Hi all, we think weve knackered our TT and weve only used it once. We got it 2nd hand and there were marks on the canvas. So we bought some awning cleaner to clean it. We cleaned it then the areas we cleaned lightened like they had been bleached. We went away this week and it rained. As the rain hit the areas it went even lighter still, and allthough no water came through it did feel damp on the inside on those areas. Does anyone know if we have damaged the canvas? Is it repairable by treating it with a reproofer? Please help!
I was always told not to touch the walls of the canvas when its raining as this causes it to leak, but as its not leaking as such then if you put some thompsons on and I think you will be ok....... Im sure someone will soon say different if im wrong
Quote: Originally posted by grommie75 on 21/6/2008
I was always told not to touch the walls of the canvas when its raining as this causes it to leak, but as its not leaking as such then if you put some thompsons on and I think you will be ok....... Im sure someone will soon say different if im wrong
I was going to say the same thing, if you were constantly touching the patches to see if they were wet you may well have made them wet.
Can you pitch it again and get at it with a hosepipe? You may find it just wept a little whilst the newly clean fibres swelled up again, it might now be fine (although discoloured).
I wouldn't panic yet and I wouldn't rush to re-proof it without checking it again.
What brand of awning cleaner was it? And did you rinse it off properly ie with several rinses of clean water? (I usually suggest at least ten rinses, and I'm not joking.) Also, was the brush or sponge you used to clean the canvas new, or was it possibly contaminated with something?
Next set of questions. Did the previous owner mention if he'd ever reproofed the canvas? Because if so the waterproofing can darken canvas a little and by cleaning it off again you may have restored the canvas to the original lighter colour, and the difference in proofing treatments now may have caused the canvas to show a different colour when wet.
Finally yes, touching even the best proofed cotton canvas on the inside will cause it to leak as water is wicked through by the pressure of your finger.
However unless you've used something totally unsuitable or (shudder) detergent based to clean the canvas then you're unlikely to have damaged it. Rinse it again a few more times, allow to dry then reproof it. It should be fine.
We feel so stupid now, we wish we had asked advice on here first, we didnt rinse it several times as it didnt say that on the bottle, or that you needed to reproof after, We are going to buy some Fabsil spray and reproof the effected areas, should it be applied inside and out?
Cliff do make sure you rinse it off well before you Fabsil, if the tent hasn't been reproofed before I really wouldn't rush to do it, I'd rinse it off well and try it with water.
You don't need to reproof on the inside, just the outside. Valkscot is the oracle when it comes to cleaning and reproofing! She helped us out with similar concerns a few months ago! I have never run my fingers down a wet canvas since! Honest.
P.S. don't feel stupid - I know everyone has been there at some point or another, we certainly have . It's a huge learning curve!
having had similar issues with mine- i.e. discoloured patches in several places- after a coat of fabsil, the canvas itself seems ok now with no leaks on my crieghton binns BUT where the metal bars inside touch the canvas roof- it gradually drips through and soaks us and the beds- i can't see any way round this as i can't stop the poles touching- so when we pitched up this weekend- i put a large plastic 'ground sheet' over the roof and pegged it down!!! got the mickey taken out of me for looking like something off 'shameless' lol, but hey- it worked!! despite torrential rain and 60mph winds this weekend, we were cosy and most importantly DRY!! so forget the fabsil!! go buy a large ground sheet!!!
Don 't feel daft! It's not at all obvious. What I would be inclined to do is write off a weekend to deal with it, or possible just a day if you have help from family.
Use awning cleaner again, and rinse the hell out of it. Remember, awning cleaner eats fabsil, so this will un-waterproof your tent. Dry it in the sun (!).
Buy LOTS of Fabsil/Waterproofer. Buy TOO MUCH! You will always use it in a couple of years time, and there is nothing quite so annoying as running out. I buy a 5 Gallon drum at a time for £125, but you can but 5 litre cans for £30. You will need 3 at least.
Paint it on with a paintbrush or spray on with a garden sprayer - not too fine a mist. It will be seriously much faster if you have a helper following you around with a cloth to wipe it in, then you don't have to go back panel by panel and do it. If you don't have help, remember not to spray/paint too much before going back to wipe it in.
Finally, remember to use a small paintbrush to fabsil the inside of the tent down the pole strengthening seams. That will stop the water seepage.
This may seem like a faff, but remember the 7 Ps (Prior Planning and Preparation Prevents P*ss Poor Performance) and also think of all those years of life and UV resistance you are adding to your canvas!
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Topic: CANVAS PROBLEMS
