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Tips and Tricks to Repair Kites - add your experience!

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henjj
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Re: Tips and Tricks to Repair Kites - add your experience!

Postby henjj » Wed Apr 17, 2013 3:49 am

I recently purchased a used kite and one of the canopy panels has a bunch of small holes....to many to patch with sail tape. i ordered some ripstop and basting tape from sailrite so i can try and repair it myself. I have a machine and have done a little sewing on a couple of kites (sewed sail tape patches on). Anybody have any tips or a step by step process to do a panel repair / replacement?

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Re: Tips and Tricks to Repair Kites - add your experience!

Postby edt » Wed Apr 17, 2013 6:34 pm

henjj every time I have had the lots of little holes in a panel it's near the trailing edge caused by letting the sun beat down and the kite flap in the wind. so I always find these holes in the entire canopy . . . Are you positive the rest of the kite is in decent shape? I would just ride that with the little holes, if it rips, patch it. It doesn't sound like it has much life left in it. Ship a picture of the canopy panels, the good and the bad ones. Panel repair would mean cutting out the old panel, measuring a replacement panel, tape it down to hold it in place and sew it.

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Re: Tips and Tricks to Repair Kites - add your experience!

Postby KiteloopKip » Wed Apr 17, 2013 7:46 pm

If your repairing the bladder on an old kite, duct tape, super glue, and plumbing sealent work well. I wouldnt recommend for a new kite.

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Re: Tips and Tricks to Repair Kites - add your experience!

Postby henjj » Wed Apr 17, 2013 10:26 pm

edt, Thanks for the reply! The holes are not near the trailing edge. Besides the one panel, the rest of the kite was in decent condition. There are some pin holes in other parts of the kite that i'll be able to just throw a patch on and call it good. But the one panel that has a bunch of small holes in it looks like it might have been drug over pavement or sharp shells or something.

From your post, here's what I'll do (correct me if there is a better way). I'll cut the damaged area out (the majority of the panel). Make a copy with the new ripstop of what I just cut out and add 1/4". I'll put the basting tape around the cut edge that is on the kite. Then I'll stick the new peice of ripstop I just cut out in place. After it is in place with the basting tape, I'll secure it with the sewing machine. I'll post some pics when its done.

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Re: Tips and Tricks to Repair Kites - add your experience!

Postby Gigi;) » Thu Apr 18, 2013 1:56 pm

If you have only pinholes in the canopy the you IMO dont need to cut off the panel, just stick nylon ripstop tape (http://drtuba.eu/Adhesive-Tapes/DRNYL/N ... -Tape.html) on the below side of the wing.
henjj wrote:edt, Thanks for the reply! The holes are not near the trailing edge. Besides the one panel, the rest of the kite was in decent condition. There are some pin holes in other parts of the kite that i'll be able to just throw a patch on and call it good. But the one panel that has a bunch of small holes in it looks like it might have been drug over pavement or sharp shells or something.

From your post, here's what I'll do (correct me if there is a better way). I'll cut the damaged area out (the majority of the panel). Make a copy with the new ripstop of what I just cut out and add 1/4". I'll put the basting tape around the cut edge that is on the kite. Then I'll stick the new peice of ripstop I just cut out in place. After it is in place with the basting tape, I'll secure it with the sewing machine. I'll post some pics when its done.

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Re: Tips and Tricks to Repair Kites - add your experience!

Postby henjj » Wed Apr 24, 2013 9:10 pm

Ok, the repair is finished. Background: I wanted a cheap, used, lightwind kite to use in marginal conditions. I found a 2009 16m LF Havoc on a forum for $100 ($130 with shipping). I figured for that price it would probably need some work. If I lived in a vicinity where I could drop the kite off and have it "professionally" repaired, I might be more apt to do that. But paying for shipping to and from a repair shop adds $50 - $60 to the total cost of the repair, so I have decided to repair my own kites.

When I got the kite, I pumped it up to check it out and noticed that one panel on the canopy had what looked like "road rash" all over it. The rest of the kite was in pretty decent shape save for some pinholes here and there that were easily repaired with sail tape or tear-aid. I could have slapped a bunch of sail tape on the panel that had the "road rash", but I figured it might be fun to try and sew larger repair in place.

Supplies: I ordered a peice of 3/4oz ripstop, a role of 3/8" basting tape, and some v30 thread from sailrite. I used a #14 needle on the sewing machine.

There are two pictures below. The first is a picture of the "road rash" that I'm talking about. It was on a large portion of the panel. The second picture is of the finished repair. In order to keep this post shorter, I took pictures along the way and uploaded them to my picasa account with a description of what I did. Here is the link:
https://picasaweb.google.com/1176334861 ... directlink
02 road rash2.JPG
15 piece sewed in place.JPG

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Re: Tips and Tricks to Repair Kites - add your experience!

Postby Inna » Tue May 21, 2013 9:45 pm

Hi, everybody.
Ok, I decided to share my experience with kiteluxe.es , this impregnation, which is being advertised in this forum, Your kite- allways new.
I have kiteloose tribe 2009. So I can say that actually, after impregnation with kiteluxe the kite is like new. I mean, that feeling of the new ripstop, colors, shine. This polimeric impregnation is something...
Only one thing: I put the kite not like they advised in their video, but with leading edge up, that is the kite stayed on its ribs. And then I tied the leadind edge to the fence.
Tomorow will try to upload a pair of fotos.
The bandit has 3 monthes of use.
Attachments
IMG-20130522-WA0014.jpg
IMG-20130522-WA0013.jpg
Bandit of my friend
IMG-20130522-WA0009.jpg
kitedeluxe 010.jpg
kitedeluxe 008.jpg
Last edited by Inna on Wed May 22, 2013 5:07 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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marlboroughman
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Re: Tips and Tricks to Repair Kites - add your experience!

Postby marlboroughman » Tue May 21, 2013 10:12 pm

hey henjj nice work for first timer two points for the future repairs: see the thread on the sewing machines this is a perfect example of a need for triple step zig-zag. It is really needed for repair like this. Second when you replace a section like this you stick the new piece first and then you cut out the old one. Just make a little snip in the old so you can get under with the scissors later. Less work and more importantly this way the kite stays the same for sure.

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Re: Tips and Tricks to Repair Kites - add your experience!

Postby Inna » Tue Jun 04, 2013 3:49 pm

At last it was the turn to impregnate the bar lines with Kiteluxe. See above my experience with impregnation of the kites.
So, I can say that when polimerized with Kiteluxe the lines look and feel like new. They recovered their colors. They do not sop, dry in a moment. I insert few fotos.

Image
Image
Image
Image

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Re: Tips and Tricks to Repair Kites - add your experience!

Postby sarc » Thu Jul 04, 2013 2:55 am

toddalbinson wrote:My 2 cents....

If your going to resell your kite have it professionally fixed.Sew it up and bladders mended not taped

If your going to keep it and dont care about looks than here are the ways I have found work flawlessly.

Canopy and LE- Drywall mesh tape,Goop marine glue, cover and heat in sail tape. Same method as kite fix just alot cheaper.

Nipples-Aquaseal press.Same method as fellow couple pages back. All of the stick on type nipples I have used eventually come off.

Bladders- Tear aid. Find leak,lightly skuff,alcohol,stick and test.
My experience also
- drywall mesh tape, I have seen burst leading edge dacron repaired with it, using epoxy glue, and it worked!
- stick-on valves: the ones I used fell apart (the nipples separated from the base), so agree just get some aquaseal or 3M 5200

Cheers


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