THE RESULTS!!! Coating various materials materials with Silicon mixture (Photo)

[RAPPLEBY2000]

A LIVE TEST

I'm currently testing the idea, I've mixed a small amount about a tablespoon of silicon and Turps (which is apparently the same thing).
it mixed very easily with a lolly stick in about 1 minute, and now is clearer than before,

I've put a layer on these scraps of material.
DPM poly/cotton.(actually NBC suit outer material).
sand coloured polyester. as found on sleeping bags/jacket linings.
green polyester as found on sleeping bags/jacket linings.
olive Rip-stop nylon similar but not as thick as parachute material.
Rip-stop Pertex as found on Buffalo type clothing.
PLCE Cordura lining practically all fallen off.
PLCE nylon stuff sack fabric (found on sides of issue stuff sacks).
ALICE ballistic nylon, as found on the old US ammo pouches it's the same as ALICE pack material.
Ventile just really to see what happens to cotton.

so far the difference is darker as though the material is wet, you can still see all the colours clearly the DPM colours easily.
The sand colour is least effected, the green seems darker, the rip-stop seems to have instantly soaked through to both sides.
all of the fabrics appear slightly shiny as you'd expect.

Now leaving it to dry for a couple of hours. I'll report on the results.




LIVE TEST RESULTS

I left the samples for a further few hours and some have changed

The edge between coated and uncoated is marked with a white sticker. As you can see on some fabrics you just can't tell.

The silicon solution was pasted on the reverse of all the fabrics shown, apart from the ventile. As most of us are probably more concerned about the resulting possible visible difference. incase you are wondering the reverse (coated side) of all the fabric samples looks the same as the front but is slightly shiny (apart from the ventile)

They all look pretty much the same as the untreated fabric, the colour change is only very slight

The largest colour change i.e. most visible difference is on the ALICE ballistic nylon(much darker patch) the PLCE nylon stuff sack fabric which is now darker, the olive Rip-stop nylon fabric looks as though I coated both sides.

The most obvious coulour change is the Pertex, and the sand coloured polyester but if you didn't know, it wouldn't be obvious.
My camera dosen't do it much justice but basically they all have very slight colour changes but not something that will ruin the fabrics look, The Ripstop nylon and the ALICE Ballistic nylon was the strangest as the silicon seemed to leak straight through whereas all the other fabrics the silicon stayed on one side I guess it's to do with air spaces in the fabric?
you can't see the colour change at all on the PLCE Cordura

The ventile I was surprised with, you can barely see the small square I added (top right corner) Please don't put Silicon on ventile or polycotton clothing it will stop breathing, and you may as well wear cheap PU waterproofs!

In conclusion it definitely works, and you can't really see the colour difference on most outdoor fabrics unless you look reallly closely.
I have no problem coating my kit with the silicon mixture as it will make no difference to the overall looks but will be very waterproof!

 

[Alan 13~7]

Doesn't turps give of a really strong unpleasant lingering smell?

 

[PDA1]

DIY silnylon. Good idea. To be most effectvie you need to coat / impregnate from both sides. As ypu statem makes an impervious material, good for tarps, tents etc. You might be better using mineral spirits (white spirit in the UK) which is a light petroleum distillate that is more or less odor free in contrast to turpentine, and more important, is half the price. In addition to making cloth waterproof, the process greatly increases the tear strength of the fabric, which allows a much lighter fabric for tarps/shelters.

 

[rickwhite]

What's the abrasion resistance of the coating like? I'd consider using this method to re-waterproof the upper surfaces (e.g. shoulders) of an old jacket but if I use a rucksack, will it just rub and peel off quickly, or does it sufficiently penetrate the fibres to maintain some abrasion resistance?

 

[The Lord Poncho]

Brilliant test, fabulously executed - thanks! I don't suppose that you know roughly what ratio Silicon to turps that you used? I've been meaning for ages to do an entire Coleman Event Shelter in this way as they aren't really waterproof....

 

[PDA1]

2litres (2 quarts here) of white spirit and one cartridge of clear silicone caulk (10.5 oz here, approx 250gm in the civilised world). Enoughtfor two large tarps in this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UTZPllgqSc

This chap does some pretty good DIY outdoor stuff.

 

[RAPPLEBY2000]

Hi to answer the questions:

When I first started the project I thought, I have an unopened bottle of white spirits in the shed (suggested by others to use), It turned out to be Turps substitute. I did a quick Google and found out it does pretty much the same thing, so I opted to use Turps substitute but wanted to make sure it would do the same thing, hence the test.

The mixture was about Half silicon and half turps I only made a small amount (a couple of tablespoons worth) as a test.

The vinegar/chemical smell was only really present while I added the mixture, I hung the samples on the washing line, in a warm breeze the smell had reduced in minutes, and after a couple of hourswhen the silicon had dried it had completely gone, there is no smell at all today. Idid only use small amounts but it's possible the smell may have been reduced because I used Turps substitute rather than White spirits?

The abrasion resistance? difficult to tell on the small amounts I've used, but what I can say is on the more open fabrics like Polycotton, Ripstop nylon, cordura, and the ALICE Ballistic nylon, and the ventile (+ cottons in general) it seemed to soak in and become part of the material.
The Fabrics that were less open weave the poyesters, Pertex and previously slicon coated items, seemed to not soak it up totally and formed more of an outer layer which left more of the silicon layer exposed so therefore would be less abrasion resistant.

3 year poncho seam sealing test, it was never really meant to be a test but it can be used as one.
I am preparing an old US poncho for reproofing, as an experiment about 3 years ago I coated parts of the poncho in undiluted silicon (straight from the tube), I spread it fairly thinly over the seam areas perhaps 2" over the edges, it did work, and stayed on. in preperation I managed to pick most of it off last night just with my fingers but it wasn't easy. I treat my poncho fairly roughly and use it as shelter and groundsheet so it's a pretty good test that even neat silicon would work on previously waterproofed PU coated material.

I should point out, that every fabric tested except the 2 thickest (ALICE and PLCE fabric) all feel different, either slightly grippy, or the material feels slightly less flexible.

It dawned on me thismorning, coating things with silicon IS NOT a light weight option.
If you add an entire tube of silicon, you've also added to the fabric the weight of a tube of silicon.
if you want a lightweight version a spray-on or wash-in waterproofing is going to be much lighter.


but...before you coat your entire Bushcraft outdoor gear with silicon!
I will suggest CAUTION.
This is really only suggested for fabric such as tarps tents and rucksack type materials that seriously need reproofing and perhaps the PU coating has worn off, other items could easily be ruined.
If you coat Pertex, ventile, goretex, canvas, ripstop nylon, Cordura, cotton, Nylon, leather and ANY mixture of fibres, you will fundamentally and permanantly change the structure of the fabric, anything breathable will become NON breathable. That £100 lightweight breathable waterproof will become a £10 pac-a-mac.
anything like a cotton or military syle shirt or trousers will become sweaty to wear.
Coating a bivibag in silicon would result in effect a plastic survival bag.
Coating a sleeping bag, will make it sweaty. though for older designs like the 58" sleeping bag or German Sniper bag with waterproof sections it may be good for reproofing with care.
Boots or gloves will be Waterproof but won't function as before, and again be less breathable.
Coating anything fleecy or insulated like wool or microfibre is likely to be a disaster and you will permanantly loose any thermal or microfibre qualities

 

[RAPPLEBY2000]

Hi since testing the silicon on various fabrics I'm wondering a further question.

is there a way of making the silicon less shiny?

Because it's clear, silicon would theoretically go un-noticed on most fabrics IF it wasn't shiny.

In the past I've managed to turn "gloss" into make "matt" paint by mixing gloss with Matt, I'm guessing on a microscopic level the surface is rough.

The same must be possible with silicon, the surface when wet and dry is very shiney like gloss paint. if White spirit/turps breaks up silicon (waters it down) then if something can probably be added to break up the surface enough to give a rougher "matt" finish.

some of the other silicon you can buy white, and brown is not as shiny but what is the difference?

I've seen sand and other elements to paint to give a rough finish, I've considered sand, but most elements would not soak into the fabric and would stay on the outside, when dry it would act like sandpaper!

so what I'm after is: A chemical I can add to the mixture that will break down the surface of silicon but won't effect the overall use.

As silicon has acid(vinegar smell) as an active ingredient, perhaps mixing a neutral or an alkali chemical to the mixture material would have the desired effect?

FURTHER TEST RESULTS adding paint.

OK I've added some Olive coloured waterbased waterproof paint to the Silicon/turps mix, it's the waterproof stuff you'd paint on fences.
(I tried adding standard gloss paint but it's far more smelly and takes longer to dry)


It's dried super fast, I've painted a thick layer onto the thicker ALICE and PLCE Cordura material and seems to have soaked in the same as the origonal mix and seems to be a matt and stable finish!

 

[RAPPLEBY2000]

After testing the fabric by making it wet with water the paint rubbed off quite easily.

water based paint does not work, the solution in thinner material didn't seem to dry.