Tar removal and oil based products on kites

[bb16]

Hey all,

I recently noticed I have some thick patches of tar on my kite, both on the leading edge and the canopy.
I was thinking about using baby oil to remove the tar but then searching around the forum I saw mention of oil based products being detrimental to the kite material.

Would using butter followed by warm soapy water be better?

Also does anyone have any recommendations to get tar of lines?

Thanks for the help

[magic%20Ed]

First butter (real butter) to dissolve, then some mild (green) soap.

[edt]

you aren't likely to hurt kite material especially the canopy which is a long chain polyester cloth like technoforce t9600 with an oil solvent, people just say that because they don't know. test a small area before you do the whole kite, because it might bleach your kite. You can also try some trisodium phosphate it was made illegal in home detergents but you can still buy it at a hardware store.

[C Johnson]

I tried butter and soap and water with no luck when I had this happen last year.

Goo Gone was the only thing that really worked.

Its a citrus based nontoxic solvent. Stuff works really good for just about every sticky mess you can think of.

[edt]

I tried butter and soap and water with no luck when I had this happen last year.

Goo Gone was the only thing that really worked.

Its a citrus based nontoxic solvent. Stuff works really good for just about every sticky mess you can think of.

dont let the marketing bs fool you, goo gone is made from petroleum based solvents like mineral spirits, but the kite should be able to take this fine.

check out their hilariously ironic product description

Fresh citrus scent! All organic; no harsh solvents

Danger. Harmful or fatal if swallowed.

[cglazier]

Common paint thinner or varsol also work fine.

In my experience you can successfully clean the canopy which is polyester, but you may never get all the stains out of the leading edge which is dacron.

CG

[bb16]

Thanks for the help guys.
I am not so much concerned with the stains as I am with getting the majority of the tar off, and preventing the tar from damaging the kite (if it can even do that)