mnskydiver688 0 #1 February 21, 2008 I was contemplating whether or not fabric color affects it's longevity? Like does black degrade faster due to it absorbing more light energy than white? Or does red degrade faster than white because the extra chemicals used in coloring the fabric negatively affect the durability of the fabric?Sky Canyon Wingsuiters Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
IanHarrop 37 #2 February 21, 2008 I found this post http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=1220729#1220729"Where troubles melt like lemon drops, away above the chimney tops, that's where you'll find me" Dorothy Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mnskydiver688 0 #3 February 21, 2008 Ahh thank you for pointing that out. I guess I didn't use the right search words.Sky Canyon Wingsuiters Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skyfreek 1 #4 February 21, 2008 looking at all the different color tandem canopies i get to jump... stay away from flourescent orange, it is the most faded one.black goes to dark grey, and most others just fade out a bit. white of course goes light brown over time. this is with packing indoors as well... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LloydDobbler 2 #5 February 21, 2008 QuoteI was contemplating whether or not fabric color affects it's longevity? Like does black degrade faster due to it absorbing more light energy than white? Or does red degrade faster than white because the extra chemicals used in coloring the fabric negatively affect the durability of the fabric? I also posted something on this a while back...of course, it's not just about the aesthetics of fading colors, but about the strength of the canopy fabric after exposure to sunlight. One of the master riggers at Cal City did a study on this subject a couple of years ago & presented it at PIA. His findings showed that most colors (including dark colors) held up well - but certain fluorescent colors showed weak tensile strength after prolonged exposure. When the question came up on here before, I got his permission to pass it along to anyone who wanted to know more. So I'll put it up again - if anyone wants to check it out, here's the info: [URL "http://www.upscalehomeless.com/muzak/fabric_color_study.zip"]Presentation[/URL] (~20MB) [URL "http://www.upscalehomeless.com/muzak/fabric_color_study_files.zip"]Supplemental files[/URL] (~120MB) The 'Presentation' powerpoint file contains the report presented at PIA - if you'd like to dig through specific scans of the fabric each day as it was evaluated over the course of the study, etc, then you can download the supplemental files as well (but for the most part, the powerpoint presentation is pretty darn thorough). Here's what the originator of the study emailed me: QuoteAs white is the base color of yarn used to weave and make the fabric, and as some colors last significantly shorter than white, it follows that the dyes used for those fabric colors are affecting the life of the canopy. This is, as is easy to see from the my work, a result of interaction of mostly fluorescent colors. Fluorescence is achieved by exciting electrons in the dye and sometimes also creating free electrons, same thing as "free radicals," often accused of chemical damage to proteins in living creatures and so on. Blue skies, Soko Dr. Mirko Djordjevic President SokoParaTech, Ltd. As with any scientific study, it's subject to peer review and replication. Look it over and conclude what you will. Hope it helps.Signatures are the new black. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Loonix 0 #6 February 22, 2008 Analyze my canopy and find out ;) I think most of the possible colors are in there... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dragon2 0 #7 February 22, 2008 Didn't PD quit using the light purple color for a reason like that? ciel bleu, Saskia Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billvon 2,400 #8 February 22, 2008 >Like does black degrade faster due to it absorbing more light energy than white? Generally the opposite is true. Dark dyes prevent UV from penetrating as deeply as lighter dyes (or no dyes.) I have a black line set (Technora) on my Nitro. Supposedly that will reduce UV damage. It may well do that, although I think line sets wear out long before they see any significant UV damage. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mnskydiver688 0 #9 February 22, 2008 I am surprised they haven't developed a zp coating that blocks UV.Sky Canyon Wingsuiters Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
crazydiver 0 #10 February 23, 2008 QuoteI am surprised they haven't developed a zp coating that blocks UV. I believe that would be called Dupont SolarMax fabric. It has soarcoat that blocks/absorbs UV rays thus preventing it from entering the actual fabric. I think this is what PD uses. Cheers, Travis Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NWPoul 1 #11 January 28, 2011 Would be interesting to see the results of such experiment for porosity degradation:)Why drink and drive, if you can smoke and fly? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
piisfish 135 #12 June 8, 2017 LoonixAnalyze my canopy and find out ;) I think most of the possible colors are in there...you haven't seen Remster's canopy yetscissors beat paper, paper beat rock, rock beat wingsuit - KarlM Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
theplummeter 14 #13 June 14, 2017 crazydiverQuoteI am surprised they haven't developed a zp coating that blocks UV. I believe that would be called Dupont SolarMax fabric. It has soarcoat that blocks/absorbs UV rays thus preventing it from entering the actual fabric. I think this is what PD uses. According to the owners manual, my Precision Aerodynamics Fusion was made of SolarMax and had a Technora line set. It was orange and black and didn't seem to have faded at all over a couple hundred jumps. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
