I had my kite out at the beach and now the sand is static clinging to the inside of my kite. How do I get it out ? Its not just alittle bit either .. it looks like someone painted the inside of my kite with sand. The kite is super heavy now with all the sand. Any ideas ???

Can you wash it out? I do this alot during the summer months when I get mud in my baffles.

I suppose I could wash it out ... I was trying to think of all these different ways to do it and some times I guess the easiest things are right there and you try to over think it. I guess I need to get a clothes line rigged up to hang it up side down. That would be the easiest I guess. Thanks beachrights

I'm just sitting here feeling dumb right now ... In my mind I was basically dropping the gas tank out of the car to put gas in it then putting it back in ... instead of using the filler nozel. wow! somethings are not that difficult

You can remove static from dress clothes if you drag a metal coat hanger over the item or there are those static guard sprays..maybe if there isn't static it will be easier to remove.

I ignored the sand in my ace and it has penetrated the seams. Possibly shortening their life ? Don't wait too long before cleaning it out.

you can wash it out with a hose and H20 or if its semi dry hang it with the inlets facing down across a clothes line or extension cord. Tap or pat it to get the sand into the inlets, then remove it. Once youve got a good bit out, then go fly it. Take her to zenith and dive it towards the ground repeatedly, applying brakes to almost stall her and shake like hell. After 10 or 12 times alot of your sand should be out. Reverse launching will also work. Open the dirt outs as well. This will help remove sand from the closed cells near the tips. Good luck and dont panic, youll get it out!!

I think the coating Pansh uses attracts sand like glue as I have heard of it sticking before. Wash it with a hose on the shower setting and when it dries you can use a leaf blower in one of the dirtouts to get most of it out, then I would fly it, this way you are less likely to get sand in the seams.

1. I would fly the kite with the dirtouts open.

2. while flying your kite, as you come downwards, you shake the hell out of it, most stuff will shift and come out the leading edge.

3. If there is crossventing, you can invert each cell one by one and clean it out. as you get closer to the closed cells on the edge, you can reach in and wipe it down.

***Use one of those sticky lint removes from 3M

Lots of good ideas. I have either washed out or flown upside down a shaken the hell out of. Washing is better imo. But it is hard to get out of the seams.:saint:

Thanks everyone .. I'm going to wash it today. I flew it yesterday and shook it like crazy while reverse launching .. I even smashed it into a tree .. still has sand in it and now a few leaves too

I love filling the cells of my trainer with leaves in high wind and then send it into a tight loop, leaf shower!

I like doing that, but with snow instead of leaves...

Well, you can wash it with either 1/4 cup of vinegar or 1/4 cup borax to eliminate the static cling( or so they say).

Has anyone come up with a way to get the sand out of seams? We typically fly on beaches and the sand at our normal spot is real fine. No matter how much I clean out the cells I still have some sand in the seams that just will not come out. It does seem to occur more in the less expensive kites such as the IMP...possibly because the stitching is not as tight. I have been able to get some out with lots of flowing hose watter, time, and patience. I can imagine however, just like snowbird, that this may eventually shorten their life.

I had this problem when I was new to power kites. After some trial and error, this is what worked best for me. I woldn't try to get the sand out at the beach as it'd get too windy. I'd take the kite home and do this in order:

1. Put the kite flat on the ground and find the areas with sand.
2. Leaving the rest of the kite on the ground, lift the sand areas inverted. Shake and move the area to move the sand
towards the leading edge from where it'd usually trickle out with some shakes and turns.
3. IF Step 2 doesn't get all the sand out and leave some small amounts behind, use a piece of folded wet paper towel between your fingers or just your fingers to get the rest of the sand out. You'd have to compress the kite in folds to get your hand in the farther areas of the kite.

If you do step 3, do it with extreme care to avoid damaging or rupturing the holes cut between the vents of the kite. I resored to step 3 after learning -- through trial and error - that I couldn't get all the sand out by just step 2. I didn't want to use a water hose either. If you have large hands, you can use your fingers but you'd have to scrunch and bunch the kite sections to get to where the sand is and then get the sand on your fingers to extricate. Be careful.