Hey Guys, I must have sliced the leading edge of my Naish S27Mk4 in a crash I that I hadn't noticed until the bladder blew out in the rigging area while I was packing up yesterday arvo. It run parallel to and about 1cm from a seam.

Any advice for sourcing replacement bladder and repair services?

What are the limiting factors for using A tape for the bladder?
I see Briskites has bladders for $189. briskites.au/products/naish-wing-surfer-leading-edge-bladders?variant=40715017650237

It's a 6m wing and I'm in the Coffs Harbour area.

Cheers
OJ

If you like to repair stuff and don't mind spending a little money then go for it. If you stuff up you can still buy the $189 bladder.

Tear Aid Type A costs about $20 for a 12" x 3" strip, or $60 for a 5' strip.

It works very well. All of the repairs I've done are still working fine many hours of use later. I've repaired simple punctures (a bit of tape straight on the hole), and 30mm holes (a piece of old bladder inside then tape over the outside).

One problem with tape is that if you use strips of tape you can get a little channel along the edge of the lower piece where the strips meet at a corner. You have to be very thorough pressing down the layers of tape (or use a single piece of tape that covers the whole patch).

I've rebuilt a couple of blown out strut bladders using a clothes iron to weld the damaged parts, or weld in whole new sections. It's fun and fairly easy to do ... and very easy to make horrible mistakes, which is where you really learn stuff.

The first rebuild worked ok but had a few slow leaks. Eventually the manufacturer sent me a couple of sets of bladders so I had spares I could put in.

The second rebuild was more extensive and I made more mistakes, but was also more diligent in finding all the micro leaks and sealing them. That bladder is possibly better than a new one.

If I had to rebuild another bladder I wouldn't try to patch it, I would build a whole new section and insert that. Welding straight lines and edges is far easier than welding around patch shapes.

You could try the guys at WSS Boards in Sydney, but prices are much the same. The advantage you have is that the tear is clearly visible. I had a slow leak in a Matador leading edge that was 2 years old.....a real pain to actually locate the leak to patch it.

Look for whoever does kite repairs as they will have done it for a coupla decades

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Gorgo said..
If you like to repair stuff and don't mind spending a little money then go for it. If you stuff up you can still buy the $189 bladder.

Tear Aid Type A costs about $20 for a 12" x 3" strip, or $60 for a 5' strip.

It works very well. All of the repairs I've done are still working fine many hours of use later. I've repaired simple punctures (a bit of tape straight on the hole), and 30mm holes (a piece of old bladder inside then tape over the outside).

One problem with tape is that if you use strips of tape you can get a little channel along the edge of the lower piece where the strips meet at a corner. You have to be very thorough pressing down the layers of tape (or use a single piece of tape that covers the whole patch).

I've rebuilt a couple of blown out strut bladders using a clothes iron to weld the damaged parts, or weld in whole new sections. It's fun and fairly easy to do ... and very easy to make horrible mistakes, which is where you really learn stuff.

The first rebuild worked ok but had a few slow leaks. Eventually the manufacturer sent me a couple of sets of bladders so I had spares I could put in.

The second rebuild was more extensive and I made more mistakes, but was also more diligent in finding all the micro leaks and sealing them. That bladder is possibly better than a new one.

If I had to rebuild another bladder I wouldn't try to patch it, I would build a whole new section and insert that. Welding straight lines and edges is far easier than welding around patch shapes.

Any videos/tips on welding patches on and rebuilding bladders. I've got an old kite bladder I can practice

I have just hand sewn the tear in the leading edge, then covered the sew job with Dacron tape on both the inside and outside using this tape: adventurekiteboarding.com/products/kitefix-self-adhesive-dacron-for-the-leading-edge-or-struts?variant=44500264354096&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&adpos=&scid=scplpshopify_US_8151508779312_44500264354096&sc_intid=shopify_US_8151508779312_44500264354096&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAADQyTT8Gd8WBUaWdMaotQF1hPUJJm&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIxLmNp4bkigMVUiytBh08yxHPEAQYAyABEgINX_D_BwE

knock on wood, the repair has holding, many hours of use later.

for the bladder leaks, I used the tape the manufacture provided. If it's pin hole it takes a long time to find the hole, but once on there, it seems to hold pretty good.

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patronus said..

.....

Any videos/tips on welding patches on and rebuilding bladders. I've got an old kite bladder I can practice

You'll find some if you search for "welding kite bladder". They show the basic principles.

Most will show using the iron flat. I prefer to tip the iron on it's side and use the edge. You end up with a weld which is almost identical to the original weld.

Key things for me:

- I use baking paper between the iron and the bladder to stop the bladder melting onto the iron, and under the bladder to stop things sticking to the work surface. Ordinary paper can work but the bladder can stick to it.

- I use a straight edge to run the iron along. It keeps the weld straight and removes hand wobble so you can do the weld fairly quickly and confidently. I've used pieces of wood and settled on a thick metal roofing square.

- I experimented with the heat setting and ended up running the iron at maximum.

- It's important to run the iron along the weld in a fairly smooth motion. Not too fast. Not too slow. Don't press too hard. If you press to hard or go too slow you'll go through the bladder. If you haven't welded properly you can run the iron over it again.

- Check each weld for to make sure it's properly welded and there's no leaks. You can re-weld or use tear aid to fix leaks.

- You might have to open up a seam or cut the end off the bladder to get access to the section you want to work on. It's easy enough to weld it closed again. There's a heap of lateral stretch in a bladder, not so much lengthwise stretch, so you can make the bladder a tiny bit narrower without causing problems in the result.

- Welding edges is easy. If you're welding in a patch then you need to put stuff behind the layer you're working so you don't weld the sides to the bladder to itself. Layers of cardboard or cloth or several layers of paper will do the job.

- The biggest problem is working on complex shapes and finding you've touched the iron on the bladder where don't want it and you've damaged it or welded it to itself. Fixable but annoying.