How to..... seam seal.. don't hurt me! ;-)

“Nope.....haven't made it there .... YET! A friend of mine just did a week's stint there... and had a good time!

My first trip was the Jordan River/NCT loop, back in June of this year. Since then, I've camped at Manistee twice (once as my VERY FIRST SOLO TRIP!), and at Sands Lake Quiet Area, .... near Kalkaska. I liked that one.... and I may go back there for another trip soon....before it gets TOO cold out!

The Porkies.....North Manitou Island, Isle Royale, ...... those are my next destinations when I have a better vehicle! I'm sure I'll be getting to them next year!

Maybe we can set up a trip for one of them! Wouldn't that be "pimp" .... (quoting a famous CMB saying!).....LOL!”

“coyote13, how do like that tent I almost bought the Alps Mystque 2.”

“I have all Sierra Designs tents, they all came with Seam Sealer and directions as to what and how to seal. I seal the fly and seams in the tent floor, if they exist. Most good tents don't have seams in the floor.”

“I just tried the method of using GE Silicone II, thinned with mineral spirits to do some sealing of my own on two old tents. Kudos to whomever came up with this idea! I patched a hole in one tent that took about a 5X7 in. patch, and it worked great. Also seam-sealed another single-walled cabin tent, and this stuff went on so easy! Penetrated well too! This is gonna be my new formula for sealer, no more store-bought sealer!”

“Must Hike: Actually, it's a good sized tent, and it was comfy. I was able to fit all my stuff properly and set it up without much of a big to-do. My floor doesn't have seams either, Pathman. That's one of the reasons I got it.”

“Okay, so my new Six Moon Designs tent arrived the other day and I was looking at the set up directions last night and it advises that I should seam seal it before the first use.

I have never seam sealed a tent before and I need recomendations on the best product to use.

Help”

“Is it silnylon or urethane-coated nylon?”

“http://www.sixmoondesigns.com/support/seam.asp Check out these directions-not sure if they are the same ones you have or not.They are from Six Moon”

“I guess that answers that.

Thanks stream, I guess if I read better, I wouldn't have posted this.”

“I recently used a water-based urethane sealant by Kenyon sold at Wal-Mart. I was quite impressed with its effectiveness and ease of use. It soaks into the thread nicely and doesn't leave the typical shiney "snail trail". Comes in a bottle with a daubber applicator almost like shoe polish. It took 2 bottles to do my 9x15 dome tent for car camping (also from Wal-Mart). Much to my surprise the tent stayed dry in a heavy all-night rain. This product is, of course, for a urethane coated tent, I have no information on silnylon sealants”

“one step that they don't mention is powdering the seam when done with some talc - this keeps the seams from sticking together when stuffed in the sack.”

“i've used the same product trailbum wrote about on all my tents, i've had no problems...and if you let it dry and cure completely you won't need the talcum powder, they won't stick”

“HOI-Should you powder the seams as soon as you seal them or should you wait till the sealer is dry or atleast tacky?”

“Streamweaver - wait until they are basically dry - just before you take it down to pack away

thriftyhiker - my comments about talc are wrt silicone sealer not urethane sealer - my experience is limited to silnylon tarps so I have never used urethane sealer”

“Ask lizs. I understand she is quite the expert on this subject now. ;-)”

“Thanks HOI!

Ive heard that urethane doesnt last as long as the silicone,cant swear to it though.”

“Question-- how often do you have to seamseal?”

“once when you get the tarp/tent and everytime you discover that it has started leaking again”

“Which tent did you get, WK?”

“Thanks...
We've never seamsealed any of our tents. (then again, we only camp a few times a year--mostly we day hike). WE haven't had too many problems in terms of leakage (except the one torrential downpour....) Usually, it seems like we have more of a problem with condensation than anything else....

Do you recommend the spray on water repellents as well?”

“Six Moon Designs Lunar Solo”

“Excellent. I have had mine about a year now. It's a great lightweight shelter.”

“no particular recommendation about spray on water repellants - silnylon does not need it but I have casually thought about it for my hammock body in case of blown in rain - I have not done it yet however.”

“All the tents I have were seam-sealed at the factory: Sierra Designs (3 tents) and Mountain Hardware specifically. The seam sealing from the factory was not a problem and I have never had to reseal them. I don't know about other vendors. Oh, I have a Bibler Bivy and it is also seam sealed inside and has never leaked. They do include a seam seal kit that looks like it should be very easy to use... but I have never had a need to crack it open.”

“I have also thought about treatments to my hammock's fabric, but I fear that condensation will become a b!tch if I do it.”

“I read the Six Moon instructions for thinning Silicone Caulk. I spent a fair amount of time finding a solvent that would thin GE Silicone Seal in the early 70's (yes, I'm OLD) when I was working at Shell Labs. I never tried using a paint mixer to accelerate the process. After I found a solvent (can't remember what) that would work, I sprayed it on a nylon wind shell I had. The resulting coating peeled in less than a year. Maybe I should have mixed it thin enough to actually soak into the fabric, I could be rich and retired by now.”

“mineral spirits worked well for me - toss some in a glass jar, squeeze in some _fresh_ GE Silicone II caulk, put on lid and shake, take lid off and check with a stick to see if you like the consistancy, if not add a little of either the caulk or the mineral spirits and shake again.”

“Be carefull with the silicone sprays!! I once sprayed a rain jacket with some and it was six months before I could even go near it,because the smell was so bad!!!LOL”