Sail Care and Scotch Guard ... ??

[skip1930]

Any one have an idea if this would be worth it?

Wash-Dry-and Scotch Guard the sails?

Would that stiffen them up?

Hint: Remember the Drill Instructor who's uniform was bone dry and crisp while yours was a limp rag at Parris Island?

Soliciting opinions.

skip.

[alsantini]

Hi Skip.  I had an upholstery guy once tell me that Scotchguard should not be used on fabrics that are in the sun.  Do not have any verification of that.  Are your sails dirty?  Last year when I bought my Eclipse, the sails were filthy having filtered the air from Florida to Texas to Kansas with the 2 PO.  I bought a new garbage can, filled it with as hot a water as I had available, dumped in a whole container of Oxi-Clean (spelling) and dumped the sail in.  Every 15 min I would agitate the mix with a broom handle until the mix got cold.  Hung the sail in the sun and hosed off all the mix.  I had two small spots that did not come clean and I used West Marine Sail Cleaner and a stiff brush.  Sails were 100% brighter and cleaner.  The dingy look and gray color were gone and replaced with bright white - almost new looking.  Did the Genoa the same way with a fresh mix.  A bit time consuming but it worked really well.  Now when I travel long distance I take the sails off to help keep them cleaner.  That's my story and I am sticking to it.....      Al

[crazycarl]

I'll second what Alsantini said.

Oxi-clean in a new garbage can.

Just beware, if you empty it on your lawn, NOTHING will grow there for at least 2 years!

Don't ask how i know,

CC

[skip1930]

No my sails are clean and spotless. Tide Powder and a soft brush and a good rinse, dried in the back yard.
Looking to crisp them up.   I guess it's not Scotch Guard I'm looking for.

Thanx skip.

[Restharrow]

I've had several old, dirty, and floppy sails "refurbished " by Sail Care Inc. (Sailcare.com).  They are really expensive for the size sails we have on Com-Pacs - $0.95 per square foot.

Sails are measured, inspected for needed repairs, and the cloth checked for deterioration from the sun. Then the sails are carefully cleaned followed by the re-resining process of impregnating the cloth with resins and setting these resins with controlled heat.

In addition, a fungicidal agent is added to inhibit mildew growth, another is added for water repellency, and a third agent provides ultraviolet protection. All this is part of the LaMauney Process.

I've been very pleased with the results.  They can't make a blown sail return to life, but almost.

Steve
CP 25
Lake Champlain Vt and Coast of Maine

[skip1930]

Well, have to do some cyphering for next sailing season [too late now], Humm, the 155% headsail lapper and main are XXX many square foot at $0.95 a square. Looks like it ain't gonna happen this year the 'Queen' just voiced her opinion.

This morning the temp outside was 42 deg F. When will some heat come?

Thanx skip

[Craig]

If you have a pool you can just soak he sails overnight. Running the pump on high speed helps the process. Not perfect but does clean them up pretty well with little effort! I have not had to clean Kailani's sail yet, but my neighbor who has a Catalina 29 swears by it. His sails are over 10 years old and are holding up well.

[brackish]

Skip, that drill instructors uniform at Parris Island was stiff as a result of starch not scotch guard.  They didn't do that for the recruits, I know I was there.  

My Sail Care and  $.95/sq. ft. story.  I measured my main and figured out how much it would be to have Sail Care do the deed on it. I was considering putting the money into it or just save the money, sell the sail on the used market and buy a new main.  It was a close call, but I decided to send it to Sail Care.  When it got there I got an estimate back in about three days.  The estimate was considerably higher than what I had figured.  It turns out that they cannot do the process if you have numbers or insignia that are pressed on adhesively, they have to sew them on and they charge you.  In addition they found a couple of tiny holes certainly to small for my eyes, because I looked it over carefully and they were going to have to repair by putting a piece of tape on them and they had a charge in there for that.  In addition they were going to charge me $35 for return shipping and insurance, even though it only cost me $19 to send it to them and their web site said insurance was not necessary.  It seems that the sail had also grown a few sq.ft. from my carefully done measurement and Compacs stated area, and I was to be charged for that.  All in all with my shipping and the other charges it was about twice what I had estimated based on the $.95/ft. charge.   And at that point my choices were to have it sent back as is, investing $35 + 19 for shipping both ways or accept their estimate.  

To be fair I complained by email and someone called me, we had a long discussion where by I stated my original intention to compare to buying new or refurbing this ten year old sail, and I was disappointed that because I did not know about the extra charges I made a mistake sending it, I would have easily made the decision to buy new.  They did not charge me for the insignia sewing so that softened the blow considerably.  And also to be fair, they did a great job on the sail, although I don't know how long the process will hold up, I've only got one season on it at this point.

[deisher6]

I believe that they used the scotch guard on their woolen charlies and covers but not their utilities.
I happen to be in Beaufort, if I see a DI tomorrow I'll ask.
regards charlie

[philb Junkie19]

Skip, That's an image that hasn't come to mind in a long long time. Talk about squared away, which by the way, may be the direction stretched, baggy sails work best.