Jimmyz said...Before posting, I did search for related topics, but only found ones concerning mounting cameras on the kite.
I have a TD2. The kite is in awesome shape except for one small thing which is beginning to bother me. Where the material of the canopy meets the inflatable bit (the LE itself) there seems to be some kind of glue substance used to reinforce the two or so layers of stitching. Lately I've found that little by little the two surfaces are pulling apart and currently have a 3mm or so gap along the entire leading edge. The canopy is still connected to the kite by a few very string looking layers of stitching however I can ALSO see that sand is beginning to get where the old glue used to sit and this is what is causing my concern along with the stitching now taking a greater load as it has lost a bit of it's former glue reinforcement
.
So I'm wondering if anyone has used or knows of a glue which I can use to close the opening seal. Obviously it must be good at holding the two materials together and must be a little flexible when dry... so none of that super hard stuff. Also it would be nice if it didnt dissolve/eat at my kite material... that wouldnt be fun
Any help would be greatly appreciated... my baby is in pain!
Hey Jimmyz
No need to stress about your baby, what you are seeing behind the leading edge is completely normal.
The glue residue that you can see is from the double sided sail tape that is used to stick the panels of a good kite together before it is sewn. The glue is not really there to add strength, the panels in a finished kite are held 95+% by the stitching.
DO NOT add any glue behind the leading edge, you could potentially ruin your kite.
There is nothing wrong with your kite provided all the stitching is continuous and intact.
If you need to be convinced further, then go to a sail makers and ask to see some double sided sail tape, then try to tear it, you will see it has almost no tear strength.
The product Saffer kindly mentioned would not be suitable, and needs to be used in conjunction with the Kitefix reinforcing tape.
Cya and
Goodwinds
Steve
