snowspider - 17-9-2012 at 07:34 PM
Got my 2 cans of Kite-Refit from Big Kid Kites.com (aka bigkid on the forum). First thing I notice is "these cans shake weird" this is coming from a
guy who presently has 13 spray paint cans on a shelf in the garage and several years ago spray painted 4 sides of a 17' camping trailer to look like
a field of sunflowers. Also there is none of the directions you would usually find on a spray paint can. So I did shake it up , but not like all the
way back from the store kind of shaking I would do with paint, just an easy back and forth to mix whatever is in there. I use a cheap plastic trigger
and handle thing for all my spray can painting , it give better control , better aim and is more comfortable. Pretty fair bet that without one towards
the end you will be holding the can in two hands, arms and fingers burning with both thumbs on top trying squeeze for all your worth.
I took advantage of a dead calm evening and laid out my 10meter Pansh Blaze outside on our concrete patio. The patio has been the site of many
construction projects so I was not concerned about over-spray or staining but you might want to lay out a plastic drop cloth because the product did
almost instantly bleed thru in a couple of spots of heavier application.
Because this kite is a foil and lays topside against the ground when preparing for launch I wanted to spray the top side first just in case one can
emptied before finishing. To get a feel for how it was going to spray I started on one end of the kite along the edge and around to the trailing edge
all the way down and around. This stuff comes out in a very fine mist ,almost a fog like spray. It instantly turned my fabric translucent and that's
all I would let it do , any more would give it a shiny wet appearance. I figured I would at least expose every thing to the spray before I went any
heavier on surfaces more exposed to wear. One can was able to cover one entire side of the kite with enough left to put a wet appearance on the ends
and leading edge. There was just enough the way I did it , if I had gone with a wet look through-out I would not have had enough.
Any one unfamiliar with how to spray paint should check You -Tube videos on how to get the sweeping trigger on trigger off motion. The Kite-Refit
video shows a guy just waving the can around while pilling it on. That may be alright if you have a case of it sitting off camera but "don't try this
at home", you could end up with a half crispy and half floppy kite. If they have not done so already , Kite-Refit would be wise to put out a
tutorial on how to apply , this is especially important for kites in the 10 meter size.
beachrights - 18-9-2012 at 04:12 AM
Here's my thoughts so far:
instructions:Little to no guidence from Kite Refit- The Shampoo can gave good clear instructions on how to apply [spray on, lightly
scrub and don't let product dry]. Scrubbed the kite and let dry O/N.
However, the Refit can just said to" apply evenly". I agree with Spider that I too was wondering if I was applying too little or too much. Plus the
wording was in the smallest print possible!!
Applying: Can felt like the Rattle Ball was stuck, just a weird feeling. Spray came out evenly and no clogging was present during
entire application. Smelled like a waterproofing product times 2. VERY strong vapors! Contact high anyone? Kite dried in an hour. I used 1/2 can for
both sides of a 2.5m kite.
what did it do? Kite does appear to be cleaner and looks newer. The fluorescent green color "pops" now where before it was faded.
Kite has a shiny, metallic look. Was hoping for more "crisp" to bring back the canopy- it did make a big difference on crispiness but I might try
applying some more to see if that improves.
flight: This is where the real difference hopefully will be felt. Ihave not flown it yet [no wind
] so we will all have to wait for that!
bigkid - 18-9-2012 at 03:00 PM
I passed some of your remarks back to the manufacturer and this was their response,
"We will make an instruction video.
You do not have to shake the can. It has a new system. The product is in a small bag. The rest is vacum. The vacum presses the product out off the
can. This way there will be no product left in the can and the can is safe without gas etc."
What I think he was trying to say is the can is under pressure, and the bag containing the product is in a vacuum, which pushes on the bag to let all
the product exit out of the can without any propellent leaking out before the product has completely depleted.
Good stuff so far.
beachrights - 18-9-2012 at 05:34 PM
I saw their video on their website- that is good but they still need to improve the instructions on the can. Spider and I both did not know that
shaking the can was not needed. And tell them to use a larger font for God sakes! I had to have my 9 year old read it to me! :frog:
Looking forward to flying!