Sticky Silnylon Rain Fly

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11-02-2012, 02:15
Deep Thought

Sticky Silnylon Rain Fly

I've got a Hennessy Hyperlite rain fly and the underside of the fly sticks to itself something fierce.
When I take it out of the snake skins, parts of it are practically glued together and make an awful ripping noise when pulled apart (no damage however). i.e. when I take it out of the snake skins, a lot of it stays bunched up.
It has always been sticky, but I just put up with it...until I bought a big silnylon Guides Tarp from MEC and realized that the MEC silnylon didn't stick to itself nearly as much...and come to think of it, neither does the silnylon on my Big Agnes ground sleeping thingy.
I searched the forum with no luck, so I ask you, good peeps of HF, how sticky is too sticky and is there a way to keep my silnylon from sticking together so much?
(I think I read in the DIY silnylon thread and slipping grip-clips thread that different thicknesses of sil coating can have an effect on the grip/stickiness of the fabric)

DT
11-02-2012, 02:45
default

sounds like seam sealant, maybe. try dusting the underside with baby powder.
11-02-2012, 05:22
JohnSawyer

I've heard of seam-sealing sticking to itself. The venerable Ed Speer recommended talc... (like Rev said)

Though I don't know if your hennessy rain fly is Sil or Poly coated...
11-02-2012, 06:39
2Questions

Quote:

Originally Posted by REV

sounds like seam sealant, maybe. try dusting the underside with baby powder.

ZQ here...somebody correct me if I am wrong....but, I don't think you want to use baby powder because it is made from cornstarch which will attract ants. I think talcum powder (if you can find it) is the powder to use.
11-02-2012, 06:46
barbermike

I had the same thing happen to a bathtub floor on a tent I used to own. The Whole floor was tacky as could be. couldn't slide a pad around on it for the life of ya. Only thing I can think is that I used to store all my camping gear (minus bags) in an attic and it would get very very hot. I think the heat can ruin Sil. Any chance your tarp has been stored in high heat?
11-02-2012, 07:58
Fish<><

Quote:

Originally Posted by barbermike

I had the same thing happen to a bathtub floor on a tent I used to own. The Whole floor was tacky as could be. couldn't slide a pad around on it for the life of ya. Only thing I can think is that I used to store all my camping gear (minus bags) in an attic and it would get very very hot. I think the heat can ruin Sil. Any chance your tarp has been stored in high heat?

Exactly what I was thinking...humidity can affect it too. I think I ruined my 10x12 by leaving it in the carport...
11-02-2012, 08:04
gmcttr

FWIW...I have a wide variety of silnylons and none of them are sticky. I would be asking Hennessy for a replacement.

I second not using baby powder/cornstarch. Talc is sold to use on tire inner tubes.
11-03-2012, 01:05
Deep Thought

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2Questions

ZQ here...somebody correct me if I am wrong....but, I don't think you want to use baby powder because it is made from cornstarch which will attract ants. I think talcum powder (if you can find it) is the powder to use.

Thanks for the talcum powder idea and the warning about cornstarch/baby powder!
I just knew there would be a wealth of wisdom here in this forum.
11-03-2012, 02:01
Deep Thought

To be clear, the fly in question is a HH Hyperlite silnylon fly, 4+ years old. The whole underside of the rain fly is pretty "rubbery", not just along the seams (if it was seam-sealer). It's not chewing gum or glue sticky to the touch, but the bottom-side of the rain fly has a bad habit of sticking to itself. This causes a lot of fussing and noise--a terrible tearing sound--pulling all the wrinkles out every time it's unpacked. The top-side of the rain fly is smooth and slippery.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fish<><

Exactly what I was thinking...humidity can affect it too. I think I ruined my 10x12 by leaving it in the carport...

Sorry to hear about your 10x12, did it stick to itself too?

Quote:

Originally Posted by barbermike

I had the same thing happen to a bathtub floor on a tent I used to own. The Whole floor was tacky as could be. couldn't slide a pad around on it for the life of ya. Only thing I can think is that I used to store all my camping gear (minus bags) in an attic and it would get very very hot. I think the heat can ruin Sil. Any chance your tarp has been stored in high heat?

I've had a few frustrating nights with slippery pads/floors (I couldn't find a totally level campsite) and I WISH I had your tacky tent floor. I want my
pad to stay put. It's part of the reason I like the Big Agnes sleep system.

Heat can ruin silnylon? I thought silicone was pretty heat resistant.
I got the hammock+rain fly used, so I don't know it's exact history, but it was sticky when I got it. I store all of my camping stuff in Rubbermaid bins in the basement, but the tarp has been stored compressed a fair bit. I remember someone saying that the stickiness would wear away with time... That hasn't happened yet.

Quote:

Originally Posted by gmcttr

FWIW...I have a wide variety of silnylons and none of them are sticky. I would be asking Hennessy for a replacement.

If I bought it direct from Hennessy, I would be nagging them, but I bought it from an older couple who had just ended their hiking/camping days. Don't know if they'd honour it.

I'm curious to know if other people have a Hennessy rain fly that sticks to itself.
Any other solutions? Talc sounds like a temporary solution, is there a more permanent coating? Or is there a way to remove the excess silicone? What does mineral spirits do to silicone once it's cured?

For now, I'm going to give it a dose of talc and see how it turns out.
I may even make a video of pulling the fly out.
I is likes them visuals. If a picture is worth a thousand words, and video is 24 frames (pictures) per second, then video is worth 24,000 words per second.

Thanks again to all the kind, helpful and knowledgeable folks here.

DT
11-03-2012, 08:00
gargoyle

Real sil is slippery, at least in my experience. With any sill tarp I have owned, it stays slick and slippery. Ask anyone who has sewn a sil tarp...it is a wrestling match.

Rubbery feeling fabric is typically poly-urethane coated. Check your vendors specs on what exactly your tarps are made from.

Does one side feel stickier than the other? Sil feels the same on both sides.
Is there a color difference between the inside and outside? Sil typically has little or no color variation.

EDIT: Heres a link SG's tarp that states the material is PU coated.

EDIT again...HH tarp is also pu coated.
11-03-2012, 08:15
gargoyle

Okay did some more digging..some of hh's tarps are sil and some are pu. As is MEC's.

Perhaps you got a PU tarp by accident?
11-03-2012, 08:35
HURTHEART

Quote:

Originally Posted by REV

sounds like seam sealant, maybe. try dusting the underside with baby powder.

I suggest being aware of the fact that if you use "baby powder", your gear will smell like baby powder. Maybe it will smell stronger than you might like.

I would find Talc withou any scent, same thing just no baby smell. It might take a little search, but it would be worth it unless you really like the baby smell.
11-03-2012, 22:25
dirtwheels

I purchased a monsoon during the Oct sale, one of the doors is exactly as you say, and the tarp was listed as a silnylon tarp, it also weights what the silnylon is advertised to weight.

I plan on contacting Hennessy by phone, they've been great so far, I see yours is 4 years years old. Who knows what they'll say if you contact them, but you'll never know unless you ask.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deep Thought

I've got a Hennessy Hyperlite rain fly and the underside of the fly sticks to itself something fierce.
When I take it out of the snake skins, parts of it are practically glued together and make an awful ripping noise when pulled apart (no damage however). i.e. when I take it out of the snake skins, a lot of it stays bunched up.
It has always been sticky, but I just put up with it...until I bought a big silnylon Guides Tarp from MEC and realized that the MEC silnylon didn't stick to itself nearly as much...and come to think of it, neither does the silnylon on my Big Agnes ground sleeping thingy.
I searched the forum with no luck, so I ask you, good peeps of HF, how sticky is too sticky and is there a way to keep my silnylon from sticking together so much?
(I think I read in the DIY silnylon thread and slipping grip-clips thread that different thicknesses of sil coating can have an effect on the grip/stickiness of the fabric)

DT
08-27-2018, 23:01
dougout

I know this thread is six years old, but I found it doing a search for 'sticky silnylon'. I have a set of snakeskins that sat unused in their original plastic packaging for several years. When I took them out they were quite sticky, almost as if they had a light coating of rubber cement. I also have a tarp that was stored for a few years and it's a bit sticky as well. I seem to recall reading about silnylon outgassing vapors which can make the fabric sticky if it's tightly packed without airflow. I don't get many chances to use my hammocks, so I'm going to try to store them rather loosely with the snakeskins pulled back.
09-03-2018, 21:02
ChefLamont

I dont know about silnylon, but I know that PU does break down over time and get sticky as described. it is basically the first step in the waterproofing delaminating from the fabric and totally ruining. Just today I threw away 2 beloved old tents (and a third may be on the way) for just this thing. :( Its a real bummer.
09-04-2018, 09:45
TominMN

Quote:

Originally Posted by dougout

I know this thread is six years old, but I found it doing a search for 'sticky silnylon'. I have a set of snakeskins that sat unused in their original plastic packaging for several years. When I took them out they were quite sticky, almost as if they had a light coating of rubber cement. I also have a tarp that was stored for a few years and it's a bit sticky as well. I seem to recall reading about silnylon outgassing vapors which can make the fabric sticky if it's tightly packed without airflow. I don't get many chances to use my hammocks, so I'm going to try to store them rather loosely with the snakeskins pulled back.

I'm guessing at least the skins and maybe the tarp are PU coated and not silicon(?) I think you can chemically remove the remaining coating from the skins and save them, they don't need to be waterproof. Not so sure about the tarp; it may well be on its last legs. You can try talc but I suspect the tarp is on the verge of being leaky.