Washed my Sails
Posted: Sat Dec 22, 2012 11:58 am
Noticed it this winter when I laid out the #4 that I made (reconstructed) on top the Genny I got off e-bay just how dirty and rust stained my sails were...
I wanted them to look "presentable" on the lake considering all the work I did to spruce up the boat...More like this...
I looked at the main and laid a "comparison patch on it at the head and the reef point
Then went to work following the suggestions I gleaned from RichH and others...
Big Tub (about the size of cockpit floor) and small bucket of Sodium Silicate Detergent...Soaked sails one at a time for 3 days..Stirring a couple times a day with a canoe paddle ((Just weren't clean enough after a couple hours or even overnight)...
Dumped tub and rinsed with clean water...Then to get rid of rust stains, I mixed a bucket with a gallon of water and half a small bucket of Oxalic Acid and scrubbed the "rusty" ares with the brush on a tarp I laid out on the lawn...Then back in the rinse water for another day to let the rust remover do it's work...
Rinsed one more time and hung out on a line to dry...
Sails look much more presentable cleaner whiter and no noticeable rust staining, but still a little "wrinkly"...I'm still tempted to "iron" them but will wait to see what stretching them out sailing on the lake does...(they'll just get wrinkly when I put them in the bag anyway..)
Whole project less than $50...
I wanted them to look "presentable" on the lake considering all the work I did to spruce up the boat...More like this...
I looked at the main and laid a "comparison patch on it at the head and the reef point
Then went to work following the suggestions I gleaned from RichH and others...
Big Tub (about the size of cockpit floor) and small bucket of Sodium Silicate Detergent...Soaked sails one at a time for 3 days..Stirring a couple times a day with a canoe paddle ((Just weren't clean enough after a couple hours or even overnight)...
Dumped tub and rinsed with clean water...Then to get rid of rust stains, I mixed a bucket with a gallon of water and half a small bucket of Oxalic Acid and scrubbed the "rusty" ares with the brush on a tarp I laid out on the lawn...Then back in the rinse water for another day to let the rust remover do it's work...
Rinsed one more time and hung out on a line to dry...
Sails look much more presentable cleaner whiter and no noticeable rust staining, but still a little "wrinkly"...I'm still tempted to "iron" them but will wait to see what stretching them out sailing on the lake does...(they'll just get wrinkly when I put them in the bag anyway..)
Whole project less than $50...