Coating nylon

A

ajcz

Joined
Oct 14, 2005
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How would i coat my 8x10 homemade nylon tarp? or how would i check to see if it is water proofed?

could i just thin some polyurethane and dip the tarp in or thin a tube of caulk and dip it all in?
 
Best way to test it, set it up in your yard and soak it with the garden hose. Have some one else stand under it to make sure it isn't leaking;)

Scilicone II and mineral spirits mixed 2 to 1 works well if you need to coat the whole thing. Stretch the tarp tight and use a large sponge to apply (WEAR GLOVES).

My .02
 
I agree with Mtn_Guy_79

The polyurethane would be too stiff when cured. When they coat nylon with polyurethane it is a different type than what you would buy as varnish or paint. Clear Latex Caulk is a possibility but will not hold up as well as the silicone.

Clear GE silicone II is the ticket. Thin it with paint thinner or naptha. Naptha is better cause it will dry faster. I forget the mix ratio. Been too many years since I used this. Two to one by volume sounds OK.

I don't recommend dipping. You want a very thin even coat. The sponge should work good. Give it at least 24 hours before testing.
 
Even factory made silicone coated nylon isn't 100% waterproof. It will allow a mist through when it is raining hard. The diluted silcone sealer trick is used a lot for seam sealing, but I fear that coating your own tarp overall will make it too heavy. I would get a spray on or wash in type DWR type waterproofing like Nikwax or Revive-X.

Ultimately, I would start over with some factory made silicone coated nylon. In trying to make your tarp work, you will go to more expense and trouble to get a lesser quality product. I've read reports in make you own gear forums that Walmart has silicone coated nylon on a sporadic basis. Seattle Fabrics is a good source for all kinds of outdoor fabrics and hardware.
 
What about a beeswax solution? Just a thought, as I really don't know much about this stuff. And, didn't Nessmuk mention a formula of lime and allum for waterproofing cotton cloth? Would it work on nylon?
 
stingray4540 said:
What about a beeswax solution? Just a thought, as I really don't know much about this stuff. And, didn't Nessmuk mention a formula of lime and allum for waterproofing cotton cloth? Would it work on nylon?
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Waste of time on the nylon, IMHO. I remember coated cotton tents. If you touched the fabric while it was wet, it made a drip inside. Those coatings work by increasing surface tension and it doesn't take much to break it. The lime and alum was more of a shrinking treatment to tighten the weave. If you want to learn more about waterproofing cotton, check some of the Civil War buffs-- they use cotton canvas tents for reenactments.

The nylon may be coated already-- get out there with the lawn spinkler!
 
ajcz said:
i will as soon as i pull all the pins out and sew on tie out loops
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If you have a scrap, wrap it around the garden hose and see if it leaks under pressure-- you'll find out quick! A few beads leaking through *slowly* might be okay for what we would call "waterproof. Another way to test a small peice would be to stretch it like it was pitched-- tape it to some of frame and hit it with the hose or just hold it under the kitchen faucet, etc.

Waterproofness for cloth is expressed as the amount of water pressure it will withstand. "Water repellent" is more like the surface tension it will keep, so the water beads up and rolls off. DWR --- Durable Water Repellency-- is a coating like you find on soft shells and rain caots to keep the fabric from wetting out. Gore-tex and other breathable membranes won't work if the outer fabric wets out. You need to spray Gore-Tex stuff once in a while to keep it working. Revive-X is the product they recommend and it needs heat to "set" it. Some DWR coatings are actually revived by heat in a dryer or light ironing. Others like Nikwax are wax based and can be treated in a washing machine.

If your nylon is really not water repellent, you might be able to pull it off by treating it. My gut feeling is you will end up spending a wet night some time :(
 
ok so this saturday ill be testing one of the scraps i have from it and finding out if it is coated or if i have to find something
 
Commercial coatings are sold. Campmor, and doubtless others, carry such a product. It is applied with a paint brush. I have used it on a couple dozen tents. It works.

DaleW, I have two silnylon tarps and spent last Sunday early AM under one (nominally "8 x 10") in a stiff thunderstorm in PA. The rain lasted two hours and was very heavy at times. If water came through, I couldn't find it on my sleeping bag. (For some reason I cannot fathom, such tarps typically come with unsealed seams, but I had sealed mine with thinend GE siliconseal.)
 
Thomas Linton said:
DaleW, I have two silnylon tarps and spent last Sunday early AM under one (nominally "8 x 10") in a stiff thunderstorm in PA. The rain lasted two hours and was very heavy at times. If water came through, I couldn't find it on my sleeping bag. (For some reason I cannot fathom, such tarps typically come with unsealed seams, but I had sealed mine with thinend GE siliconseal.)
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wow no wonder you couldnt find any wet your bag musta been soaked if it was 8 inches by 10 inches perhaps you mean feet?








just messing with you i know what you ment
 
no i meant punctuation marks to indicate a quotation because while they say it's 8 x 10 it really isn't 8 x 10 its 7'10" x 9'9' but im sure you figured that out on your own or perhaps not as the case may be i don't know if the show stuff would work for clothing but it probably would do zip for coating nylon but you could try and report back thats how we learn by the experiences of each other

but using capitalization and punctuation helps in communicating that experience
 
Camp-Dry has worked great for me.Use 2 applications 24 hrs apart. The spray type.
 
Thomas Linton said:
Commercial coatings are sold. Campmor, and doubtless others, carry such a product. It is applied with a paint brush. I have used it on a couple dozen tents. It works.

DaleW, I have two silnylon tarps and spent last Sunday early AM under one (nominally "8 x 10") in a stiff thunderstorm in PA. The rain lasted two hours and was very heavy at times. If water came through, I couldn't find it on my sleeping bag. (For some reason I cannot fathom, such tarps typically come with unsealed seams, but I had sealed mine with thinend GE siliconseal.)
Click to expand...


Some ultralighters have reported "misting" in heavy rain with some silnylon products, and I can't recall which ones. We're talking about very minor stuff. The point is that "waterproof" can be a loose term and is rated by how much water pressure a fabric will withstand. Coated fabrics can vary and they do have occcasional flaws in the coatings.

Outfits selling gear with unsealed seams are looking to save labor and materials and it cuts weight, helping to sell them in the ultralight hiking market.
 
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