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Re: Tips and Tricks to Repair Kites - add your experience!
Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2018 11:55 am
by apollo4000
edt wrote: ↑Tue Apr 24, 2018 5:18 pm
looks good! i always cut it exactly as shown in the photo (minus the extra cut in the bladder)
Thanks mate. Wiped with alcohol, stuck the new valve on and then glued around the edge. Left for 24 hr and now waiting for an opportunity to pump the kite. It’s a little thing but I’m chuffed to bits with a little bit of diy.
Re: Tips and Tricks to Repair Kites - add your experience!
Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2018 5:27 pm
by apollo4000
All good to go! Great repair kit from DrTuba.
Re: Tips and Tricks to Repair Kites - add your experience!
Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2018 6:28 pm
by JaZone
had to repair a major leading edge blowout , cause when the kite torpedoe'd , and hit the reef.
didn't turn out too bad, and kite flies just as the way it did before the repair.
Re: Tips and Tricks to Repair Kites - add your experience!
Posted: Sun May 13, 2018 7:16 pm
by MutantWizard
Greets, my first post and thanks for the lot of tips found here.
Here is one of mine. Check the pic. This kite has seen a couple years of action when I bought it as my first and learned to ride on it. Attached it as high resolution so If you close up U will see along dacron on the trailing edge all the repairs. Fabric started falling apart from just touching it. That's when I treated the sail and its now as good if not better than when it was new. Here is how.
Pump up and open the kite. Get a small can of water based clear acrylic varnish or sometimes called acrylic emulsion. Usually this is intended for waterproofing exterior concrete walls. Mix half and half with water and apply one coat on each side of the sail. A brush or a roller is ok, just try not to be to liberal to prevent beads but still apply sufficient for it to soak into the sail fabric. It dries quickly and withing 15-20 minutes the sail is like a new plastic sheet. Try not to get any on the leading edge to prevent soak through and sticking the bladder to it. Welcome to your brand new kite!
Re: Tips and Tricks to Repair Kites - add your experience!
Posted: Mon May 14, 2018 6:29 am
by JaZone
Did you coat the entire canopy ?
Does it add a lot of weight to the kite ?
You should do some strength tests , to see if it actually is as strong as original.
Re: Tips and Tricks to Repair Kites - add your experience!
Posted: Thu May 17, 2018 4:33 am
by MutantWizard
JaZone wrote: ↑Mon May 14, 2018 6:29 am
Did you coat the entire canopy ?
Does it add a lot of weight to the kite ?
You should do some strength tests , to see if it actually is as strong as original.
Yes coat entire canopy if you want. Not really necessary on the dacron reinforced areas but its easy to do and makes it wind and water proof so why not.
It ads maybe about 100-200 grams which might be noticeable to a pro rider on a light wind kite but riding I cant tell the difference on any 12m or smaller kite.
You are welcome to do strength tests if you feel necessary. For me stretching it by hand was enough to know its more than good enough to ride. It becomes a reinforced plastic sheet. Windproof, waterproof and as close to original as you can get with a kite that was starting to fall apart almost by itself and was ready to be thrown into rubbish.
Keep in mind it works best after the original impregnation is gone as then the varnish soaks in completely into the canopy and no chance for peeling. That's why U should mix half / half with water. To help it soak in.
Re: Tips and Tricks to Repair Kites - add your experience!
Posted: Sat May 26, 2018 6:21 pm
by GregK
Some pictures of a recent welded LE bladder patch. The blow-out was at the edge seam, so a TearAid patch, which usually end up leaking along the edge seam, wasn't a good repair option. Pictures are taken right after a soapy water leak check of the patch.
Re: Tips and Tricks to Repair Kites - add your experience!
Posted: Sun May 27, 2018 1:42 pm
by JaZone
That bladder repair looks good.
Can you tell us more, about how you did it please.
Re: Tips and Tricks to Repair Kites - add your experience!
Posted: Sun May 27, 2018 6:41 pm
by GregK
Damaged bladder film inside the red marker rectangle is cut away and a piece of new bladder film slightly larger than the cut-out is thermally welded over top. The weld is 1/4-inch wide all around the perimeter of the cut-out, just outboard of the red line. 20% of the combined lap joint thickness is extruded out of the sides of the weld width.
Welding is done with micro-processor control of the welding process, similar to the equipment used to thermally weld or heat stake plastic injection-molded parts. However, with most bladders now down to 75 - 80 microns ( 0.003 inch ) thickness, the need for precise control of the welding process exceeds that typically required for most simple plastic part assemblies.
It's not a simple DIY job using home equipment or a plastic bag sealer, it's a professional repair, guaranteed problem-free for the life of the kite, transferable to a new owner if the kite is sold. About as good as it gets IMO.
Re: Tips and Tricks to Repair Kites - add your experience!
Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2018 7:56 am
by sarc
I'm very interested in this fix as my kite still flies well but canopy is very weak. However years ago I tried a similar fix using spray-on engine lacquer (was recommended in a different forum) and there was no measurable benefit. But this was a different material than GregK is using! So I'd be very interested to hear more from Greg or anyone else with experience with this acrylic varnish (and Greg keep us updated on results if you can!) Cheers!
MutantWizard wrote: ↑Sun May 13, 2018 7:16 pm
Greets, my first post and thanks for the lot of tips found here.
Here is one of mine. Check the pic. This kite has seen a couple years of action when I bought it as my first and learned to ride on it. Attached it as high resolution so If you close up U will see along dacron on the trailing edge all the repairs. Fabric started falling apart from just touching it. That's when I treated the sail and its now as good if not better than when it was new. Here is how.
Pump up and open the kite. Get a small can of water based clear acrylic varnish or sometimes called acrylic emulsion. Usually this is intended for waterproofing exterior concrete walls. Mix half and half with water and apply one coat on each side of the sail. A brush or a roller is ok, just try not to be to liberal to prevent beads but still apply sufficient for it to soak into the sail fabric. It dries quickly and withing 15-20 minutes the sail is like a new plastic sheet. Try not to get any on the leading edge to prevent soak through and sticking the bladder to it. Welcome to your brand new kite!