water proofing canvas tent

[ivorytip]

whats the best way to waterproof my canvas tent???? ive never had a prob with leaks before, the tent, granted, is very very old but still holds together and has many of memories. we had a rediculous storm yesterday that dumped over a inch of rain in 45 min, in se idaho thats unheard of. thankfully i had the tent up in back yard and noticed the leaks, no holes just came raight through the canvas. obviously it was raining very hard but nonetheless i wanna fix it. any ideas? thanks

 

[ivorytip]

will that kiwi camp dry stuff i use on my boots work? its a big 10x12, no floor.

 

[wolftalonID]

Try using Canvak. It is made for this application and works better than camp-dry on canvas. Also you can make a tent cover out of this plastic. Helps shed water, snow, and will hold heat better at night. However take it off the am your packing up to let any moisture in your tent better dry out.

 

[ivorytip]

thank you wolfalon, do i need to go to a canvas specialist shop to get this plastic or will home depot carry it? thanks again, 1 more week!!!!

 

[wolftalonID]

It usually is available in a building supply store. Franklin, BMC West both have it. I have never bought it at a home Depot, but they may. Refer to it as reinforced visqueen and they know what your looking for. Generously cut for stove pipes, or you will have a mess! Lol.

 

[bigmoose]

I just gave up on waterproofing my old wall tent and now we use a plastic tarp over it. It sheds the rain and snow easily and hangs down far enough on each side to store firewood. After using it, I will set it up back home and dry it out before putting it away. Been doing this for the last 10-12 years with no ill effects. The tarp also helps with sparks that might otherwise burn the tent roof. I'm on my third tarp mostly due to sparks landing on it.

Moose

 

[ivorytip]

these are common scence ideas that i shouldve come up with, thanks guys.

 

[wolftalonID]

I know tarps are a lot cheaper than a new tent! I just bought some adjustable 7' tarp poles at Cabelas the other day. I plan on using these for my kitchen tarp that I usually hold up with poles that I can scrounge up.

I may even consider using them as the pole to make an aframe vestibule in front of my tent. They seemed worth the money at $10 each.

Depending on your camp set up, a few big tarps and some of these poles for about $100 can make for a very nice base camp with shade and weather cover.

 

[Trevor_20]

i would use shoe goo it works wonders!

 

[WYcoyote]

 

[packer58]

Canvak works well, if foul weather is coming throw a tarp over it..........snow slides right off.

 

[ivorytip]

holly crap wycoyote, that stove pipe is awesome! i ended up buying a big a$$ tarp, idont plan on using stove this sep so i guess ill cut the hole if needed. thanks again guys. today is opening day here in idaho and im sitting here at work, nice cold front moving in for the next few days. its time!!

 

[wolftalonID]

Now now...its not the size of the pipe..its how you use it! Lol

 

[ivorytip]

hahaha, thats the truth

 

[BucksnBulls]

I have used canvak. it works well but make sure to follow the application instructions and guidelines. Beware it takes days to dry if the temperature is too cool. Thin even coats seemed to be key. the stuff stinks so allow several days for it to air out before use