Sail woes.

[btsunfish]

Hi
My sail has some rust stains on it (from where? Are there any steel parts on a fish?) that I'd like to remove. I've heard that you can use wood bleach on hulls, but what about sails?

I also have another sail which I washed as follows:
Placed in a clean plastic garbage can with laundry detergent and water, agitated with an old corn broom and let soak for +/- 36hr.
Treated mildew satins with Oxy-Clean stain remover (spray on liquid) according to instructions
Washed sail, 1 cycle, in a high effeciency frontloader, extra rinse and prewash, low spin
Ran washing machine on 3 "rinse and spin" cycles, no spin
Dried sail on a clothesline
Did I damage the sail? I had heard on the forum that you were never supposed to wash sails in a washing machine, but a family friend who has sailed nearly his whole life claims he washes his sails like this every year. He has sailed with many different types of sails, including Dacron (Sunfish sail material?)

The sail in question above has faded somewhat. The same friend said that I could re-dye the sail if I wanted to. Is this possible? Has anyone tried to re-dye a sail?
Thanks for your help,
BRIAN

 

[Wayne]

Hi
My sail has some rust stains on it (from where? Are there any steel parts on a fish?) that I'd like to remove. I've heard that you can use wood bleach on hulls, but what about sails?

Check with North Sail Care
http://na.northsails.com/SailCare/SailCareTips/tabid/1927/language/en-US/Default.aspx

I also have another sail which I washed as follows:
Placed in a clean plastic garbage can with laundry detergent and water, agitated with an old corn broom and let soak for +/- 36hr.
Treated mildew satins with Oxy-Clean stain remover (spray on liquid) according to instructions
Washed sail, 1 cycle, in a high effeciency frontloader, extra rinse and prewash, low spin
Ran washing machine on 3 "rinse and spin" cycles, no spin
Dried sail on a clothesline
Did I damage the sail? I had heard on the forum that you were never supposed to wash sails in a washing machine, but a family friend who has sailed nearly his whole life claims he washes his sails like this every year. He has sailed with many different types of sails, including Dacron (Sunfish sail material?)

Remember a sail is a wing and maintaining shape is everything. I think there are two issues with a washing machine. First is the agitation of a top-loader. Sails are large and probably twist around the agitator rather than roll in the vortex between the agitator and the tub. The rubbing, pulling and twisting of this action would promote premature deformation by putting a lot of stress on the fabric. I don't know where a front loader fits into the equation. You'll need to ask North Sails that question. The other issue is the spin cycle. I see this flattening the fabric against the drum and making sharp creases.

The sail in question above has faded somewhat. The same friend said that I could re-dye the sail if I wanted to. Is this possible? Has anyone tried to re-dye a sail?

If the sail dates back to the 1960s it might be Nylon. Nylon will take a dye, but you absolutely must do it cold. Boil a sail and its ruined! Dacron Polyester will not take dye, at least the dye from the grocery store. Sail Care may have a process, I don't know. The size to cost ratio gets way out of proportion for small sails and commercial restoration services.
http://www.sailcare.com

 

[btsunfish]

I've decided to fix my rust-stained sail rather than re-dye the other one. I've already replaced the corroded grommets, but I still need to get the rust out. I've heard that non-chlorine bleach or wood bleach might work. Has anyone tried either of theese to remove rust stains?

 

[Zeppo]

Oxalic acid has some ability to get rust out. These sails sound old and probably not worth making a career out of restoring. Try the Oxalic acid. The sails can be cleaned by laying them on the lawn and scrubbing with mild soap and water. Hang to rinse and dry. Forget trying to re-dye your sail. If the sail with the rust stains is a white sail you could paint the areas with a latex or acrylic paint (if spots aren't too large).

 

[reginacpa]

I have used oxalic acid with good results. I basically wet the rust spot, poured on some of the powder and it ate it away without harming the sail. You might also see if they sell Whink's at your local Walmart or hardware store. That is supposed to be pretty good.