Waterproofing a basha/tarp.

[beenn]

Hello,
Went out last night using the basha have had for a while and it let water in- noting major but around the seams and where water was held.
If i was out for the night it could of been a problem though so how can i re proof it?

Looking for a wash in or spray on that will work and last

Thank you

 

[redandshane]

You will need to seal the seams using a seam sealant http://www.mcnett.com/Seam-Sealing-Gear-Repair-C142.aspx
do a variety depending on material

I would get some liquid fabsil http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&...=aps&hvadid=5444955296&ref=pd_sl_95mlka66sc_e and paint it on the tarp from personal experience if you are gonna do it don't bother with the spray stuff get the liquid its good for other stuff as well so its an investment

 

[Shewie]

Another vote for the McNett stuff

Alternatively you can get some clear silicone from a DIY shop and mix it 60-40 with some white spirits, it goes on much easier if you dilute it and then the white spirits evaporates leaving just the silicone. If you want a tidy jib you can mask it off either side of the seam with some tape.

Why was there water being held Ben? Did you have one half flat?

 

[beamdune]

Alternatively you can get some clear silicone from a DIY shop and mix it 60-40 with some white spirits, it goes on much easier if you dilute it

Do you mean the stuff that comes in a tube that you use in a sealant gun? I guess this sounds dim but how do you dilute it, just squirt some into a pot, add white spirit and stir?

 

[Shewie]

Do you mean the stuff that comes in a tube that you use in a sealant gun? I guess this sounds dim but how do you dilute it, just squirt some into a pot, add white spirit and stir?

Yep that's pretty much it, it stays lumpy for a while but then it starts to break down nicely, you should end up with something looking like wallpaper paste

 

[shaggystu]

what's the basha made of beenn?

 

[beenn]

I bought the basha off a member here- i think its a British army basha

I had it set up as a lean-to with the center attachment point tied to a branch above.

Between the center and the ridgeline water was holding until i re arranged the shelter but then the inside had water running on it. Not 100% if it had just come in or if it is leaking

 

[shaggystu]

i believe (though i may be wrong) that the brit army bashas are made of PU coated nylon, whether you can go ahead and proof with silicone straight on top of PU or not i have no idea, someone will know. if it is leaking then i'd expect to see some evidence of delamination between the nylon and the PU coating, if i couldn't see that then i'd presume that i just didn't have my basha set up very well and leave it 'til next time it rains to have another look. if you can see delamination between the fabric and it's coating then i'm not sure how much help another layer of waterproofing would help.

if you do decide to go down the silicone route then shewie had it about right, clear builders silicone diluted with some white spirit, personally i'd be going for something more like three parts white spirit to one part silicone though. my reason for that is that i wouldn't be painting it on, what i'd do is get a bucket with my solution in it and give the fabric a good soak in the bucke, once the fabric was well and truely wetted i'd take it out and pitch it as flat and taught as i could get it and leave it to dry. whatever you do make sure you don't have any creases or folds in the fabric as it dries because you'll never get them out again, they'll be siliconed together

HTH

stuart

 

[ged]

... personally i'd be going for something more like three parts white spirit to one part silicone ... and pitch it as flat and taught as i could get it and leave it to dry. ...

How long do you reckon it takes to dry like that Stuart? I'm thinking of doing an old poncho.

 

[Mesquite]

How long do you reckon it takes to dry like that Stuart? I'm thinking of doing an old poncho.

Dr Jones did his parachute with that method the other day and told me it was dry and free of smell and most importantly waterproof within 24 hrs.

Fingers crossed I'll be doing my chute the same way tomorrow so that ought to be fun

 

[Teepee]

The best way to put the diluted silicone on is with a cheap mini foam roller. It'll need throwing away after too. Dipping=dripping. Pitch it tight so you get maximum penetration from the silicone, it'll last longer.

Once its been put on and is set, you can shower it with a hosepipe to speed up the drying, the water helps to wash away the acetic acid (vinegar smell) in the silicone.

I had a brit army poncho that was proofed with acrylic, it leaked from new.

 

[drliamski]

I did a load of sandstone paving with a silicone spirit mix. Allows easy pointing and prevents mould!
Gonna try it next on knees of workwear.

Sent from my HTC Desire

 

[shaggystu]

How long do you reckon it takes to dry like that Stuart? I'm thinking of doing an old poncho.

as steve said, 24hrs should do it, it would obviously depend on all sorts of variables though i guess, heat and humidity being the ones that spring to mind. i've used the proccess a few times on nylon with pretty good success, drying time could well have been 24hrs but i'm not sure, they were certainly dry after three days but i didn't check them in between. the downsides are as others have pointed out, dripping and a god awful smell. i've never tried hosing down with water as teepee suggests but it sounds like a good idea. as for the dripping, do it over the concrete floor of an industrial unit where it really doesn't matter, that worked for me, i'm sure it would for you too.

cheers

stuart

 

[gsfgaz]

I thought the white spirit would have damaged the material , this sound a good idea for reproofing , i will have to give it a go ..

 

[PDA1]

There are a number of threads in the DIY section of Hammock forums about re-proofing tarps, and also proofing plain ripstop from scratch using builders silicone dissolved in white spirit. Well worth a browse.

 

[gsfgaz]

cheers mate , i will have a look ..

 

[gliderrider]

When I got mine the firsth thing I did was give it a good coat of spray on Fabsil, front & back, then once it had dried give the stiching areas another going over, not used it recently, but it wasnt leaking last time I had it out.

 

[Bucephalas]

Oops!
Edited out my error!

 

[RAPPLEBY2000]

Hi Guys, any update on the effectiveness of the reproofing with diluted silicone?
Just wondering, how long it has lasted, has it peeled off effected stitching or anything worse?
Has the proofing effected the metal at all, metal grommets, poppers ?
Does the tarp/poncho roll up the same size?
If rolling after proofing do you need to coat the sheet with anything (for example chalk) to prevent accidental sticking? or is it fine to roll up when dry?

any update would be very interesting and useful!
Cheers

 

[Wander]

I've never used the silicone/white spirit mix on the whole tarp but I have used it to waterproof seams.

Once it was dry it was a bit tacky so I did use some chalk (from a puncture repair kit) to eliminate the tackiness.
That was a good two or three years ago and I've had no problems since. It rolls, folds and packs like it ever did.

What it did do was darken the area that it was applied to and has remained that way.