Rust on sails

[velella15]

One of my sails has rust marks due to poor storage (using straps with steel hooks). Has anyone any experience with using an oxalic acid solution on sail cloth? Such a solution works well in removing rust marks from fibreglass decks and hulls.

[JPA Cate]

vellela,

No experience on sailcloth, but it is what I'd try first. When the rust "disappears", use a little baking soda and water to neutralize the rest of the acid, then flush with fresh water.

Ann

[a64pilot]

Any chance you have a sail bag made from the same material you could try it on as an experiment?
I don't think it would hurt the material myself, but would want to experiment on something else first.


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[Jim Cate]

a64, assuming that the sail in question is Dacron based, there is no danger from using oxalic or other mild acids to remove rust stains. Dacron is based on the polyester resin, just as the fibreglass hulls are, and oxalic, etc, are often used to remove rust stains (and lots of other grunge) from those hulls.

Jim