clean the kite

[feelxitxburn]

ive got some dirt stains where the up and down shafts are. is there any way i can clean the sail? i was reading the manual and it says dont use soap. ideas?

btw thought i should share these

i've gotten real dark since ive started kite flying

[audioRob]

Love the handles haha

[feelxitxburn]

very sexy due to someones suggestion

[Dorsal]

Don't bother paying attention to AudioKnob - - the rest of us usually ignore him anyway.

I've washed lots of kites with soap, and have never had any problem or created any. Just use the same stuff you would use on your body, and rinse the sail completely. Then allow it to completely dry before rolling it up and storing it in the bag. I usually leave the kite assembled while I wash it, and always leave it assembled while it dries.

[audioRob]

Hey, not nice

Those handles wouldn't exist if he ignored me Super cheap, adjustable, and affordable, cant beat that.

[monkey]

Having met and flown with Audiorob, I'll vouch for his being a standup kinda good guy I'd happily fly with again. Not sure about his hair lately however.

And also, yes, the last rev that I cleaned up went into a washing machine, on a light setting and a little soap. Bridle and frame were removed of course. Trust me, it was one dirty Rev 1 that looked like it'd been sitting in some coke (cola) for years. Now? Its hard to tell which one was the dirty one, they are both about the same :

[feelxitxburn]

Those handles wouldn't exist if he ignored me Super cheap, adjustable, and affordable, cant beat that.

pfft yea they were. i made 3 sets over the past couple weeks. all together it cost me a whopping 7 bucks and they work amazing now if only i can see how a 60* elbow works.

[ant man]

i use hot soapy water and a gentle wipeing with a soft cloth then let the sail dry while held open i dont do it in the sun due to fadeing i do it in my basement

[John Barresi]

Barry "Bazzer" Poulter recommended putting a dirty sail into a tub of hot water with some Woolite for a couple of hours... Haven't tried it myself.

[ant man]

a tub sounds good i wonder if wollite would be to strong and wear the decals off the sail

[Penny Lingenfelter]

You guys brought back some great memories of kites laying all over hotel rooms drying. Imagine what a group of kitefliers rooms look like after flying in wet weather.

Bet a few of you smile when you think about a lot of wet kites drying.

BB

Penny

[ant man]

we all have days like this my house looks like a kite shop sometimes

[ilh]

Speaking of kite cleaning, my 1.5 needs its first bath after playing in the ocean on a very gorgeous September day at Crane Beach, MA.

[Dorsal]

Hose it off, dry it out, remove all the sand from inside the ferrules and you're ready to go.

[ant man]

couldnt have put it better myself dorsal

[Penny Lingenfelter]

My preferred way of cleaning would be to go back to the beach, rinse it off in the ocean and fly it till it's dry.

BB

Penny ~ reaching for the hose to get the salt off of her kite.

[ant man]

you could do that in a fresh water lake i do it all the time but never in salt water

[Bazzer]

As Jon Wrote in an earlier post. I have been cleaning off all of my kites using Woolite.

Warm water and a capfull or two of Wooloite.

The detergent is made for delicate fabrics. Let soak for a while a stir around every now and again.

Then rinse and drip dry or towel dry. If you don't like the idea of soaking apply with a sponge and lightly scrub then rinse and dry.

I use the soaking technique to remove glue stick used in the production process.In conjunction with the warm water it lifts dirt muck and glue from the kite skin.

Keeping a kite in good condition for sellling is always a problem for me. The beaches as we all know are not the cleanest places on earth.

This process I have found to work very well and has not damaged any of my sails. Including the spray painted ones.(they just soak for an hour or so with out scrubbing ).

Hope this cleans up the problem.

Bazzer

[Jim Foster]

I have had the same problem. Mine was caused by the coating wearing off and the carbon frm the spar rubbing on the kite. I washed it off with mild soap and water. I then re-coated the spars with Krylon Crystal Clear Acrylic Coating #1303. I now re-doat whenever the spar gets dull. No more marks on my kites.