is fastened with iron nails and in past years it always developed a lot of rust stains on the hull a few months after its new paint. Needless to say, it seriously detracted from its appearance. At last year's haulout, I tackled the problem with a procedure that appears to have worked well.

At each rust spot, I dug out the filler or bung and scraped the nailhead to solid metal as best I could. I then sprayed in ospho with a squirt bottle and let that stand for a day. I then brushed in Smiths penetrating epoxy into each hole (jammed it in with an old brush actually). After another day, I filled the hole with epoxy putty (I know, probably not that wood-friendly, but the bungs were too rough for plugs.) Then a coat of shellac based primer (Kilz) and then paint. I should also point out that this boat has had latex house paint on her topsides for several years, and I see no reason to change. Not a lot of gloss, but its a workboat look that is appropriate for this converted troller.

I'm very happy to report that almost a year later, there is absolutely NO sign of rust bleeding thru which is a real treat compared to past years.

I'm sure rusty fastenings have been discussed here before, as well as other solutions. But I just wanted to report that this seems to have worked well for me.

[Bob Cleek]

Yep, that is about as good as it gets. I have found, however, that the method you describe will end up bleeding in a few years, although much less than without it. Next haul out, I'm going to try also spraying some of that aerosol "galvanizing" paint on the fastening heads. I used it on some bare mild steel fence fittings and it worked amazingly well. Maybe it will do the same in a bung hole!

[Gary E]

I then sprayed in ospho with Whatz "ospho"?

[ron ll]

Ospho = Osphoric Acid

(edited the next day after giving a bit more thought to it smile.gif )

Probably Phosphoric acid, not Osphoric acid.

from www.ospho.com: (http://www.ospho.com:)
"SKYCO OSPHO: a balanced formula of Phosphoric, Dichromate, Wetting Agents and Extenders . . ."

[ 12-16-2005, 11:20 AM: Message edited by: ron ll ]

[ssor]

Originally posted by Gary E:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr /> I then sprayed in ospho with Whatz "ospho"?</font>[/QUOTE]A proprietary liquid from Hamilton Marine. It treats iron oxides and converts them to iron phosphates.
I kept an old car from falling apart with it for about ten years.

[Lew Barrett]

Here's a trick I learned from a pro here in Seattle for removing all the rusty bits from a nail or screw head, and fast, too. Chuck up a short piece of stainless wire in your drill. Use the kind of wire you'd make lifelines from in a thickness appropriate to your needs. You can buy it by the foot at a chandler. The wire frays out just enough to do the job, and gentle pressure and rotation from the drill makes the heads shiny in a flash. Then the ospho and all the other stuff goes over just as you say.
Sadly, there are probably thousands of those buggers in there just waiting to bust out sooner or later. The ones you've treated are done for but new ones have a habit of appearing just when you thought it was safe to go out. It's a process.
Ospho, by the way, is also great when applied over a stain created by one of the little Ba%^&^ds you may have missed, and will get you through for a few days when the admiral is doing a fleet inspection. Wipe it on, wipe it off, maybe rub a little on the really stubborn spots and the rust is gone! Flush immediately with water. But until you do the complete encapsulation trick, it will be back......
Lew

[QUOTE]Originally posted by ron ll:
[QB]My 1943 boat is fastened with iron nails and in past years it always developed a lot of rust stains on the hull a few months after its new paint. Needless to say, it seriously detracted from its appearance. At last year's haulout, I tackled the problem with a procedure that appears to have worked well.

At each rust spot, I dug out the filler or bung and scraped the nailhead to solid metal as best I could.

[ron ll]

Lew: Great idea with the chucked stainless wire. But from the looks of "Rita", its hard to believe she has ever had a rust spot.