zephyr shedding

[pblanc]

I could be wrong but I don't think it is fiberglass fibers that shed from Twintex but little shards of polypropylene. I suspect this only happens after the hull ages some, but it can be really obnoxious, much worse IMO that the typical "itch" one gets from sanding fiberglass. These tiny shards are like little needles. Occasionally I have had them draw blood.

If you rub a cloth over the material and look at it in bright light you can see hundreds of minute sparkly things on the fabric. The material also gets rougher as it ages. I have an old Twintex hull I am trying to restore and I plan on painting the bottom.

[Riverken]

When I was at MKC years ago there was a paddler there who had a Zephyr. She wore a wetsuit and so she didn't notice the little fibers. Then she washed the wet suit with her clothes. The sharp little shards got into all of her clothes and she noticed that big time. She had to throw them away.

Anyway, you see my point. Don't wash anything that has come in contact with the boat in the same wash as anything else. Probably it is best not to put it in the washing machine at all. I've always wondered what happened to the next person to use that washer at MKC.

[NickParker]

I could be wrong but I don't think it is fiberglass fibers that shed from Twintex but little shards of polypropylene....

Twintex is an interwoven mixture of E-glass and polypropylene. It's the sharp and brittle E-glass that can cause problems. Polypro is flexible and mostly benign, small fibers of it are used to weave fabrics for clothing.

[clt_capt]

Paint - sprayed it from the can

Krylon Fusion is also a good spray paint for plastics. I have sealed glass boats by spraying with Fusion Primer, followed by Fusion Paint, to get a thicker coat and further seal the fibers... Won't add much weight, saves your skin from itchies...