Yes, I think that sewing first and than sil coating would make sense and I like the zip top bag idea. Put the tarp in the bag, add the silicone mix, purge the air, close tight and need it around. You could then empty into the mixing bucket to go through and check for full coverage before hang and smooth out the excess. Dose sound like a lot to save a few bucks but would be an interesting experiment. Hope all goes well!Originally Posted by Tmoney438
Diz*
"adapt, improvise, overcome" Clint Eastwood - Heart brake ridge
Yeah it's about 30$ cheaper this way. The difference between making a much smaller tarp vs making one that will pretty much work for anything. The nice thing about diy is if something breaks you can fix it without a second thought.
Finished up the tarp recently and was able to take it out and pitch it in the wild for the first time Friday (see picture). The diy silnylon worked like a charm. I mixed the silicone 3 maybe 4 to 1 with mineral spirits in a 5 gal bucket and used my drill with a rod and zip ties to mix well. I dipped the whole tarp (with guy lines attatched) in the bucket and worked it real good wringing it several times and dunking it back in the bucket. Then I hung it up tight and used a cheap foam brush from lowes to paint on more all the way across the top and then Back across the bottom. I can't recall the weight but it passed my water test (dumping glasses of water on it). I am doing a continuous ridge line with prussic (sp?) knots for the d rings. It wasn't nearly as hard as I thought and totally worth the cost savings to just seal ripstop. Will probably make a cover for my pack while I'm at it. Next up, underquilt!
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Let us know how it does it a sustained downpour? I'm very curious. It should work well.
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