Spray paint old Sunbrella sacrificial?

[zachduckworth]

Hi all,
I just bought my boat and ordered a new jib. The old jib still has a few years left and is getting sewn up and reinforced. I was advised that it has another year or two of life left. Maybe three. The red sunbrella however is quite old and faded rust color which my sail maker advised is not worth replacing due to the overall age of the sail.

I was wondering if I could get away with spray painting the sunbrella black with an outdoor/marine fabric paint. This is going to be an auxilliary sail from now on, but the paint might make it look a little better. Has anyone done this before? Thanks!

[JPA Cate]

Yes, you can apply paint to Sunbrella. Will you be happy with it? Probably not. You just got a new sail, and your boat will sail better with it than the old, stretched one. Imho, you would be happier to sell it one and not have to keep it aboard. There are outfits that sell used sails.

If you do decide to paint the sacrificial strip on the old sail, do not brick the sail. It will chip the paint off, and you'll have a motley appearance that I am sure you will not like. Unfortunately, red dyes fade badly, to ugly colors, but it's (again, imo) better to put up with the awful color till the fabric starts to go.

Ann

[Calif.Ted]

do not brick the sail

That's roll a flaked sail for those of us north of the equator, I had to google it.

[thesaltytar]

Originally Posted by zachduckworth

Hi all,

I just bought my boat and ordered a new jib. The old jib still has a few years left and is getting sewn up and reinforced. I was advised that it has another year or two of life left. Maybe three. The red sunbrella however is quite old and faded rust color which my sail maker advised is not worth replacing due to the overall age of the sail.



I was wondering if I could get away with spray painting the sunbrella black with an outdoor/marine fabric paint. This is going to be an auxilliary sail from now on, but the paint might make it look a little better. Has anyone done this before? Thanks!

Confused. You refer to sunbrella and painting sunbrella, so I assume this to be the cover, not the sail. Then you reference the sail, "...this is going to be an auxiliary sail..." And proceed, "but the paint might make it look a little better."

I drew the inference that the subject of that sentence was the sail, then made the assumption it would look a little better ... While sailing. But did you mean at the dock?

Are you painting the sail or the sail cover?

[zachduckworth]

Originally Posted by thesaltytar

Confused. You refer to sunbrella and painting sunbrella, so I assume this to be the cover, not the sail. Then you reference the sail, "...this is going to be an auxiliary sail..." And proceed, "but the paint might make it look a little better."

I drew the inference that the subject of that sentence was the sail, then made the assumption it would look a little better ... While sailing. But did you mean at the dock?

Are you painting the sail or the sail cover?

Sail cover only. Black. The idea is it would look better than the really faded red suncover that I have now. The dodger and bimini are black too, and it would be nice to have things match. I honestly don’t know how much I’ll be using it though once I have the new one.

[wholybee]

If this isn't your primary jib, and thus isn't going to primarily be rolled up on the furler, cut the old sunbrella off. It's only purpose is to protect the sail from UV damage when it is stored on the furler. If it's faded, its not doing that anymore anyway. If the sail is stored in a garage or below decks, the sunbrella is just extra weight.

[thesaltytar]

My mistake I forgot roller furling jibs have that band of protective sunbrella on them. Mine is hank on.

[JPA Cate]

Sorry, but I disagree with wholybee here: even though faded, the sunbrella will offer some protection to the sail while it is still being exposed, as he waits for his new sail. The lighter colors of Sunbrella do not offer as much UV protection as the darker ones, so if this once-red one is now light pink, it will not offer a whole lot. I personally don't know the exact paleness point where it comes to "never mind" and "cut it off". If it is still near the original color on the inside, it will be doing some good, absorbing UV.



Ann

[Islander53]

I have painted a uv cover onto a furling headsail with "sani - tread" paint . The results were great and has lasted a year so far with no signs that the paint will peel off any time soon.
This paint is a extremely flexible rubber paint, and is ultra adhesive.
Sani tred is my go to paint for almost anything, steel, fiberglass, wood , ect sticks to anything!