MakeItHappen 15 #1 August 18, 2004 My newly relined canopy (Safire with Vectran lines) has stains everywhere the lines come in contact with the canopy during packing. The stains look oily, similar to sewing oil. The stains collect dust. I had to land in dirt (plowed student area) on a load people decided to land in all 360 directions. The shape of the stains are straight lines - obvious that the lines are producing them. The stains are only where the lines are in direct contact with the canopy material. The stains were not present with the old lines. I asked several riggers about this. They all saw and inspected the canopy and lines. Three said they had never seen anything like that. Another rigger thinks the residue is from the manufacturing process of the lines. Anyone know what the residue is? Will this stuff evaporate? The residue might collect dirt faster and wear out the lines faster. This does not seem normal. I have emailed the place I got the lines from (twice) and have not received a reply. .. Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rdutch 0 #2 August 18, 2004 Dont worry about it, Vectran usually comes from the manufacturer with a coating, this coating has Uv inhibitors and also lubricates the lines. Vectran becomes abrasive over time with use. Ever notice how your slider tends to hang after you put a few hundred jumps on your lineset? Vectran breaks down quickly in the beginning due to UV, but stabilises after that, so thats why they use uv inhibitors. You can buy vectran untreated, but so far I havent seen it used for skydiving. Over time the coating breaks down and the lines deteriorate at a faster rate due to friction and UV, so the lubrication is good and helps your lines to last a lot longer. Vectran is used in other areas like sailing, archery, and even tennis. Vectran lines used for this are actually "oiled" routinely. The oil used is more of a wax than an oil. Ray Small and fast what every girl dreams of! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
diablopilot 2 #3 August 18, 2004 It's normal, and will go away in less than 100 jumps on the lineset.---------------------------------------------- You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
klafollette 0 #4 August 19, 2004 I had my Safire relined with Vectran lines beginning of the season. I also had the oily lines. My symptoms were not dirt or stains, but slamming fast openings. I thought they screwed up the trim until talking to my local rigger who confirmed that new Vectran linesets come with an oily coating that causes fast openings from both line dumping and the slider coming down fast. Coating make line stows slippery, so I've been replacing my rubber bands every weekend. I had to pack my Safire like a Sabre to keep openings tolerable. After about 50 jumps it started to slow down, as the lines got a little dirty and the slider slowed down. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wingnut 0 #5 October 5, 2004 just got my canopy (safire) back from a reline and was starting to freak out about the oil on the fabric , then i remebered reading something about it here so i did a search and boom, no more worries tonight.......... blue ones all........ ______________________________________ "i have no reader's digest version" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
