Seam sealing with silnet

[restlessshawn]

Best done with tent pitched up outside? or just layed out in the lounge?

Any tips?

[Bearbonesnorm]

I've always done it pitched so you get some stretch/pull on the seams. I'm often surprised how much the needle holes will open up when they're under tension.

Any tips?

Prepare yourself to face the fact that it'll never look as nice after sealing as it did before

[Ian]

Prepare yourself to face the fact that it'll never look as nice after sealing as it did before

Unless you have the patience of a Saint and are content to spend ages doing it

[Cornish Neil]

Tent pitched IN the lounge :D best of both worlds

[restlessshawn]

Prepare yourself to face the fact that it'll never look as nice after sealing as it did before

ARGH don't say that! I'm already worried I am gonna make a mess of it!

I'll pitch it up outside over the weekend then as I think the wife would complain at me hammering pegs into the wooden floor

Am I trying to basicially paint a line of sealant along the seem? The main seams are kinda butted so the stitching doesn't show but I guess they still need done?

I do find it a bit irritating having to do it myself

[TheBrownDog]

Yep, do everything that has a stitch in it that's gonna leak on you. Silnet's good stuff - just run the tube along the seam squeezing it out as you go and use a paint brush to even it out. Seems have to be taut when you do it and make sure you let the stuff dry properly before you roll up the tent or you'll have a real mess.

Totally agree it's ridiculous that you can spend heaps on a tent and then have to complete a critical aspect of its manufacturer to make it trail worthy. Anyone know why so many top end makes still come without seams sealed?

[Bearbonesnorm]

One thing to be wary of is drips. It's quite easy to end up with a few drips/lines across the material if you're not careful moving the tube from seam to seam.

It shouldn't look a mess if you're careful but it'll never look as good ... even done well you'll still see what looks like a slug trail where the seams are, you're just trying to make it look like you were visited by a tidy slug

I've got a couple of shelters that I've never bothered to seal and they don't leak, I think much depends on the angle of the seams/roof and what thread it's sewn with ... some expands when wet and seals the stitch holes.

[johnnystorm]

Totally agree it's ridiculous that you can spend heaps on a tent and then have to complete a critical aspect of its manufacturer to make it trail worthy. Anyone know why so many top end makes still come without seams sealed?

I wondered this as well and had a quick google:

To: tents@bdel.com
Sent: Tuesday, June 23, 2009 4:58 PM
Subject: Seam Seal

Why don't you seam seal the tents? I would rather pay $100 or more not
to deal with it! Please think about this and seam seal the tents before they are shipped.

From: BD Mail Order
Sent: Tuesday, June 23, 2009 5:07 PM
Subject: RE: Seam Seal

Thanks for your email. We do seam tape our tents that can be sealed (Biblers and Doublelights). However, silicone impregnated tents (e.g., Epic fabric series like Firstlights, Lighthouse, etc.) won't accept seam tape. It simply does not stick to them... otherwise we'd do those as well. So this necessitates a do-it-yourself approach using a specially formulated sealer and an hour or so of labor. Our apologies for this inconvenience.

Presumably they work on the principle people would rather use an hour of their own time and some gunk rather than pay someone else to do it and add to the product cost.

[Bearbonesnorm]

Some manufactures will do it for you at extra cost. I recall Sixmoon Designs charge something like $30.

Others do it as part of manufacture without a song and dance - BearPaw Wilderness Designs

[Dan_K]

Yeah, SMD charge $30 but I only had a small window of time to arrange a US delivery so am stuck with the problem of doing it myself this weekend before I head to Scotland next week.
My Tarptent was done prior to delivery though (at a cost).

[InspiredRamblings]

It shouldn't look a mess if you're careful but it'll never look as good ... even done well you'll still see what looks like a slug trail where the seams are, you're just trying to make it look like you were visited by a tidy slug

I brushed some talc over mine once it was dry and it got rid of the slightly 'grippy' feel and shininess....

Hoping it also didn't get rid of the waterproofing ...!

[restlessshawn]

Ready for a visit from the tidy slug...

Set up low in storm* mode

*probably just always be like this

[restlessshawn]

Finally finished sealing this. Ended up doing it indoors layed out on a table and doing one part at a time and letting it dry. I think I got a bit carried away trying to make it look neat, it looks like it's been visited by a tiny OCD slug It's not a good job for me to have to do.

I can kind of see why manufacturers don't now as to make it look tidy takes an age.

Hope it doesn't leak

[Taylor]

Did mine the other day.

Semi tidy.

It'll do.

[didnothingfatal]

Frog tape either side of seam and mix silnet with white spirit as it becomes paintable, fine paintbrush 1/2" is fine and paint seams.