Due to the unusual, not to say unique nature of HMG's highly flexible Flexithane coating, it can be found in the most unusual places. Developed for such difficult applications as painting hot air balloons and truck side curtains, it was used recently to embellish the country's largest, loudest tie and is currently adorning the giant spinnaker of a competitor in the round-the-world BT Global Challenge yacht race. Both involved notable charities and prominent sailmakers, both were launched by royalty and both necessitated the unique decorative and high performance properties of Flexithane.

Flexithane is a flexible coating that dries to a highly elastomeric film, with excellent adhesion properties on such difficult substrates as PVC, PU elastomer, rubber, fabrics and leather; able to stretch up to 800%, Flexithane coated materials can be literally tied in knots.

Available in 12 base tints and a whole range of match-to-order shades, the coating is highly opaque and normally requires only one coat for true colour rendition. It can also be overcoated with gloss, silk or matt finish Flexithane Clear, for added performance and wear resistance.

The recent high profile Flexithane projects were handled by HMG's marine paints specialist in the south, Jeremy Jackman, who received unusual technical enquiries from two well-known sailmakers. One, from Hood Sails of Lymington, Hampshire, required colourful paint for designing the mammoth promotional spinnaker on Challenge yacht Save The Children. The other, from Arun Sails of Bosham, West Sussex, wanted materials for painting a 140ft long giant tie, in aid of national charity Beating Bowel Cancer.

Happily, Flexithane was able to meet the technical and aesthetic requirements of each application and, as charities were involved, HMG donated hundreds of litres of product FOC. Hood Sails tested Flexithane at its factory in Ireland and found that, not only did the material give better colour opacity than printing inks, without adding weight, it also actually strengthened the sailcloth. Moreover, it was less time consuming and more resilient than the traditional method of sewing together different colour fabrics, as well as allowing more design flexibility.

The BT Global Challenge is described as the world's toughest yacht race and Save The Children is the event's official charity, which is expected to benefit to the tune of £500,000. Its 72ft yacht was donated by corporate sponsor Serco and officially named by HRH The Princess Royal.

It's Flexithane-painted dress spinnaker, which is raised when approaching each port of call, and the yacht's equally colourful hull, feature an eyecatching pirate theme. So successful was the sail that other Challenge entrants also adopted HMG's unique surface coating. Meantime, Arun Sails chose Flexithane for painting a 140ft long x 40ft wide tie, also made from nylon spinnaker fabric, which was created for the charity Beating Bowel Cancer, in aid of its Loud Tie Day.

Co-funded by former BBC Watchdog presenter Lynn Faulds-Wood, the charity organised the event to raise awareness of the second biggest cancer killer and generate funding for local diagnostic clinics. Since it was to be suspended down the side of the London Television Centre building, the country's largest tie was carefully engineered, with a sewn-in reinforcing tube and suspension points. It was painted during an all-night creative session at the Millennium Dome, with HMG supplying over a hundred litres of paint and Jeremy Jackman and his daughter Leonie joining in the fun.

The tie was officially unfurled by HRH The Prince of Wales, before a gathering of TV celebrities, and its sheer size and bright colours attracted widespread TV and press coverage on the day. Certainly these were not normal applications for Flexithane, but then very few are!

Further enquiries to:
HMG Paints
Riverside Works
Collyhurst Road
Manchester
M40 7RU
Telephone 0161 205 7631
email sales@hmgpaint.com