# couloring of Dacron Sails



## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

Hello,

My Dacron sails are very dirty. A profesional sail washer can not clean this. So i want to paint my dacron sails. Could sombody advise me, If this is possible or how to proceed this or what kind of piant i can use?

regards

Wouter


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## AllThumbs (Jul 12, 2008)

I don't think it can be done. Sail the boat. If you can't live with the dirty sails, save up for some new ones.

Eric


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## cruisingdream (Feb 7, 2007)

The sun will bleach them out ... so sail often & have whiter sails


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## blt2ski (May 5, 2005)

Not positive, but could one "dye" the sails to a brown/tanbark look, or equal?

Marty


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## AllThumbs (Jul 12, 2008)

blt2ski said:


> Not positive, but could one "dye" the sails to a brown/tanbark look, or equal?
> 
> Marty


I don't think so. I think they need to be dyed at the time the dacron is manufactured.

Eric


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## 14432 (Oct 24, 2006)

One color that will stick to dacron is "rust"


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## Wiley1 (Jul 20, 2009)

Wouter,
If you were to drip or spatter paint upon your sails there's a very good chance you would not be able to get it out or off. At least so that there wouldn't be a permanent mark. So if one follows that line of thinking perhaps any paint should work. One would think that heavy layers might have a tendency to crack and peel or flake off, but a thin coat should last quite a while.
I think I would start with my absolutely worst condition sail and perhaps make a pattern with several types of paint: oil, acrylic, latex, epoxy, include stains, and see what works best. Hey, why not try some fabric dyes...tie dyed sails.. now there's a thought....

Do report back with your results...with photos 
Bests, 
Wiley


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## heinzir (Jul 25, 2000)

Many years ago when I had even less money than I do now (as if that were possible) I wanted to make a pop-top enclosure for my trailer sailer. I couldn't afford Sunbrella but Sailrite was offering grab bag roll-ends of 4 oz nylon for dirt cheap. I ordered enough for the pop-top. I soon found out why I got it so cheap: it was BRIGHT PINK! I tried Rit dye but the fabric wouldn't absorb the it at all. I ended up painting it blue with a brush (don't remember what kind of paint.) It didn't turn out so well; it was blotchy blue and purple and pink. I thought it was better than the pure bright pink I started with so I used it for that season but got rid of it after that.


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## SailorMaggie (Feb 26, 2017)

Well. I decided I am going to give dying a try. I have old sails that I'll never use so I want to see how the dying of them works. I have small sails so I can do it in a large stainless steel pot. Or I could do it in a feed tub and try to set the color with an iron. Dacron is a polyester so I can probably use an acid dye. I've been dying polyester swimsuit material with this and it's been working like a charm. I've been setting the color with an iron. It's going to be a task but no loss since I never use the old ones. I would if they looked cool though. ? Probably won't get to it till spring but it's on my agenda. I'll let people know how they turned out.


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## Guy Swartwout (Jul 6, 2020)

SailorMaggie said:


> Well. I decided I am going to give dying a try. I have old sails that I'll never use so I want to see how the dying of them works. I have small sails so I can do it in a large stainless steel pot. Or I could do it in a feed tub and try to set the color with an iron. Dacron is a polyester so I can probably use an acid dye. I've been dying polyester swimsuit material with this and it's been working like a charm. I've been setting the color with an iron. It's going to be a task but no loss since I never use the old ones. I would if they looked cool though. ? Probably won't get to it till spring but it's on my agenda. I'll let people know how they turned out.


How did it turn out? I'm about to build a dacron skin on frame canoe, and would dearly prefer a color to the translucent white.


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## overbored (Oct 8, 2010)

canoe skins are usually done with heat shrinkable dacron fabric the same material as aircraft covering. it can be died and printed on and painted. for dying and printing call a sailmaker for painting you would use the same coating as aircraft. hand painted a name on a spinnaker with a dye worked good. and i have done aircraft covering using Poly-fiber coatings system.


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## Barquito (Dec 5, 2007)

Personally, I think the translucence of the skin on frame is what makes people, go, "whoaa", when they see the boat. I think it looks cool.


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