Tips and Tricks to Repair Kites - add your experience!

[RedStar]

My fix and improvement is here
http://juhadiy.blogspot.com/

[kiteaid]

Hi,

We would like to announce the opening of a new KITEAID Repair Center in Comox on Vancouver Island, Canada. If you are ever in need of a professional repair service for your kite related issues, please give http://www.comoxkiterepair.ca/ a try!

You can reach Greg on his website: www.comoxkiterepair.ca

Good luck with your repairs!


The Kiteaid team

[posey]

anyone got any ideas when a Leading Edge Bladder wants to get "pregnant"? pictures included

[supachip1]

PICTURE 1,

i had 2 similar problems on my evo after not using talc powder before putting the LE back in, it creased like this. i used 2x 6"x6" patch of tear aid over the whole area, doesnt matter about the bulge being folded if this happens as the tear aid holds it and the bladder can only inflate as much as the kites LE stitching will allow..... but dont get too carried away pumping while not fitted looking for leaks as the tear aid doesnt stretch as much as the bladder.

PICTURE 2,

i had a 12m 06 waroo that blew beyond repair, i went to order a new one and found that the serial number i gave was the same as a 14m. so when the end popped out of the kite due to my lack of time fitting experiance i was able to pull enough bladder out of the end, roll it up, twist it a few times and fit it back in.

use lots of talc/baby/body powder all over the bladders when you refit them, the practly slip back into place.

[posey]

thanks for the advice supachip, i'll let ya know how it works out

Update: hellz yeah that worked, patched both of'em with the tear aid, let it sit pumped up for a good while, held nicely, only thing left to do is try to not nose dive it when i go out lol

[GregK]

If the Tear Aid doesn't hold, next thing to try is welding a patch of new kite bladder film over or around good edges of the blow-out. You can experiment with welding kite bladders yourself, or if you are OK with paying for a professional welded repair :

- in the UK - http://www.jonnieeisler.com/spage-repai ... tures.html

- in the USA - http://www.kitebladder.com/

- in Canada - http://www.comoxkiterepair.ca/Bladder_Repairs.php

To my knowledge, these are the only repair repair services offering bladder welding - maybe there are more ? - please post if you know of any more !!

If the remainder of the bladder is in good shape, it makes sense to weld-in a patch, as it's less expensive than replacing with new, and avoids wasting a bladder that is still useful, except for a relatively small area.

[KiteboardingTampaBay]

Here's a good video to share on how to replace a bad bladder valve-

http://kiteboardingtampabay.com/replaci ... valve.html

Summertime is coming up- Don't leave your kites in a hot car! Wink

Happy Kiting,
www.kiteboardingtampabay.com

[alexeyga]

Helped a friend to repair a kite that had a small tear in a really bad spot:





These of you who are more experienced will notice that the tear is really small, but it's one of these tears that will blow your canopy wide open from a kitten's fart. And to make matters worse, it is located near a seam, so we can't use dacron or KiteAid. Our other options were either to let a professional to sew it ($$$), or to use KiteFix which I totally hate most of the time. Couple of beers made the choice really easy and here's the result:



Not pretty - KiteFix never is. But it's solid as hell and guaranteed to outlast the rest of the kite.

I have to admit that out of all products i've tried so far (outside of professional services), KiteFix seems to be the most dependable one. As i've said, it's not the prettiest one or the easiest one to work with, neither it's the quickest one to dry. But when professional repair service is out of the questions (unreachable, no time, not worth it, etc...) and when you have at least 6-8 hours to let the glue set - it might be your best option.

I really like what KiteAid is capable of cosmetically, but I have yet to see a KiteAid patch that wouldn't peel off, even when prepped uber-anally (though I can't judge about the leading-edge patches as i've sold the kite i've repaired with it before getting any real after-repair flying time).

[eree]

i would first undo the stitches near the damaged place and then i'd use the rip-stop repair tape on the damaged part of teijin cloth. and after that i'd stitch whole stuff back together. dacron on the teijin and not the patch on the dacron!
in fact, i would not use this tar mesh on kites at all!! you can use duct tape on kites with the same unprofessional effect!

[GregK]

... And to make matters worse, it is located near a seam, so we can't use dacron .....

Not pretty - KiteFix never is.

Disagree with you on the first one above, a small Dacron sailcloth tape patch, properly applied ( patch edges rounded, area cleaned, tear edges aligned, tape adhesive set with heat & pressure ) on the underside and over the seam, would give you plently of time ( months, a season ), enough to combine it with a few other small tears or other repairs to make professional repair worthwhile.

Full agreement on the second one - but hey, with enough beer, even the lady at the bar looks delightful.