Sail Cleaning ?

[Bernard_Bill]

I rinse my sail and use detergent to clean it every so often, but detergent doesn't seem to get the persistent stains out.

What can be used to remove persistent stains?
Any ideas?

 

[sailchris]

I think any cleaning other than rinsing with fresh water is probably bad for the sail...but here are some ideas from a website that discusses cleaning of Dacron covered microlights:

Grease, Tar, Oil, etc.: Acetone rubbed on the spot with a clean cloth should remove these stains. After applying the acetone, clean area with a mild detergent and fresh water mixture. Be sure to properly rinse out all of the acetone from the sailcloth.

To remove rust stains, soak stained area in a solution of 2% hydrochloric acid and warm water. Or, soak the stain in oxalic acid for 15-30 minutes and then rinse thoroughly. You can get oxalic acid powder at a drug store. Use manufacturers recommendations about the amount of water to cut it with.

 

[Chainsaw]

I use this for rust flecks or unidentified stains that won't move with soap and water:

as the name suggests, it is a thick clear gel. Only good for spots, not the kind of thing you would smear all over the sail.

If my sails start to look a bit yellow or all over grubby i soak them in a tub of nappy wash overnight. It makes them nice and bright white again and removes lesser marks.

If that sort of thing ruins sails then I haven't noticed with my skill level.

I rinse down and dry my sail each time I use it if I know it will be stored for more than a few days. If I sail consecutive days I wash it once every three or four days.

 

[computeroman2]

Washing sails won't do anything to them. If you can rub them with Acetone (which you can, and is a preferred method of number removal), then they'll stand up to just about anything.
I would second both posts above.

 

[Quagers]

wow yea if you can put that nasty stuff on them anything else will be fine, i once melted a pen into a powderly lump by putting it in a bucket of that stuff.

 

[GBR 134]

I use to run a sailboat hire fleet and they get pretty manky over a seaon. The advice we got was 'fresh water only' however we got reasonable results by leaving them in a bath of water for 24 hours with soap flakes (brand Dreft in UK). Our sailmaker said this would be the least destructive and do less harm than any detergent. At least they always looked better and certainly smelt fresher!