Best solution for cleaning sails
- Thread starter Crazy Dave Condon
- Start date
I used to have a local guy with a sail cleaning business $.50/ sq. ft., every loft in S. Calif. used him until the drought closed him. I do know from experience not to do it on a redwood deck, you'll be picking splinters out of the seams forever. I've been trying to figure a good way to clean my main for a year. I daydream of renting an industrial building and installing a Doughboy.
I have had some luck (not perfect) by putting my sail in a 60 gal. trash can (new and clean of course) adding a bottle of woolite... put the sail in (loosely rolled up) and filled the can with water and let the sail soak for a few days. I then laid it out on a concrete patio and with a brush gently touched up the stubborn spots and then hosed off the sail. It looked a lot better but it did not look like a new sail.
This is what I use to clean sails. It's called CS-530, and it's sold in 40 pound boxes by Challenge Sailcloth through their distributor network. They do not sell it directly to the public. I'm a distributor. If anybody wants to buy a whole box, I can order it for you, but I'm not in the business of selling it for profit or of cleaning sails. It's about $200 per box, plus shipping.
You might order a box and then have a sail cleaning party. (^;
It works really well to remove mildew, blood and other organic stains, but not rust (metalic stains) or grease. It will not harm dacron, nylon spinnakers, acrylic (sunbrella like), and laminates. It doesn't damage adhesives in the laminate nor the exotic fibers.
Nothing will make a horribly yellowed or stained dacron sail look like new, but CS-530 does a good job of making most dirty sails look whiter.
It's available only in 40 pound boxes, which is enough to clean quite a few dacron sails, and almost as many laminate sails. It takes about 12 pounds to clean 3 dacron, nylon, etc sails from a 35 foot boat. It takes about double that concentration for laminates. You can reuse the solution a couple of times. You can use it in an inflatable kiddy pool, bath tube, galvanized tube, etc. It takes a couple of hours to clean dacron sails, and overnight for laminates.
About oxyclean and chlorox:
If you use either of these to clean dacron polyester sails, be sure to use very dilute solutions or else you will damage the polyester cloth.
Dacron will get yellow from exposure to UV or exposure to bleaches in high concentration, both of which irreparably damage the bonds in polyester. I have tested old dacron sails with highly concentrated bleach and oxyclean solutions. The concentrated solutions of chlorox and of oxyclean made the dacron yellowed and brittle
All the manufacturers of sailcloth specifically recommend that you don't use Clorox on laminates or nylon. I've never tested them to see what happens.
Edit: corrected last sentence.
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The February 2018 Practical Sailor says Oxiclean. For those of you who are subscribers here is a link. https://www.practical-sailor.com/is...Safe-Sail-Cleaning_12353-1.html#story-paywall
Cabinet catch for many Hunters
These catches were common on Hunters from the Legend-era through today's Marlow-Hunters. We keep a large stock on hand for emergency shipments or just getting spares.
See the product
CS-530 has te same chemical base as Oxiclean, with minor amounts of surfactant (detergent) added. Of course, you should follow the manufacture instructions, but there is very, very little risk to polyester or laminate if used according to directions. US dilute materials but with very long soak times, generally over 4 hours. Also very good on Sunbrella, though it will reduce the water repelancy, requiring re-treatment. It's a good product.
Oxygen bleaches, like CS-530 and Oxiclean are only sold as powders because water solutions are only stable for about 8 hours. (liquid Oxiclean products are not percarbonate, they are just stain removers). Do not mix up more than you can use in 4 hours.
Chlorine bleach (which you shouldn't be using around a boat) is stable as long as it is not exposed to something it can oxidize. This is why you can buy liquid bleach.
(I've tested these at length, side by side with other cleaners, including strength testing.)
Chlorox (hypochlorite) and Oxiclean (percarbonate) have very little in common. With laminate sails, the percarbonate actually penetrates better. I can think of very few uses for Chlorox on a boat where something else is not actually better.
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All that said, I'm not a big fan of cleaning sails. It's just cosmetic and never makes them "better." It's something I only do when selling a boat.
Oxygen bleaches, like CS-530 and Oxiclean are only sold as powders because water solutions are only stable for about 8 hours. (liquid Oxiclean products are not percarbonate, they are just stain removers). Do not mix up more than you can use in 4 hours.
Chlorine bleach (which you shouldn't be using around a boat) is stable as long as it is not exposed to something it can oxidize. This is why you can buy liquid bleach.
(I've tested these at length, side by side with other cleaners, including strength testing.)
Chlorox (hypochlorite) and Oxiclean (percarbonate) have very little in common. With laminate sails, the percarbonate actually penetrates better. I can think of very few uses for Chlorox on a boat where something else is not actually better.
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All that said, I'm not a big fan of cleaning sails. It's just cosmetic and never makes them "better." It's something I only do when selling a boat.
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This may not be the best way, but here is what I have done in the past:
I bought five 8-foot 2x4's and built a frame that is 16' by 4'. I place it on a relatively level spot on the edge of my driveway and lay a piece of plastic sheeting into it.I fill with water and add a few squirts of Joy dish-washing liquid. I lay out the flaked sail along the trough and unfold a section at a time and put it into the water. I scrub gently with a long-handled soft brush and then pull the clean section out onto the lawn.I flip the sail over and repeat on the other side. Then I drag the sail onto the lawn, spread it out and rinse with a hose on both sides. Let dry and then fold. I do need to blow off a few grass clippings.
I bought five 8-foot 2x4's and built a frame that is 16' by 4'. I place it on a relatively level spot on the edge of my driveway and lay a piece of plastic sheeting into it.I fill with water and add a few squirts of Joy dish-washing liquid. I lay out the flaked sail along the trough and unfold a section at a time and put it into the water. I scrub gently with a long-handled soft brush and then pull the clean section out onto the lawn.I flip the sail over and repeat on the other side. Then I drag the sail onto the lawn, spread it out and rinse with a hose on both sides. Let dry and then fold. I do need to blow off a few grass clippings.
I used to use a local 2 person sail loft often and they would tongue lash me like a dental hygenist "You could at least rinse these once in a while you know, the salt and dirt build up and abrade the stitches and cloth".
I have no way to know how much truth there is in that, but since it used to be easy I've had them cleaned as needed for appearance. Now with the drought my back-up plan of sailing in the rain has not proven possible.
My understanding is that salt deposits are abrasive to the sails because salt crystals are square and have sharp edges. I don't know if this is a legitimate reason or some kind of folklore. But I do think that at least rinsing the sails with fresh water is a good idea. If I were at a dock, I would rinse periodically when there is no wind.
Around here the lofts all seem to use vacuwash.
It has been a few years since I had my sails washed by one of the local lofts. Mostly I just sail a lot including in the rain. I like sailing in the rain. A good downpour really rinses your sails and then a sunny day dries them. Overall I think if your sails look bad you either don't sail enough to keep the mildew at bay, or it is time for a new suit of sails.
It has been a few years since I had my sails washed by one of the local lofts. Mostly I just sail a lot including in the rain. I like sailing in the rain. A good downpour really rinses your sails and then a sunny day dries them. Overall I think if your sails look bad you either don't sail enough to keep the mildew at bay, or it is time for a new suit of sails.
Mediterranean sea salt makes an excellent water soluable abrasive for cleaning around the house. I clean shower floors, stove tops, pots and pans, etc. It'll tear up any cloth you use to scrub with.
I sail on the east coast, and if you sail enough to worry about abrasion, you sail in the rain occasionally. Perhaps that is why that concern does not resonate with me.