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  1. #321
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    Hi, great information in here. I have only just joined and wish I had have found it a few months ago. I have been mucking around with making a tarp from Ripstop and waterproofed it with a 1:5 ratio plumbers silicon:mineral spirits. The tarp is 10 * 10 and I soaked it, post sewing, in a tub with a lid for about 4 hours giving it a squeeze every so often. I hung it up for about a week and despite a few runs it come out really well and it didn't leak even when I had the hose on it, full force from 12 inches away. Even the webbing which I sewed down the ridge line didn't leak or become wetted. This tarp was a prototype for a big one I want to make: 20*20. In terms of mixing the solution I just added the spirits very slowly and mixed by hand: like making mayonnaise. No worries at all, took 10 minutes to mix up a litre or so. Weight isn't too much of an issue so I was pretty heavy handed and used a standard tube of silicon, but a lot remained on the inside of the container. I got my ripstop at a bargain price...errr...I'm converting it from metric....about $1.80 US per yard, 60 inch wide. So yeah a great cheap and pretty light weight tarp. Next: the big one.

  2. #322
    Senior Member DemostiX's Avatar
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    I'll register that a commercial mfg would take measures to control, including by recapture, the VOCs. Even in China.

    With apologies for not going through all pages to discover if that concern has been registered, and if someone is quickly squeegiing the wet fabric.

  3. #323
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    Tales of failure:

    (Hey, we can't all have success.)

    Made a big tarp out of what is ripstop nylon, cheap Walmart stuff.

    Figure I'll probably cut the tarp down later, but I'm tall (6'4), and I made my hammock longer, so I went with 15x10, before hemming. Enough room to shelter a hammock and have a camp on a rainy day. And if it's too big, I'll recut it. Making a tarp smaller is easy. Making a tarp larger is not.

    First attempt: Big bucket, some mineral oil, tube of silicon, 5 gallon bucket. Dunked the tarp. Pitched it to dry. It failed. Felt very much like nylon still. Water held in it quickly beaded up on the opposite side.

    Analysis: Probably too little silicon.

    Second attempt: Big bucket, some more mineral spirit, two tubes. Mixed to the consistency of runny snot. Tarp is more than a little... rubbery now. Water beads on the other side slowly. Under a shower head, it mists where the shower head hits it.

    Grrr.

    I think the second failure was due to it being a hair too thin of a mixture, and dunking it. I got too many bubbles in the mixture.

    I'll try a third attempt later, but this time, I'm going to premix the solution, pour it back into the can, pitch the tarp, pour a little of the solution back out into a clean can, and paint the tarp, section by section, pouring fresh solution out of the can when I need to.

    Any suggestions welcomed.

    I'm kind of curious if I could possibly be spoiling the tarp by waterproofing it multiple times. I can't see how. Any material is going to remelt(? that can't be the right term) the silicon in the tarp, then deposit some more.

  4. #324
    Senior Member Jazilla's Avatar
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    Dasunt, I think you are using too thin a mixture. Measurements really come into play on this type of project. Too thin it won't work and too thick it will be hard to apply a thin coat.
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  5. #325
    Senior Member Rain Man's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by dasunt View Post
    Any suggestions welcomed.
    I use a 4:1 ratio of mineral spirits to clear silicone. You can go by volume or by weight. Precision is not critical. I do wipe off any excess and let dry. I repeat the whole process two or three times, on both sides of the fabric. So far, this has worked for me on stuff sacks and backpacks. Have not done an entire tarp yet.

    Rain Man

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  6. #326
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    Large tarp project

    Yes it does seem that the ratio is really important. I did trials on small sections of ripstop and even applied the silicon neat using a sponge roller. Interestingly this wasn't as impermeable as the 1:5 silicon:mineral spirits mix. To test it I made a balloon of water with the material and applied force until water would come through. My assumption is that the stronger the solution the less penetration into the pores of the fabric. The soaking method seemed to work well for me but when I do the big tarp I am going to apply the silicon pre sewing as I will be using 20 ft strips of rip stop. I was going to brush the solution on both sides and then put it into a sealed plastic bag and give a squeeze every so often. After a few hours I was then going to pull it between 2 pieces of sponge the width of the material to give a nice even finish, and then hang it up to cure for a week. The next bit I'm unsure of and I would appreciate your thoughts: I was going to to use neat silicon to glue the strips together and also glue the webbing into position. I will then sew the webbing as well. However I an wondering how strong the glue line would be if I overlapped the silnylon strips say 4 inches. Would I need to sew these?

  7. #327
    Senior Member Roadrunnr72's Avatar
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    Here is the link to my thread on DIY tarp and SIL. You need to go to post 23 to get to the sil.
    Last edited by Roadrunnr72; 05-28-2011 at 10:16.
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  8. #328
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    If I'm experimenting on a small sheet first, if I take the rest of the solution and put it in an empty mineral spirits can and close it tight, should I have any problem using it for the full tarp a few days later if I remember to stir it again?

  9. #329
    Senior Member JohnSawyer's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by dasunt View Post
    If I'm experimenting on a small sheet first, if I take the rest of the solution and put it in an empty mineral spirits can and close it tight, should I have any problem using it for the full tarp a few days later if I remember to stir it again?
    I tried this (for giggles) and it was ok for a few days. Eventually a layer will cure. You'll need to puncture it to get to the rest of the mix...
    "Do or do not, there is no try." -- Yoda


  10. #330
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    Quote Originally Posted by dasunt View Post
    If I'm experimenting on a small sheet first, if I take the rest of the solution and put it in an empty mineral spirits can and close it tight, should I have any problem using it for the full tarp a few days later if I remember to stir it again?
    I tried this too, in an old grapefruit juice container. It was mixed 1:5, filled to the top, and the lid screwed on tight. It had cured solid within a few hours. I did leave it outside in partial sun. I think that had something to do with it.
    .. truly to enjoy bodily warmth, some small part of you must be cold, for there is no quality in this world that is not what it is merely by contrast. Nothing exists in itself. If you flatter yourself that you are all over comfortable, and have been so a long time, then you cannot be said to be comfortable any more. - Herman Melville

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