Using Nikwax Has Stripped The Seam Tape From My Kit...Advice Please...

[Angst]

Hi....been preparing for the wet months ahead and washing and reproofing my bags and coats etc with Nikwax tx direct & tech wash and also decided to do an old bivi bag and an old 58 pattern brit army poncho...as it says on the bottle ''faulty or old seam tape can sometimes become loose from treatment''....understatement of the year....every single length has completely come off....can anyone please tell me where i can get replacement tape and/or whats it called?....had a quick look on ebay and all i seem to get is gaffer/duct tape....or tent repair tape at £6 for 3metres etc....will cost more than the kits worth lol...would something like this do?:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/20mm-x-40m-Black-Adhesive-Waterproof-Multipurpose-Repair-Duck-Gaffer-Cloth-Tape-/350885582580?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&var=&hash=item51b26916f4

or theres this....but i've got to buy a flippin hot air gun?????????:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Waterproof-Repair-Tape-for-Goretex-Sympatex-30mm-Low-Melt-Version-/331604743193?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item4d352ed419

also....finally getting round to treating my Lowa gtx boots....i've got nikwax stuff but now i'm dubious....a lot of people rate snoseal...any input?

regards and thanks,

sonni

 

[tartanferret]

Pennine outdoor used to sell it, think its on ebay as well though

http://www.pennineoutdoor.co.uk/seamseal-tape-gortex

 

[nunzionuk]

I've never had issues with Nikwax... but then I only use it on surplus cotton/canvas stuff.

As for seam tape, either camping shops, or craft places, i would say are your best bets.

 

[bilmo-p5]

This stuff from Pointnorth does, as it says, work well on PU nylon. I haven't tried it on the issue bivy bag material (Goretex?) but I'll give it a go tonight and report back.

 

[Angst]

hi...thanks guys, ta bilmo....just figured out that what i need (as sir ferret has now said) is seam sealing tape and sure enough theres loads on ebay:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_f...ing+tape.TRS0&_nkw=seam+sealing+tape&_sacat=0

though which one do i buy?....and i just came across a forum that seems to say that it can be easily done with a fairly cool iron with a piece of paper between it and the fabric...is this correct or am i going to melt everything?

i'll await your input bilmo...yup goretex...thanks again,

s

 

[Toddy]

Industrially it's added at the sewing machine. It's a really hot, air thing that seals it to the fabric. It's hard even with a good iron to do it thoroughly. If you can get hold of one of the little ones (like ladies who do appliqué quilting use, or encaustic painting, or 'jewel' setting…Lidl's had them for around £8 not long since, but Clover brand ones cost near £30 ! ) then those are much finer and better focused. If you can add a flat plate end to a soldering iron that's just the width of the tape, then that would do the job too I reckon.

I admit that sometimes I'm really tempted to sew the blasted stuff down, then iron it solidly in place and then run a seam sealer glue pen over the stitching lines just to be certain.

M

 

[Angst]

lol...ta mary....well by the looks of it the tape is not going to be that expensive so after bilmos got back to me i'll get some and give it a go....nothing to lose eh? and it gives me some education too so its kool...

being quite amazed by the damage the nikwax did and also an idiot, whilst writing all this i've had a second 58 pattern poncho in the machine....its just about as near mint as you can find nowadays and i was lucky to get it, but i took the risk and its come out absolutely fine....i guess because its like new and/or been stored correctly all these years the tape hadnt degraded and therefore has remained intact...interesting eh?....and a big ''phew'' from me lol

but....i've got two more nearly new mtp bivi bags that i want to treat and i'm now scared to risk it....they cost me 50 quid each and despite the fact theyre only a year or two old i had one let in water last year at the westonbirt arboretum where it hammered it down for three days straight...it made the bushmoot look like a desert in comparison....do i risk it?

s

ps...found this:

SEAM SEALING TAPE INSTRUCTIONS


- Use the following steps to apply seam tape to coated fabrics. You may wish to experiment with scrap fabric before applying it to your project.

- Trim seams to 1/4" in width.

- Heat iron to the delicate setting-Do not use steam or spray.

- To determine the adhesive side of the tape, hold the tape so that one end of the tape hangs down freely. The "curl" on the free end of the tape curls toward the non-adhesive side.

- Place a piece of plain white paper over the tape and fabric to protect the coating of the fabric and to keep the coating of the fabric from getting on the iron.

- Pressing down with the iron, press along the seamline continually moving the iron slowly along the seam.

- When sufficiently sealed the tape will turn clear and shiny, white spots are areas where the glue has not sufficiently melted yet. Replace the white paper and heat these areas again.

- Allow to set and cool before touching tape.

and just found this old thread on bcuk...seems i'm not the only one left seam-less:

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-95242.html

Industrially it's added at the sewing machine. It's a really hot, air thing that seals it to the fabric. It's hard even with a good iron to do it thoroughly. If you can get hold of one of the little ones (like ladies who do appliqué quilting use, or encaustic painting, or 'jewel' setting…Lidl's had them for around £8 not long since, but Clover brand ones cost near £30 ! ) then those are much finer and better focused. If you can add a flat plate end to a soldering iron that's just the width of the tape, then that would do the job too I reckon.

I admit that sometimes I'm really tempted to sew the blasted stuff down, then iron it solidly in place and then run a seam sealer glue pen over the stitching lines just to be certain.

M

 

[Toddy]

There are varieties of the tape. One's three layered and I don't mind what the other one is but it's not meant for goretex.
Point North was where I bought mine last time. I think it was around a pound a metre.

Up front, I hate seam sealing. I know it works but I really dislike it. I'd rather make a flat felled seam and then waterproof the whole piece with something like the nikwax. I know it's different for things like dry bags, but unless you're going for full immersion (and then just use a polybag or old fashioned orange plastic survival bag) the flat felled bit works fine. Make jackets so that there's no seam across the shoulders, so that the hood seams are protected and that water runs off rather than in, and it'll keep you at least as dry as you'd be when the goretex barrier is overloaded.

Masses of talk and advice on clothing for cold weather, but ours is damp, always damp, often sploonging wet damp…and there's not so much that actually works well when you're wet inside and outside your kit.

Cold and dry's a damned sight easier I reckon.

M

 

[bilmo-p5]

This stuff from Pointnorth does, as it says, work well on PU nylon. I haven't tried it on the issue bivy bag material (Goretex?) but I'll give it a go tonight and report back.

Looks to have taken ok.

When I told the nice lady at Pointnorth what I wanted it for, this is what she sent. I put it on with a small iron on the hot side of medium and with a piece of silicone paper between iron & tape. The whitish parts are the way it's catching the light - it does really look like a good bond.
I just discovered that I could do with applying a few mtrs of it to that bag.

 

[Angst]

bilmo youre a star...thankyou, thats another beer i owe you...so that tape in the pic is the same as the link you put up yep?

but what is silicone paper?....its people like you lot who make me realise how stupid i am....really annoying lol...

s

 

[Toddy]

It's the stuff sold as "Baking Parchment" in the grocery.
It's also the stuff on the back of iron on double sided interfacing.
It is not Freezer paper, even if it feels the same. That stuff is actually a wax coating that heat seals itself around things like bread, but is also used to stop freezer burn on the ends of meat joints.

M

 

[bilmo-p5]

Yes, the stuff I linked in my 1st post is the stuff in the pic. I don't really know what silicone paper is but it comes with the heat transfer paper I use for the Bilbank instructions; nothing much sticks to it. The iron I used is pretty much what Mary described and has a teflon coated sole which slopes up at the point so you can have just a small area in contact if you wish.
I bought t specifically for seam sealing a couple of yrs since; can't remember where.

 

[Angst]

aha....i know the stuff....thankyou!!! pointnorth order going in now! and trust you to have a posey iron!!!

s

 

[Macaroon]

In regards to the boots, Sonni, the best I've found for all makes of leather boots is the Altberg Ledergris; it's a mix of wax and oils and suits the modern tanning methods that the big bootmakers all seem to use on their leathers. There's anormal one for everyday use and an extreme version for when the boots have really had a heavy soak; brown, black and neutral. I use nothing else now, and I've tried them all plus homemade.

 

[bilmo-p5]

Posey iron

notwithstanding, the amount of loose tape I found in my bivy, it'll be easier to make a new bedroll.

 

[Angst]

yo...ok m8....you free for a phone call?

s

In regards to the boots, Sonni, the best I've found for all makes of leather boots is the Altberg Ledergris; it's a mix of wax and oils and suits the modern tanning methods that the big bootmakers all seem to use on their leathers. There's anormal one for everyday use and an extreme version for when the boots have really had a heavy soak; brown, black and neutral. I use nothing else now, and I've tried them all plus homemade.

 

[Macaroon]

Yessir Sonni, anytime for you matey

 

[weekender]

Could a mix of silicone and white spirit be used on a gore tec seam?


Sent from somewhere?

 

[Toddy]

We tried it on a jacket of HWMBLT. It sort of worked. It left a white striped bit that was sort of not flexible, iimmc.
Maybe we got the mixture wrong, but I can't say it was a great success for us.

M

 

[weekender]

I've done it on a tarp and it seemed to work well just wondered if it would work on Gore Tex


Sent from somewhere?