NikWax Tech Wash

M

mtwarden

Joined
Sep 27, 2009
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I've heard good reviews of this, so I thought I'd give it a go. I have an older Gortex shell that had been relegated to hunting duties- no tears or holes, but it was very dirty (dried mud, blood, etc) and the DWR finish wasn't working like it should

Now I'm not going to tell you it looks brand new, because it doesn't, but it does look like a heck of lot better and the DWR finish is back!

I didn't trust throwing it in the machine (which may be just fine), so I used their hand directions (use less NikWax stuff that way too) in the sink. Rinsed it well, hung dry and done.

This stuff works as advertised. I've got an older down sleeping bag that is in good shape but has lost a fair amount of loft over the years, I'm going to try their down wash and see if I can revive a sleeping bag like I revived this jacket :)
 
I've used it for years...but am becoming more convinced the spray bottle application after washing is more effective than the wash in. I also validated this from reading a FAQ I believe from Gore themselves...I cannot recall but I think that is where I read it.

Remember Gore Tex is a fiber or membrane. It needs to breath to work. So you must wash it first and then you can treat the outside DWR finish with the Nikwax.
 
BlackHills said:
I've used the down wash and it does work well.
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good to hear, I'd love to revitalize my old bag :)

^^ I've got the spray-on bottle too, haven't used it yet on anything- my jacket was in BAD need of a washing, two birds w/ one stone :D
 
anybody use thier wash for softshells?

and regarding your down bag, have you tried adding a couple tennis balls to the dryer?
 
gruntinhusaybah said:
and regarding your down bag, have you tried adding a couple tennis balls to the dryer?
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I've read conflicting reports on the tennis balls so I didn't use them. I just pulled it out of the dryer every so often and kneaded the clumps with my hands....that seemed to work fine.
 
^ I haven't, the bag definitely needs a wash though- I think the down has attracted oils over the years, slowly losing it's loft
 
gruntinhusaybah said:
anybody use thier wash for softshells?

and regarding your down bag, have you tried adding a couple tennis balls to the dryer?
Click to expand...

Myself and the wife have Paramo jackets which are classed as soft shells and use the wash in on those all the time. I also have some Buffalo products which are also classed as soft shell and use the TX spray on those !
 
Don't be afraid to dry your gear in the dryer. It activates the waxes and distributes them more evenly. It's even on the directions.
 
I did a post some months back, that a wash and retreatment on a GT parka I had completely failed. I had fresh bottles and followed the instructions to the letter. The parka was not bad to begin with. I wore it in heavy rain and it soaked thru in many places within 40 minutes. I swapped out for an Arc'teryx that I carry in my PSK and remained dry for the next seven or eight hours that I was out. I wonder if the retreated parka was the problem, as I got it used and it is some off brand.
 
^ very possible, my jacket is old (~ 15 years) but was a pretty high end one at the time- Moonstone (no longer in business). it was filthy and the DWR was not working- I'm sure some of the success was simply removing the grime
 
This is good to hear. I bought some on sale recently to use on an older REI Elements rain jacket, and I haven't gotten to it yet.

I might wash the jacket this weekend.
 
gruntinhusaybah said:
anybody use thier wash for softshells?
Click to expand...

Millhouse said:
I've used the soft shell proof on a couple of TNF Apex softshells. Worked great, got the DWR finish back. For best results, needs to be washed first with Tech Wash.
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I have used it for some years now on various softshells and it works excellently.:thumbup:
Like Millhouse says you need to first wash with Tech Wash......
 
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