what about restoring "crispness" to old sails

jaas75

Member
Hi guys surfing around the internet i found this advice.

quote:
Mix polyester resin with mentholated spirits (20% metho) This thins out the resin and makes it easier to work. Then work the resin into the sail, one side only needed, with a rag. Try to spread it as much as you can as you don’t need to soak the sail, the resin only need to be rubbed into the surface. I use about 250ml per 8m2 of sail. That is about $10. Leave the sail a couple of days and you will have a crisp sail again. Leave for about a week then use. You have just saved thousands on the cost of a new sail.

the natural consensus is that the shape will still be baggy and performance wont be greatly increased, BUT the experimenter side of me wants to try this theory;):p. (i know its not the greatest idea but common guys lets do a brainstorm;) )

any ideas or alternatives of how can i do this?
1- resin with no hardener ????
2- can epoxy be used??
3-what about clear waterbased polyester resin, diluted with water
4-what percentage of resin/acetone or denatured alcohol
5- read on a kite forum they use scothguard waterproof spray to return the crispy feeling to kites


 
in all seriousness sailrite offers sail reconditioning they re-cut re-shape old sails and then press the old sail with resins to return the crispiness. So the re-resin is not out of the blue concept .
i guess the number 6 question is how can we recreate the sailrite process of applying resin back to the sails in a DIY way:confused:
 
A practical application problem:

The sail needs to be spread out on a properly curved surface so you get the right shape and are not gluing it into a wadded up mess.

Got a 25 ft X 20 ft (for the sails used on a boat under 20 ft long...) "table" you can warp to the curves?

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1- resin with no hardener ???? will just be applying goo that you'll need to wash out of the sail
2- can epoxy be used?? Good way to turn the sail into a brittle rock that won't work properly
3-what about clear waterbased polyester resin, diluted with water. Might work temporarily... Might not. If it fails it can destroy the sail
4-what percentage of resin/acetone or denatured alcohol Part of why you pay the professionals... they know how to do it right
5- read on a kite forum they use scothguard waterproof spray to return the crispy feeling to kites Would probably help a bit.
 
Make sure to use the low setting, usually marked polyester, when you iron in the starch. Then you just need to keep the sail dry! Scotchguard seems more promising.
 
Properly thinned, each of these ideas has some merit (except the "goo" part) :oops:. Why not try each of these ideas on different sections of your sail?

I've used an expensive water-based stain on wood which, properly thinned, might work. I had been considering spray-starch and an iron set on low, but that sounded too much like "work". :confused:

An inexpensive $2 "try" could be found here:
Log Home Stain | UV Guard Advance Clear Wood Finish- Sample
 
thxs guys,definitely sound like fun experiments, do i really need to iron the sail for starch to work?? or can i just spray and wait to dry??
 
I'm not sure how well it would stand up to a wet environment, with or without ironing, but it would be a cheap to try it and if it doesn't stand up to water, just hose it off and try something else.
 
thxs sailcrafti that sounds good:) (around how much you think postage would be?


A practical application problem:

The sail needs to be spread out on a properly curved surface so you get the right shape and are not gluing it into a wadded up mess.

Got a 25 ft X 20 ft (for the sails used on a boat under 20 ft long...) "table" you can warp to the curves?

fhhuber i dont get the reason for the warp table? i was under the impression i just needed to rub the sails with the resin and a more or less straight table to avoid to many wrinkles.
 

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