Results from UV tests on Monofilm, X-scrim, and Sailcloth - 303 Protectant
B. T.
doing research about the effects of UV on sail monofilms, x-scrims,
and sail cloths and, I would like to share my findings (long). First
, let me state my testing did not follow scientific method so all you
scientific types with a bone to pick can look elsewhere. Second no
machines were used to do tests, so generally results are subjective.
Third, if you don't like the results, do your own tests.
In an effort to determine the effectiveness of 303 UV Protectant,
onMarch 9, 2003, I mounted nine – 2" wide sample strips of sail
cloth/monofilm in an aluminum picture frame, treated half of each
sample very liberally with 303 UV protectant, then placed the picture
framewith samples in my back yard to soak up sun. Every couple days I
would rotate the sample 180 degrees to reduce the effects of morning /
evening shadows. Every week or so, I would spray the samples down with
water. And every week or so, I would relocate the sample to a
different place in the yard. I applied the 303 only once (the initial
application). Only one side of samples were exposed to sun, so back
side of fabrics still looked new. I ended the test October 16, 2003.
Observations: The 303 Protectant did substantially reduce UV caused
fading of the fabric for about the first month. On the bright red and
bright blue sail cloth, the fading of the treated side was about half
that of the untreated side. After the first month, the fading of the
treated side nearly caught up with the untreated side.
At conclusion of test, monofilms and x-scrims were still very clear,
and all fabric samples were heavily faded.
End results: In the tests, no appreciable differences could be made
between the 303 treated sides and the untreated sides. Treated sides
were about equally as faded as the nontreated sides.
5 mil monofilm, clear, still retained minimal tensile properties, and
was very very brittle and tore with no effort. Sample had good
appearance, but strength was gone.
10 mil monofilm, clear, still retained some good tensile properties,
was mildly brittle, and tore with mild effort. Sample seemed to still
have about half its strength.
7 mil x-scrim & 5 mil x-scrim, clear, very good retention of tensile
properties, tore with medium to heavy effort, threads were minimally
impacted. Seemed to still have at least half its useful life
remaining.
Fabrics, heavily faded, no tensile tests were made, treated and
untreated sides tore with about equal effort, and color was not a
factor. Fabric seemed to retain half to 2/3 of its original strength.
Rip-stop Nylon, heavily faded, greatly reduced tensile strength, tore
easily. Sample retained no useful life.
CONCLUSIONS to increase sail life: If you used 303, you can protect
your sails from about half the UV damage if you recoat after about 25
days of exposure and continue to recoat. If you have a sail with
abundant 5 mil monofilm (the most common type), don't leave it laying
around in the sun. High tension sails and 5 mil monofilm may make for
fast sails, but lifespans will be related to UV exposure. X-Scrim
sails can be expected to have 2 to 3 times the useful life of monofilm
sails. I'm only guessing, but perhaps the adhesive between the layers
of the x-scrim protects the side of the material away from the sun.
Fabric in sails will fade if not treated. If treated, fabric will
still fade, just not as fast. 303's claim of 100% protection against
fading is bogus.
Enjoy, Bob T.
WARDOG
Great info once again...
It's going to be interesting to see how the new METALEX-Ply being used
by Severne Sails on the new "Blade" wavesail will hold up...
METALEX is an exclusive X-Ply laminate with an added layer of aluminum
that increases strength and UV protection...
http://www.severnesails.com/technology/tech.asp
http://www.severnesails.com/sails/blade.asp
You can feel the heat being relected off of it...
http://www.surfingsports.com/images/lopez_brian_loopsetup.jpg
http://www.surfingsports.com/images/lopez_brian_loop2.jpg
http://www.surfingsports.com/images/lopez_rigs.jpg
http://www.surfingsports.com/images/lopez_blade.jpg
Also, Aerotech uses Pentex...PEN fiber, or polyethylene napthalate...
which provides better UV resistance...commonly used in sailboat sails...
http://www.calvertsails.com/sailcloth.html
I wonder when we will see Pentex Optic being used?...
WARDOG
http://surfingsports.com
Sailaero
It sounds like your findings were very similar to ours. 5mil momofilm lasted
about 150 hours before complete degragation. 5mil grid lasted 400 hours before
partial degragation.Keep in mind that a sail is only as strong as its weakest
panel. Many sails are still using monofilm window panels that will need
replacing long before the rest of the sails grid panels.
Best Regards:
Steve Gottlieb
Aerotech Sails
B. T.
mil UV resistant monofilm but I have had no experience with it as yet.
The material is being used by Lisa at Sail Fix ( www.sail-fix.com )
located in southwest Florida and she may be able to provide some
pertinent information. The metal laminates look promising.
Jack (Sarasota)
Pretty scientific for a back yard experiment if you ask me, and I'm a
scientoid. I liked the way you tried to randomize sun exposure to keep from
having differences in exposure between the various panels. Roger could
probably build you a machine to quantify the tear resistance, then we could
crunch some numbers! (just kidding)
Thanks for the report.
Jack (Sarasota)
"B. T." <tho...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:cc3bf0d2.0310...@posting.google.com...
> Hi All, I'm Bob T. the sail repair guy in Corpus Christi and I've been
> doing research about the effects of UV on sail monofilms, x-scrims,
> and sail cloths and, I would like to share my findings (long). First
> , let me state my testing did not follow scientific method so all you
> scientific types with a bone to pick can look elsewhere. Second no
> machines were used to do tests, so generally results are subjective.
> Third, if you don't like the results, do your own tests.
>
> In an effort to determine the effectiveness of 303 UV Protectant,
> onMarch 9, 2003, I mounted nine - 2" wide sample strips of sail
LooseClu
"WARDOG" <war...@XXXsurfingsports.com> wrote in message
news:fADkb.31159$hp5.24000@fed1read04...
> Thanks , Bob...
> Great info once again...
> It's going to be interesting to see how the new METALEX-Ply being used
> by Severne Sails on the new "Blade" wavesail will hold up...
Nory
I leave my equipment hanging the whole time. Is there a fabric that i
could use to cover the sails with to help reduce UV? I've seen
somewhere where they have their sails covered laying on the ground
while waiting during races. Where can i get this fabric?
NORY
tho...@aol.com (B. T.) wrote in message news:<cc3bf0d2.0310...@posting.google.com>...
> Hi All, I'm Bob T. the sail repair guy in Corpus Christi and I've been
> doing research about the effects of UV on sail monofilms, x-scrims,
> and sail cloths and, I would like to share my findings (long). First
> , let me state my testing did not follow scientific method so all you
> scientific types with a bone to pick can look elsewhere. Second no
> machines were used to do tests, so generally results are subjective.
> Third, if you don't like the results, do your own tests.
>
> In an effort to determine the effectiveness of 303 UV Protectant,
> onMarch 9, 2003, I mounted nine ? 2" wide sample strips of sail
Anthony
"WARDOG" <war...@XXXsurfingsports.com> wrote in message
news:fADkb.31159$hp5.24000@fed1read04...
Des
the sun is particularly harsh, UV degradation is a major
consideration. However I'm not sure about the economics of a bottle of
303 applied monthly at $28 * 12 months. I use it about 2 or 3 times a
year but this doesn't appear to effective accordng to the test??
Des
Dan Weiss
samples at or around 90 degrees for many hours of the day. Your sail
is upright most of the time when in use. I suggest covering it with a
cheap lawn tarp when your sail is on the beach for an extended period,
or maybe find a large dingo to stand over it and provide some shade!
Seriously, I'd bet getting it out of direct sun will do far more than
303 Protectant alone.
-Dan
pa...@hp.com (Des) wrote in message news:<f3cb7fba.03102...@posting.google.com>...
B. T.
about $8 for an 8 oz. bottle or about $1 for 1 ounce, however, I have
been purchasing it by the gallon which is $64 for 256 oz. or about $1
for 4 oz. . My observation was the 303 does protect from UV damage,
by reducing UV damage by about half.
Of course, the real lessons are: try to buy sails with the most
X-scrim, and don't leave sails lying around in the sun if you want to
get good life out of them. Also, the sidebar is, don't expect long
life out of high tension sails made from monofilm. "Tension failure"
tears in monofilm amost always tear along a line starting close to the
mast and extending 45 degrees to the mast. This is a good indicator
the monofilm is breaking down and can't withstand the loads applied.
Bob T.
Des
that develop in a sail from rigging / unrigging, these start to crack
after being exposed to prolonged UV. Without being critical of a
specific brand I had 2 NP V8's 2000 model. They were extremely light,
probably light materials. No matter how careful I was the sail started
to get many crinkles at various points, which eventually cracked open.
I ended up with so many small patches on it, every time I touched one
of the crinkles it popped. This was only after 2 seasons use.
Depending on where u are sailing it's not allways conveneient to use a
tarp to cover the sail, particularly if there are no large dingoes or
roos around. So more X play seems to be the go and or just don't stop
sailing.
Michael Chare
news:f3cb7fba.0310...@posting.google.com...
> The most common point of failure I have found is the small creases
> that develop in a sail from rigging / unrigging, these start to crack
> after being exposed to prolonged UV.
Even without exposure to prolonged UV I found that these creases are a source of
failure. I now take great care when rolling up and unrolling the sail to prevent
creases. I always push the mast into the sail as it unrolls, and I roll the sail
up as I take it off the mast. Again I have found that the X-ply areas are more
resillient.
Michael Chare
Scott G
My 6.3 Ezzy SE 2001 has seen quite a few days of use. The x-ply is
still tough as nails. The monofilm window has a few cracks already.
While unrolling it in the basement so it can dry enough to send to the
sail repair lady for a new window, the monofilm window tore three more
times.
When monofilm is toast, it is unsailable.
The Xply is still strong.
(in 2002 and later, all Ezzy sails have small vinyl windows which have
great UV resistance).
Scott G.
P.S. - Dave Ezzy has been doing the same test as B.T. for years in his
yard in Maui - I think that is why he uses xply and why he invented
his own ultra strong xply that no one else uses.
tho...@aol.com (B. T.) wrote in message news:<cc3bf0d2.0310...@posting.google.com>...
> Hi All, I'm Bob T. the sail repair guy in Corpus Christi and I've been
> doing research about the effects of UV on sail monofilms, x-scrims,
> and sail cloths and, I would like to share my findings (long). First
> , let me state my testing did not follow scientific method so all you
> scientific types with a bone to pick can look elsewhere. Second no
> machines were used to do tests, so generally results are subjective.
> Third, if you don't like the results, do your own tests.
>
> In an effort to determine the effectiveness of 303 UV Protectant,
> onMarch 9, 2003, I mounted nine ? 2" wide sample strips of sail
Bill
NP sails would be made with monofilm with some kind of thin
metallic protective layer to reduce deterioration from UV. Is
anyone familiar with this and if so, how effective would it be?
Bill
Sent via www.sfbsa.com
The South Florida Board Sailing Association
The Dennises
To paraphrase - He says that if you reapply after 25 days of exposure you
can increase sail life x 2.
This seems to imply that if you use the same sail every week end for 2 full
days of exposure then you only need to reapply 303 once every 6 months - not
unreasonable.
However it may be that the 303 degrades more quickly (pro rata) with
intermittent exposure and a lot of washing (missed jibes).
Another consideration is that the tests only exposed one side to the sun. I
would expect that the scrim plys would degrade a lot faster if both sides
where exposed. I assume the extra protective factor in the plys is due to
the layer of adhesive in the middle. If that is the case and the ply is only
exposed on one side then the protected face doesn't get a meaningful
exposure in the test. I would be prepared to accept that plys may last
almost twice as long as mono but 3 times as long seems to be an unjustified
conclusion.
Hmmm... shoulda been addressing this to Bob I guess. Hi Bob if you're
reading this,
your comments please.
Wal
"Des" <pa...@hp.com> wrote in message
news:f3cb7fba.03102...@posting.google.com...
Scott G
last 2 to 3 times longer. Without some sort of accurate measure of
tear strength at regular intervals, you cannot reach a valid
conclusion.
BT said "5 mil monofilm, clear, still retained minimal tensile
properties, and
was very very brittle and tore with no effort. Sample had good
appearance, but strength was gone. 10 mil monofilm, clear, still
retained some good tensile properties, was mildly brittle, and tore
with mild effort. Sample seemed to still have about half its strength.
7 mil x-scrim & 5 mil x-scrim, clear, very good retention of tensile
properties, tore with medium to heavy effort, threads were minimally
impacted."
When did the 5 mil film lose its strength?? It may have have been
shot by the second month. The 10 mil may have lost half its strength
in month 3. The scrim seemed to retain much of its original strength,
but how many more months or years before it lost half its strength
like the 10 mil film??
Intuitively, I think scrim could last 4 or 5 times longer than
monofilm, but I think all these are guesstimates until someone does a
truly scientific test of tensile strengths over time. From my
personal experience, quality scrim lasts at least twice as long as
film.
On the 303 issue, BT's tests make it clear that if regularly applied,
303 can keep the luff sleeve from fading. What it does for monofilm
is unknown. I am not even sure that 303 either soaks in or leaves a
protective coating on the relatively non-porous monofilm.
Scott G.
"The Dennises" <den...@dyson.brisnet.org.au> wrote in message news:<bndo0f$105jqe$1...@ID-96933.news.uni-berlin.de>...
Mike F
fought internet access problems, and may -- or may not -- still be of
interest.
Jeez, guys ... buy scrim (x-ply) sails and stop worrying about this crap.
The two brands and several quivers of sails I've used beginning in about
1990 or so last many years .. heck, they sell for about $200 a pop after 3-4
years of heavy use in the sunny deserts of New Mexico and Washington. Buds
sell their 7-8-year-old quivers because their designs are outdated, not
because they fall apart. The quiver of Northwaves I just ordered is 100%
scrim .... open-weave scrim for the window, tight scrim everywhere else.
Mike \m/
"Michael Chare" <Michae...@deletethis.btinternet.com> wrote in message
news:bn5oe7$f08$1...@titan.btinternet.com...