Was looking through old threads and wondering if anyone bothers to use any sort of kite protectant/cleaner at any stage of their kite life? I'm guessing it's probably a minority. Anyone noticed a product that seems to work? I know some products make the kite 'look' new again, but does it actually work?
Calling Sir V - any update on this thread? (only one i found so far).
www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Kitesurfing/General/Kitelife-Equipment-Protectant/?page=3
Briskites mentioned this:
www.holmenkol.com/de-de/en_GB/produkte/aquatic/kite-surf/sealnglide-100.html?id=348&category=255&___store=en&___from_store=de
Anyone used it?
In short i'm looking to (1) clean the kite, (2) apply something to extend the life, if possible.
Cheers.
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I give the leading edge a bit of a wipe with a damp chamois when packing up. It gets off any mud stains, sand or dust and minor abrasion marks from the sand.
Other than that, just pack it carefully and put it in the bag.
From time to time fly it down and land it on the water so that excess salt and dust gets rinsed off.
The biggest cause of damage is dragging the kite across hard and sharp objects like footpath and rocks and shells and bushes and stuff. The solution is simple ... don't do those things.
There's not a lot of point in rubbing moisturiser and cleansing lotions 
on your kite. They last for several years easily with no real maintenance and lots of use. By that time there's a bunch of better new kites on the market.
No matter how good the condition of your kites they are going to depreciate at 50-60% each year.
I have sold Seal N' Glide for a while for dinghy sailors.
They use it their spinnakers, especially when they get launched from chutes.
The main reasons they use it is to make it slippery in the chute but also as less water logged when it goes in the drink.
For kites I think the two main advantages are water repellant and help keeping it clean. Whether that prolongs the life I'm not sure, but the dinghy sailors reckon it does for their spinnakers as it catches on things less.
RF
Thanks for the responses, i'll look into one of the products or just check out a sailing shop and see how it works. What the kite needs is a decent clean and anything that may also help. A waterphobic product sounds good. I quite like the kite and i'd like to keep it for some time yet so not worried about resale, although i understand the temptation of a new kite...
