Tent Floor treatment

[KSawchuk]

I treated the bottom of my BD Lighthouse--the first coat didn't seem to do much, but after two it was less slippery and seemed thicker.

I also coated my well worn GoLite Speed pack which seemed to thicken up the material and will probably make it last another season. Probably a 1:2 dilution would work well. Also you need to keep stirring the solution as you use it or the heavier silicone will sink to the bottom.

[Jim Wood]

Thanks for your comments. Glad the treatment worked out, though I'm a little surprise that it took 2 coats to eliminate the slipperiness.

Jim.

[arjetz]

I treated the bottom of my BD Lighthouse--the first coat didn't seem to do much, but after two it was less slippery and seemed thicker.

I also coated my well worn GoLite Speed pack which seemed to thicken up the material and will probably make it last another season. Probably a 1:2 dilution would work well. Also you need to keep stirring the solution as you use it or the heavier silicone will sink to the bottom.

I think this could be a good idea, thanks for the tips here



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Event tents

[Newer Floors]

Do you recommend this treatment for 70D sil nylon (I think that is the correct term)? Not sure of its hydrostatic pressure as opposed to 30d which I think you were talking about?

[Jim Wood]

70D silnylon was used for constructing the floor of an early model of a Six Moon Designs tent I purchased a few years ago. Since then, I've not had any further experience with this heavier fabric. My observation at the time was that the 70D fabric seemed somewhat more water resistant than 30D silnylon, but it was just as slippery.

So I guess my advice is that if water resistance is your main concern, you may not need the treatment described in the article. However, before deciding, I'd suggest testing the 70D water resistance (I'll assume the fabric is being used for a shelter floor, since I've never seen it used as a canopy material) by placing the fabric on really wet ground, then sitting on it to see if any water pushes through. If it does, it's probably not going to be water resistant enough for you and you'll likely want to apply the treatment, at least to one side.

On the other hand, if solving the slip problem is your main concern, then you'll almost certainly want to apply the treatment.

Hope this helps...