Sunday, October 27, 2019

Painted UV Strip

Crazy? Probably, but I had an old dog of a sail that wouldn't withstand stitching and needed something.  I tested some paints on test panels, chose one of the best, and ...


... after three a seasons it's still looking good, no pealing.

This is an inflatable paint I have used before (MDR Amazon Inflatable Boat Paint), so I'm not expecting any trouble. It seems to stretch with the cloth and I know it can handle the sun. Would I spec a new sail that way? Undecided.

A full report will be in Practical Sailor next year.

5 comments:

  1. Should work great! Hope you’ll let us know...

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm thinking it will be a good option for older sails that don't justify a new sun cover. It might be smarter to paint the strip and save the sailmaker's fee towards a new sail a few years later.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I went back and re-read your blog posts about using the Amazon MDR inflatable paint years ago on your dinghy. I think that's the paint you used here, right? If so, I have a question for you. I see that it's original intention is a UV protector for inflatable boats. We have a pinhole leak on the underside of our dinghy....do you think it would work well there as well? My husband is ecstatic at the idea of a simple solution like this paint!

    ReplyDelete
  4. No, inflatable paint will not plug pinholes. The last time I rehabbed by dinghy it had some leaks. Inflate it, scrub it well, soap it up, and then look for bubbles. Patch them in the usual manner.

    ReplyDelete