Chrysler Sailors Forum

I have it soaking in Oxy clean and water over night then I will hang it and hose it off in the morning and on the boat to set sail Friday morning.

I'm hopeing to get the boat ready for Pirate Sail in a few weeks, I like showing off how nice the Chryslers are

Yeah, I'll be interested too. I want to scrub the suncover on my 150 in prep to sell it. I've had good success with Tide and a scrub brush before, but sometimes stains remain.

Hi, I use this method too! I had my sails soaking for 3-4 hours, hosed off and air dryed hanging between the trees,

Works great!!

Resalts my very , our main still doesn't look like the new jib , but the water was near black before draining the tub and could have gone a 2nd washing if I didn't wait to the last minute.

The first mate was suprised how well it worked. LOL there is a reason I tried not takeing pictures of the main sail before now.

I'm tring to save some allowance to semd the main out to Sail Care to see it they can do what they did to the C-22's genoa.

Mario,
Curious about your comment about Sail Care. What all did they do for your genoa, and what are you thinking to have done on the Main??

Sail Care did an amazing job on cleaning the genoa you see in my avatar, it looks and feels like a new sail... i can wait to use it.

Being very new to sailing with the C-22 I wouldn't have cared what the difference between a new sail or my old ones, the cost difference in getting a good sail rejuvinated by Sail Care is well worth it





this comming fom the Nav station on shaken Knot Stirred on the hook in the middle of nowhere .

Mario G wrote: this comming fom the Nav station on shaken Knot Stirred on the hook in the middle of nowhere .

That's just cool

I oxycleaned my sails this spring, although no overnight soak. I let each soak for about 2 hours, then scrubbed with a soft brush, then rinsed repeatedly.

They don't look new, but they do look noticeably better.

How much Oxy Clean per tub? I assume you did it in the bath tub.

sharps4590 wrote:How much Oxy Clean per tub? I assume you did it in the bath tub.

It was a very scientific ratio called "a bunch". I think about 6 scoops using the scoop that comes in the Oxy Clean tub.

My buddy and I did his main in a plastic barrel with oxy clean with an overnight soak, and some gentle agitation off and on. It came out much better after hanging the sail and rinsing very well with a hose. A few stains didn't come out but they were mostly rust stains, and small. I did mine with a little laundry soap and a soft brush, it didn't come out any better than his did and was much more work.

Everyone can put this in the "for what it's worth" column. We didn'thave enough Oxy-Clean to do much and I didn't want to go back to town, 20 miles, but we did have Biz and non-bleach Tide. Yesterday I took the most filthy pair of sails I've ever seen, (granted, I haven't seen a lot), and put them in a vat of of the Biz/Tide, agitated them by hand, changed out the god-awful filthy, black water, did it again and let them soak for 4-5 hours. There is not a soul on the face of the earth who could have convinced me those sails would come out devoid of all but one minor stain, now near invisible, on the main. Except for that they look as new. I certainly would have used the Oxy-clean but this method worked wonders on those two sails.

Vic

OK, Heard about SailCare here and decided to try them.. here is my expereince;

PROS:
1) they are a nice family business.
2) my sail came back VERY clean - like new

CONS:

1) expensive for what they do.. they did upsell me on some more work on my sail that added to the price alot but I could have said no!

2) they lost my sail.. they boast that they get all the sails out no matter what - before memorial day.. two weeks later no sail.. I called and they had no idea about my sail... all sails were gone already..the next day they were still looking for it.. ( I had a few sleepless nights..) they did finally find it and ship it to me..

3) the first time I raised the nice clean sail... two sail slides fell off.. I never had that happen and part of the reason I sent it there was for them to resew all the loose sail track slides....and I paid for that too...

BOTTOM LINE:

not likely to use them again.

Yikes NYCSAILOR! I was concerned by my $1.59 that I splurged on cleaning my sails in my own tube that I was not getting that extra sewing repair/inspection the sail sail cleaners do.

Now I feel a little better.

Thanks
Alan

My only two cents is that every sailmaker, (Yes I know three),I have ever talked to says the same thing, Chlorine bleach will break down sails in a heartbeat, while peroxide bleach (OXY Clean) breaks them down 1000 times more slowly. They all say RINSE, RINSE, RINSE. It is imperitive to get all of it off and out. When you think they are rinsed off, rinse them three more times. It will lessen the life of your sails, if left on the dacron in any amount.

Hey,

Make no mistake about it.. the sial came back CLEAN!! it was just like new.

BUT.... the slides have been on there from the original manuf. a few were "loose" so I had them attended to by SailCare. two fell off the minute they hit the track... I don't know whether that was due to shoddy workmanship or too strong a cleaning process breaking down the threads.. for clarification, the plastic slides did not break.. it was the "whipping" or threads that hold them to the sail that jsut came out as if the sewer was in a reall big hurry or something..

I have yet to contact Sailcare for their reaction so I don't know what the customer service will do ( or can do) about it! either way I have to make through the whole sailing seasonlike this as I am NOT going to send my main back for two weeks to them in the middle of the sailing season.

I will call them and see what they say and report back..

They claim to do ANYTHING related to sails.. replace your insignia, new numbers , new rope, down haul.. out haul. make a new sail, etc.. and they will try and convince you to get more work done ( they sold me!).

j42goose wrote:My only two cents is that every sailmaker, (Yes I know three),I have ever talked to says the same thing, Chlorine bleach will break down sails in a heartbeat, while peroxide bleach (OXY Clean) breaks them down 1000 times more slowly. They all say RINSE, RINSE, RINSE. It is imperitive to get all of it off and out. When you think they are rinsed off, rinse them three more times. It will lessen the life of your sails, if left on the dacron in any amount.

Oh my, now I'm thinking back, I did rinse it good, but did I rinse it enough

I think I'll pull them out and rinse them down again just in case. Dry and re-stow them.

Thanks
Alan

I assure you Alan that I was not intending that to be a scare tactic, however it was stressed to me by the people who know, that it is essential to the long life of the sail. I felt the same way when I worked on mine last year. Did I get it all off?

Jay-
What did you use to clean your sails?

Well Mark,

I followed this handwritten recipe:
(Dacron)
General Cleaning:
Mix a mild soap solution in a bucket, or use this solution: Dilute 2 Tbs Woolite and 1-2 cups vinegar in 1 gallon water

Spot Cleaning:
Rust: Soak the area in a 5% solution of oxalic acid dissolved in hot water. Follow this with a 2% solution of hydrochloric acid in warm water and, finally, and then rinse the spot well with clear water.
Number adhesive: Soak the area in cleaner's benzene until the adhesive can be rubbed away with a rag.
Oil, tar, and varnish: Use trichloroethylene either by itself or in solution with a liquid detergent.
Mildew: "To remove mildew sailcloth manufacturers recommend a highly diluted solution of Sodium Hypochlorite (3-5%). Because it is toxic to you and the environment, I object to the use of bleach, whether Chlorine or Peroxide, except as a last resort. I have also heard and common sense leads me to believe that bleach strips the coating from thread and leaves stitching vulnerable to UV damage. Never use bleach on nylon or laminated sails!"

As far as my sails were concerned: I used the woolight/vinegar solution on all sails, which worked very well. on my Chinese knock-off jib I did use some OXY-clean on bad areas where there were no seams. On my main I did the same. On my gorgeous Hood Loft 170 Genoa, I used the woolight/vinegar and that was all I was willing to risk. It then got a nice shot of McLube. (the most expensive and wonderful stuff). When I have time to work on the others some more I will again start with the woolight/vinegar, then possibly move on to the other chemicals. After which McLube for all!

Wow, that was long winded, don't share that recipe with just anyone

Thanks Jay! Your secret is safe--I'll keep it just between you and me!

a little off topic but whats good to clean your cushions, mine have no tears and are in remarable shape minus the black crap they have formed on them from sitting sealed up in the boat for so long
dave

I am new to the group. Just purchased a C26 that has been sitting for years. Since my cushions have zippers I took the covers off and put them in the washing machine. This will do till I picj out new fabric to relace the lovely 70's decor