sealing a tent fly

[XXX-er]

Is there any point or should I just buy a new tent ?

after maybe 20 years all the tape in the fly of my lightly used Hubba Hubba has completely disintegrated, not even a slight delam its just all gone completely flaked into iddy biddy pieces which would also make it easier to reseal

as the AQS guru in residence it would be easy to do for free but will it work, even tho the tent is in really good shape except for the tape ... is there any point ??

[stealurface831]

Is there any point or should I just buy a new tent ?

after maybe 20 years all the tape in the fly of my lightly used Hubba Hubba has completely disintegrated, not even a slight delam its just all gone completely flaked into iddy biddy pieces which would also make it easier to reseal

as the AQS guru in residence it would be easy to do for free but will it work, even tho the tent is in really good shape except for the tape ... is there any point ??

you are talking about the seam tape, correct? if so, it is a relatively simple fix. https://www.gearaid.com/products/sea...nt=28044147217
you could also go the route of re-taping. 3m sells rolls of suitable tape, though it is much more expensive that the sealant.

[stealurface831]

i should add, which ever route you go, make sure you clear off all remaining tape and residue with some rubbing alcohol.

[::: :::]

it will likely more than double the weight of the tent, no?

[stealurface831]

it will likely more than double the weight of the tent, no?

if you use the whole tube of sealant, it will add 8ozs.

[::: :::]

there are sprays for tent waterproofing that are a better option

[bodywhomper]

Have you contacted msr?

[stealurface831]

there are sprays for tent waterproofing that are a better option

yes, there are DWR sprays that work for the tent body and fly but for seams, you need an actual sealant.

[tgapp]

What I would do is get seam sealer and dilute it (I believe you can use mineral oil in a 2:1 ratio. Tarptent has instructions on how to do this). Peel off the failing seam tape really well, clean it with rubbing alcohol, and then paint it on.

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[XXX-er]

yeah even tho its a 20 yr old tent and i am probably SOL i shot MSR an e-mail but havent heard back yet,

seam grip/ shoo goo/ AQS/ freesole its all just liquid urethane and i got 8 oz tubes of AQS down at the shop for free and I use it all the time

the old tape has literally turned to dust but the tape on the tent body is OK so on a long shot i thot maybe msr might do something if there was a batch of bad tape way back but its been 20 years

just trying to decide on doing it vs buying a new tent ?

[dunfree]

What I would do is get seam sealer and dilute it (I believe you can use mineral oil in a 2:1 ratio. Tarptent has instructions on how to do this). Peel off the failing seam tape really well, clean it with rubbing alcohol, and then paint it on.

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mineral spirits, not mineral oil.

[stealurface831]

yeah eve tho its a 20 yr old tent and i am probably SOL i shot MSR an e-mail but havent heard back yet,

seam grip/ shoo goo/ AQS/ freesole its all just liquid urethane and i got 8 oz tubes of it down at the shop for free

just trying to decide on doing it vs buying a new tent ?

absolutely repair this one. i have an old sierra designs 4 season tent that i got for free. i had to strip all the PU coating, seam tape, everything. but i was able to reapply PU to the entire tent, re-tape all the seams, and give it a fresh coat of DWR. absolutely bomber now. maybe a bit heavier than it was to begin with but it is a heavy tent anyway.

[tgapp]

mineral spirits, not mineral oil.

good catch, ty

[XXX-er]

absolutely repair this one. i have an old sierra designs 4 season tent that i got for free. i had to strip all the PU coating, seam tape, everything. but i was able to reapply PU to the entire tent, re-tape all the seams, and give it a fresh coat of DWR. absolutely bomber now. maybe a bit heavier than it was to begin with but it is a heavy tent anyway.

ok then how did you do it ?

I could see tacking the seams down to 2x4's or putting it up inside out and then brushing on thinned AQS ??

[tgapp]

ok then how did you do it ?

I could see tacking the seams down to 2x4's or putting it up inside out and then brushing on thinned AQS ??

Pitch the tent and paint it on the outside

Then let that dry and stretch it out and paint the inside

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[stealurface831]

ok then how did you do it ?

I could see tacking the seams down to 2x4's or putting it up inside out and then brushing on thinned AQS ??

Are you talking about reapplying PU to the entire tent? I thought you just needed to re-seal the seams.

But to answer your question, I started by running the tent through 3 full cycles in the washer. This got the majority of the coating. For the rest, I filled the sink up with some hot fkn water and went to town with a scouring pad. This takes awhile but gets the job done. I then soaked it in a rubbing alcohol/water solution, ran it through the wash again with an extra rinse cycle, and pitched it inside out to dry. I then brushed on PU coating to the inside of the body and floor, applied seam tape to all seams, and sprayed the outside with two coats of DWR. Finally, I washed it on a medium cycle to active the DWR, let it dry again, and et voila!

[bodywhomper]

I had a windy pass tent that had obliterated fly coating, sent it to TNF (it was 15 years old at that time), and they sent my a new ve-25 fly. Now I just need to find a lightly used ve-25 because the body is getting pretty long in the tooth.

Moss tents used to have a reputation for bury flies in terms of the material and the coatings/treatments, and the expense of weight. That changed quickly after they sold.

[stealurface831]

Pitch the tent and paint it on the outside

Then let that dry and stretch it out and paint the inside

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You only need to apply PU to the inside as it impregnates the fabric. Then apply DWR to the outside.

[stealurface831]

And to add, stripping the tent of its current PU may or may not be worth it depending on the condition. The PU on mine was beyond salvageable (ie, stuck to itself and left residue on anything it touched). If yers is mostly intact, you can just apply a new coat over the current and give it some DWR.

[Jong Lafitte]

No expert here but aren’t you supposed to use silicone if the tent is sil-nylon? I thought pure caulk would be like 10:1. Just spitballing because adding 8oz is a lot of weight. No way seam sealing adds that much to a smaller tent when they do it at the factory as an add on option so 8oz just seems way heavy to me there must be another way no?

Also I thought I was gonna have to do this so I looked into it briefly it seemed the ewetoobers were using paint sponges.

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[stealurface831]

No expert here but aren’t you supposed to use silicone if the tent is sil-nylon? I thought pure caulk would be like 10:1. Just spitballing because adding 8oz is a lot of weight. No way seam sealing adds that much to a smaller tent when they do it at the factory as an add on option so 8oz just seems way heavy to me there must be another way no?

Yes, if it is sil-nylon then you would use silicone-based sealant but MSR uses PU nylon. Also, the 8oz figure is if you use the entire bottle which is highly unlikely.

[Jong Lafitte]

Yes, if it is sil-nylon then you would use silicone-based sealant but MSR uses PU nylon. Also, the 8oz figure is if you use the entire bottle which is highly unlikely.

Gotcha thx suf.


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[XXX-er]

yeah I am gona assume the tarp waterproofing is OK so I am just talking about applying AQS to the seams, probably the inner seams

IME messing with AQS can be a real fucking mess if you havent figured out a way to handle the piece you are fixing SO how are you gona hold it still while applying AQS and then while it drys ??

[stealurface831]

yeah I am gona assume the tarp waterproofing is OK so I am just talking about applying AQS to the seams, probably the inner seams

IME messing with AQS can be a real fucking mess if you havent figured out a way to handle the piece you are fixing SO how are you gona hold it still while applying AQS and then while it drys ??

I found it best to go section by section, getting a few feet at a time before letting it dry. A hairdryer works to speed up the process.


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[BCMtnHound]

I'm surprised MSR CS hasn't gotten back to you. I've had great experience with them for 20yo misery slipper bindings that finally broke after 2 decades of hard use. Greatest likely issue is that they don't have a replacement fly in stock anymore for your model (they still had bindings to fit my og denalis).