This is more a decorative question than a functional one. I've cut a hole in the roof of my bell tent to fit the flue kit for the woodburning stove and am attaching a flap to cover the hole when the stove is not in place. There is some stitching involved obviously, so I've got my tube of seam sealer ready to apply. However, I've tried it on a scrap piece and on the light fabric it really shows, not just on the side it's applied but also through to the other side. The priority is to keep the rain out, but is there a neater way of doing this?
------------- Sarah
Don't forget to leave a review of all tents you've used, for a chance to win fantastic prizes
Well, Seam sealer actually is a special product for polyester only, most (if not all) tents made of polyester these days already have their seams taped, and in case some of the tape comes of you can use seam-sealer.
With canvas/cotton or polycotton however, the seams dont need to be treated with a tape or seam-sealer because the canvas itself swells itself when water touches the canvas, making it waterproof. So the best thing to do is just weather your tent again, make it wet and the seams will close themselfs.
Yes, I know about weathering and the threads closing up after they've got wet, but was concerned about poking lots of new holes into the already-weathered canvas. Will it shrink yet further to close up the new holes? The only way is to wet it and see, I suppose. I hope you're right, but if I do have a problem then the sealer certainly seems to form an impermeable layer from what I can see on my test patch.
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: Seam sealer and canvas
