new member and new rib owner

[soley1]

hi,im new to this forum and new to the rib world,ive just returned from my hols 2 weeks in cornwall,the same campsite as the kill cord accident(another thread)whilst down there i picked up a valiant d300 rib(fiberglass hull) for much cheapness,it was stuck in a corner of a boat yard,deflated and covered in wildlife and dirt,a quick trip to the jetwash got rid of most of it,got it back to campsite and give it a more thourough clean just to make it look a tad more respectable,the tubes have been repaired but the repairs look awful but i just needed it to last until i got home where i can restore it properly,i intend to replace the existing patches and possible give it a coat of suitable paint,ive heard of tuff coat(any good and available?)so if any input on restoring this little rib would be a great help.
thanks in advance
Andy

[Poly]

Your valiant will be polyurethane not hypalon - this probably affects your choice of paint. Generally people here don't like painted tubes - preferring instead elbow grease and chemicals to revive old dirty/tired tube.

[Mollers]

Don't paint it, it'll look shite. Use the 'Search' tab to find out how to clean it using the 'Ribnet Technique'.

[soley1]

thanks for the replies,well ive removed all of the nasty looking patches and found a hole the size of a 5p piece amd in the same area lots of pinholes,and i dont no what to do,is it worth repairing,what are my options,i cant afford a retube,what about inner tubes route,i read some negative stories about inner tubes but in all honesty the rib wont get used that often.

[Poly]

Originally Posted by soley1

thanks for the replies,well ive removed all of the nasty looking patches and found a hole the size of a 5p piece amd in the same area lots of pinholes,and i dont no what to do,is it worth repairing,what are my options,i cant afford a retube,what about inner tubes route,i read some negative stories about inner tubes but in all honesty the rib wont get used that often.

You should be able to patch that, and if you want it to look smart possibly use a very large "wear patch" with a matching one on the other side. Or I know someone who had damage on the top of the tube, in a location which then conveniently became a new rubber cleat.

Patching PU is not as "simple" as hypalon so you might need some specialist advice. I wouldn't go down the inner tubes route. For less than the cost of inner tubes you could take it to a professional tuber and get them to do the repair for you (assuming that is all that needs done).

[soley1]

hi,just an update from my recent posts,got most of the old glue of the tubes with a mixture of flappy wheel,scraper and lastly a dremmel with a small stone(works remarkably well)oh and elbow grease,pvc repair kit arrived today which i ordered from tinternet,just waiting for some degreaser to arrive,my intention is if the repairs are succesful is to ad some extra patches at the rear on top of the repairs as a bit of reinforment anybody got any links to larger sheets of pvc as the only i can find are smaller than i would like
thanks in advance
Andy