Insignia cloth wide enough for UV strip

[pjsgsy]

Hi all,

Anyone point me to a supplier in the UK (or shippable) of Insignia cloth, wide enough for a UV strip, about 150-200mm wide in my case. Want about 9 meters. Seems widely available in US, but can't seem to find it here. Plenty tape on reels, but only 50mm wide in most cases. Thanks.

 

[PuffTheMagicDragon]

Hi all,

Anyone point me to a supplier in the UK (or shippable) of Insignia cloth, wide enough for a UV strip, about 150-200mm wide in my case. Want about 9 meters. Seems widely available in US, but can't seem to find it here. Plenty tape on reels, but only 50mm wide in most cases. Thanks.

Does it have to be "Insignia cloth"? If it is for an UV strip you might want to consider the self-adhesive cloth that is specially made for that purpose by Sunbrella and others.

 

[Sandy]

Hi all,

Anyone point me to a supplier in the UK (or shippable) of Insignia cloth, wide enough for a UV strip, about 150-200mm wide in my case. Want about 9 meters. Seems widely available in US, but can't seem to find it here. Plenty tape on reels, but only 50mm wide in most cases. Thanks.

Speak to your sailmaker.

 

[lw395]

Pointnorth
ADHESIVE DACRON | Profabrics

They also do the proper stuff.
Not sure how UV resistant the self adhesive cloth will be.

Good supplier used them now and then for years.

 

[thinwater]

I'd like to learn more about the possibilities of paint. On your house or car, we know that paint is far more durable and lasts longer than Insignia Cloth.

I started testing samples several years ago and finally proceeded to a paint that I used on the genoa a year ago. So far it looks like new and I'm impressed. I've had several of both Sunbrella and UV dacron that failed. Common paints fail, but there are flexible exterior paints that do very well.

Any experiences? I would do Sunbrella for a cruising sail, but I don't think I would waste my time on insignia cloth again.

 

[dunedin]

Our North jib, new in 2012, had UV paint/coating on the leech. All the stitching fell apart spectacularly in just 2015. Had to spend an entire day resewing the leech. Had cloth UV strip fitted over the winter.
I was later told by North that the coating needed to be renewed each year, but not sure if that was accurate or a brush off.

 

[thinwater]

Our North jib, new in 2012, had UV paint/coating on the leech. All the stitching fell apart spectacularly in just 2015. Had to spend an entire day resewing the leech. Had cloth UV strip fitted over the winter.
I was later told by North that the coating needed to be renewed each year, but not sure if that was accurate or a brush off.

I spoke with a North rep about that. They have basically discontinued the practice, but my understand was that this was not because it could not work, but because they didn't take the time to re-engineer it. They just just took the advertising paints, slapped on a single coat, and offered it as a performance thing and a super yacht thing. It was not economical for them, because they needed to provide drying time which ties up valuable loft space, so they used a fast drying paint, which was mistake, and it blew up in their face. Remember that paints must be very well cured before folding or they will stick to each other over time. The process is just not a good fit for a commercial loft.

I took the samples I had exposed for 2 years and then sub-jected them to a severe flutter test. The control (no sun) samples failed at the same time as the best paints. The poor paints and un-coated samples failed much sooner, particularly with laminates.

DIYs on the other hand have time. We can use 2 coats, let it dry, and then leave the sail loose in the basement for a week before rolling it up and taking it to the boat.

The DIY is also typically talking about a used sail that realistically, is nearing the end of its useful (goodshape ) life. Is it better to use the right paint and save the money towards a new sail in 3 years, or put a cover on a sail that is already a little tired and try to stretch it to 5-6 years? I don't think think a cover is the right answer in all cases. It depends on the sail and weather shape matters.

Apples and oranges.

 

[lw395]

Many years ago, I was pretty skint and owned a racing dinghy. Its cover was made of that heavily coated fabric similar to that used for 'curtainside' delivery lorries. It had gone porous after many years in the sun. Not being keen to spend a month's beer money on a new cover, I tried painting the old one with polyurethane gloss paint.
It worked OK.
It was waterproof and didn't flake off, presumably because the old surface was quite rough.
It didn't fold up very well in winter, kind of came off the boat in a near-rigid sheet.
It lasted a couple of years then I got a better job and bought a newer boat.

These days I wash my dinghy cover with car shampoo. A bit of wax might absorb a little UV and helps avoid the bird poo sticking.