make your own sil.

[dimeotane]

Yes, I'm also surprised you could let it sit for 3 days after mixing and not end up with a jello. Mine began to set very quickly after I mixed it. The left overs I tried storing in a sealed jar but it set by the next day. Perhaps the speed it sets has to do with how much oxygen is mixed in? I frothed my mix up good with my drill and zip ties.

I shook the devil out of it and let it set for 3 days (shaking it occasionally).

My understanding is that this mixture will not last, but begins to congeal within a short while of being mixed. I've come back a day later and found it to be like Jello and useless. So, just be careful of thinking letting it set is good for it.

Glad it worked for you, though! I've found it a very handy way to re-do stuff sacks, backpacks, and the like.

Rain Man

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[egrant5329]

I weighed the tarp this morning and I knew it would be heavier than commercial nysil but the weight surprised me a little. The tarp was 174gm before the silicone and 322gm after. Basically the it's weight increased 185%. As I understand it commercial nysil usually increases from 1.1 up to 1.45oz a 132% increase.

The tarp also feels like there is excess silicone and has a rubbery silicone feel to it instead of the more slippery commercial feel. I have no doubt that it will be water proof!

[Rain Man]

My end mixture was about like the thickness of Elmer's glue, perhaps a tad thicker.

Much thicker than mine! For whatever that's worth. But might contribute to the "feel" and weight you described.

... the weight surprised me .... The tarp also feels like there is excess silicone and has a rubbery silicone feel to it ....

Did you wipe the excess off with a squeegee or a simply cloth rag, while it was still wet?

Rain Man

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[egrant5329]

I attempted to wipe the excess off by using a foam brush which mainly worked around the silicone and moved some of the excess to the bottom edge. Then I used some old rags and got some more off, but there was still more that could be removed. I didn't want to redo it later if I took too much off, so I left more on than I should have.

On retrospect I think a thinner silicone solution would work better as my tarp soaked almost the entire batch. What was on the tarp was so thick that almost nothing dripped off. I think a thinner solution would have gotten the silicone in the material and the excess would have dripped off easier. I can see why people would like a squeegee or one of the old clothes rollers, or something to remove the excess.

One of the reasons I tackled this project was too see if I could do it, but another reason was the cheap nylon that I was using was 72" wide (efabricsupplier.com). With this width I didn't need any seams. Most nysil I have see is 60" wide which is too narrow for what I wanted to do.

[Knotty]

Bummer about the excess sil weight.

Silicone doesn't actually disolve in mineral spirits (it just goes into suspension) so the extra days sitting probably just resulted in the silicone starting to set up resulting in a thicker solution which in the end might not even adhere as well to the fabric.

[egrant5329]

I not sure I agree about the silicone setting up, but having only done it once this way so I can't say for sure. In the solvent without air it doesn't make sense to me that it would set up, although it seems reasonable that it would settle out.

The bottle I mixed everything in still had a little left (3/8-1/2") it in after I poured the bulk of it into the bucket. I looked at it this morning on my work bench and it is still the same and I had mixed it last Friday. It oozed around in the bottle in the same thick consistent manor as before.

I think the excess silicone will eventually come off, but I'll just have to wait and see. With a little friction from my thumb the excess rubbed off on a corner that I tested. Since it has dried it doesn't stick to itself when folded, but it doesn't slide open as easily as regular nylon does either.

All in all it will work until I buy a Cuben MacCat deluxe on of these days.

[Jazilla]

I not sure I agree about the silicone setting up, but having only done it once this way so I can't say for sure. In the solvent without air it doesn't make sense to me that it would set up, although it seems reasonable that it would settle out.

I had to throw away 3 tubes recently because they set up and the tubes where never opened.

[Anthony A Jara]

Could anyone provide me with a basic pattern for a hex/cat-cut tarp... My new book the ultimate hang does not provide those details....it's easier for me to receive info thru e-mail([email protected])than through hammockfourms at present.

Thank-you

[Rain Man]

I didn't want to redo it later if I took too much off, so I left more on than I should have.

To me, the reverse is true. I'd rather take off too much and do a second coat instead of leaving too much on. A thick coat will tend to peel off after it dries.

Rain Man

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[egrant5329]

Rain man,
Have you had any that peeled? I am curious if it was or wasn't water proof after peeling.

I can easily rub the excess off the material, but I haven't tested a rubbed off area to see how it holds up to water for any real amount of time. If I cup it into a bowl shape it will hold water in a rubbed off area (on both sides) for a few minutes with no signs of leaking. When I do the same thing to a scrap piece of the nylon it starts seeping within a minute.

For some reason I was under the impression that it is the silicone adhering to the thread that is important and not so much the coating, unlike urethane where the coating is important.

I do agree that multiple small coats would be better. It was near freezing when I did it in my garage and at that time I didn't want to mess with multiple coats and doing it more than once.

I checked my bottle of left over silicone slime just now and it still oozes around. I think I'll dilute it out to where it is fairly thin and coat a piece of left over nylon and see how it works this weekend.