gkrieg

[Gkrieg]

Fascinating idea. I don't use a groundsheet though just a piece of foam and a poncho or tarp. I am very interested in this methods application for shelters.
Does anyone have any experience with a silicon adhesive and solvent mixture applied to raw or dwr treated nylon? Also would a thinner mixture be sufficient for an application in which the fabric does not come in contact with the ground and head pressure is not as much of an issue? How much does the coating change the pliability and fold of the fabric? so many questions maybe I should do multiple posts.

[Jim Wood]

Hi... regarding your questions:

1. This treatment won't work on untreated ("raw") or DWR treated nylons or polyesters. The treatment will only bond to fabrics that have already been impregnated with silicone. If applied to such untreated fabrics, the coating will simply rub off.

2. This treatment also works great for silnylon tent canopies as a way to eliminate the "misting" that can sometimes occur in heavy rains. Misting happens when rain drops striking the outside surfaces of the silnylon fabric are "shattered" into thousands of tiny droplets and actually forced through the fabric, creating a wet fog (or "mist") inside of the shelter. With some silnylons, the misting problem can be quite substantial and can actually soak the gear inside the shelter if the rain is hard enough and lasts long enough.

For this purpose, rather than a 1:3 mixture, a 1:5 mix applied to the inside canopy surface works well and weighs a bit less (by maybe an ounce or two). I have field tested this canopy coating on two of my own home-built shelters and it completely stopped the misting problem.

3. The coating has no noticeable impact on the pliability of the fabric.

Hope this helps...
Jim Wood.

[Gkrieg]

Thanks for the reply, it was very helpful and thorough, I did a little experimenting before I read your reply though. I tried several 10" squares of 1.1 oz dwr and 2.2 oz "raw" nylon coated with different ratios. For the most part I found that the coating did, as you said, peel off. I also did a small square of fabric with a mixture of mineral spirits and acrylic adhesive and with a very thin mixture applied it seems to have a pretty waterproof finish, but again I am unsure of the durability. I will play around with it a bit and maybe put up a picture or two. Not sure if this is useful to anyone (or if I even find it all that useful in fact) but it is something to keep me busy in the winter. Thanks again.