Spray Sealer

[canoebie]

I'm increasingly disinclined to use anything in a spray can.

Are there any brush-on alternatives?

Good point, I used to put Thompson's waterseal in a spray bottle but it got sticky and seemed to take forever to cure. The stuff I treated with it has stayed waterproof for a long time.

[JohnSawyer]

Ron, I think that, if you're just sealing seams, Seam Sealer will work.

If you're aiming to aiming to rehab a PU tarp with a failed coating, I don't know what the remedy might be.

I've only seen one like that, and the coating was peeling off like sunburned skin. The guy ended up buying a new tent.

I have an OLD ext. frame backpack that I wanted my 11 yr old to use on her first trip, and the PU coating was disintegrating quickly. One quick run through the washing machine and it was all gone. The only issue was the fabric ends began unravelling immediately. I used the silicone/naptha trick on the cut ends and seams, and added a can of silicone-based waterproofing spray. It didn't make it totally waterproof, but it does shed water for a time.

[sandykayak]

I brush on Thompson's WaterSeal with a 1" foam brush to seal the seams of regular nylon tents. Wouldn't use it for a whole tarp - or tent, tho.

[BOB1520]

Is it true that different types of sealer have to be used depending on whether the tarp is PU coated or silnylon?

What is used with PU?

I had looked into this a while back and there is a brush on pu that you can apply to the tent or tarp. the only problerm I saw was that you had to lay the tarp/tent out flat brush on and let dry for 24hrs. Also the bottle I saw cost $10 and coverage was 8' x 8' area.
If you have one item it's not so bad, but I was looking at treating 12 tents that our scout troop uses and I would have had to buy 12 or more bottles of the stuff. The more I thought about it... the time that would be invested out weighed the the benefit, since the tents are 10+ years old.

As for the spray Sil at WAlMart (orange cap) this stuff is great. I use it to seal the seams and the tarp on my 12x10 silnylon. I have also used it on my sil stuff sacks. Some of my stuff sacks I can actually hold water in them with no leaking.

[Rain Man]

I start each season by treating 6 tents and three diamond claytor flys with this stuff. ...

I also use the stuff ...

You said "this stuff" twice, but never said what "stuff" you are talking about?

Rain Man

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[JohnSawyer]

I had looked into this a while back and there is a brush on pu that you can apply to the tent or tarp. the only problerm I saw was that you had to lay the tarp/tent out flat brush on and let dry for 24hrs. Also the bottle I saw cost $10 and coverage was 8' x 8' area.
If you have one item it's not so bad, but I was looking at treating 12 tents that our scout troop uses and I would have had to buy 12 or more bottles of the stuff. The more I thought about it... the time that would be invested out weighed the the benefit, since the tents are 10+ years old.

As for the spray Sil at WAlMart (orange cap) this stuff is great. I use it to seal the seams and the tarp on my 12x10 silnylon. I have also used it on my sil stuff sacks. Some of my stuff sacks I can actually hold water in them with no leaking.

At $10 a can, which would barely cover a tent, it would almost be cheaper to wait for a big-5 sale and buy a new tent at $24.99...

[opie]

You said "this stuff" twice, but never said what "stuff" you are talking about?

Rain Man

.

There are several varieties. Ive had good luck with Camp Dry and the stuff from WM.

If you dont mind WM, I believe its in an orange can with an orange top in the camping section. Looks like this...

http://workingperson.com/products/85...one_Spray.html

Then theres Camp Dry (random links from simple search. I in no way endorse the vendors in the links.)

http://www.hanksclothing.com/camp_dr...spray_buy.html

Others....

http://www.mountainsports.com/MSmain...&Detail=095195

I use Sno Seal on my boots, looks like they have a spray...

http://sharedreviews.com/recreation/...-waterproofing

[GaHammockGuy]

I hae a home-made 10'X10' ISH tarp and I just bought some Scotch Guard. Once the rain stops ruining my day, I will take it all outside and spray 'er down. Once I do that I will update this thread with the results.

Nope... I changed my mind... I found another thread here "Make your own Sil" and am looking into that option.

My thought is simple...
Why spray it on, when you can imbed the nylon with the silicone.... you know... really get the silicone to me mixed up all into the fibers of the fabric.

This option sounds more permanent, all be it more difficult, but still. ... if it is more permanent I think it is worth the effort.

Keep you posted on the progress....

[richtorfla]

I rehabbed a bunch of Kelty tents by doing this; tent floors/underside of flys, I found some polyurethane coating in a bottle (Campmor sells it) 7oz bottle made by aquaseal or Kenyon products. Its water based.You can brush it on tent floor or underside of fly.I used a siphon feed spray gun/compressor set-up. Used poly seam seal in dabber bottle to seal seams ( found at Walmart). After poy dries, you have to sprinkle a heavy dose of talcum or baby powder to poly so it does not stick to its self.

For waterproofing , I found some at West marine (gallon jug) that is good for nylon tents, canvas, and sails. Also used spray gun for this. I was pleased with what I did. We got about 4 more years out of the tents till abuse really took their toll (kids are rough on equipment).
Hope this info helps.