My flysheet ist kaput!

[lingeringstin...]

I bought an old two part French F1 army tent from a heavily bearded Russian pickle smuggler I found washed up on the shoreline in somewhere in Yorkshire recently after his boat exploded due to vapour collection during a recent lightning storm or something (my Russian is piss poor), long story.

The tent part is like a light canvas ridge tent but without the ridge, just an A -frame design with a pole at each end and a decent floor and it's otherwise in rather good condition but the flysheet is fly shit.

It's a normal nylon flysheet outer backed with PVC but I think the PVC backing is probably deterriorating with age or pickle fumes because it looks like it's crumbling off of the nylon as a sticky, smelly white gritty substance.

Is there anything I can use to refurbish this outer bit so it's waterproof again? I've never used Fabsil or any of that type of stuff so I have no idea if it's suitable for this purpose. I did once spray a cheap nylon tent with cans of spray paint at a rally and it actually worked well but it doesn't stand up to repeated packing away (note: refrain from painting the inside of your tent without proper ventilation- I wasn't right for months after that).

I've considered smearing jellied eels on it but I suspect that would cost more than the tent is worth.

I suppose in a pinch I could just throw a waterproof tarp over the tent inner but I'd really like to reseal this nylon top if I could, so what might I be looking for?

[stinkwheel]

I'd say you should find a piece of silnylon and make a new flysheet from that.

I'm not aware of anything that reliably re-waterproofs nylon sheeting for any length of time.

You can pick up a current issue, British army silnylon basher for between £10-20.

Utterly waterproof.
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[lingeringstin...]

Yes that looks like just the stuff I'm looking for. Never been a big fan of PU coated nylon as it doesn't seem to stand up to much abuse. I wonder if anybody makes entire tents out of silnylon.

This old French army tent is a bit heavy but it seems better designed and built than any of the fashionable dome tents I've been using in recent years which always seem to wobble in high wind, roast in the sun, break their fiberglass poles or spring water leaks at inopportune times. This French army one is basically the same design the Romans used so it's probably good enough for my rally and touring purposes.

[stinkwheel]

[chickenstrip]

Silnylon tents seem to be generally expensive, but silnylon is usually used by quality manufacturers. The fabric itself can be made much thinner, and hence lighter and packing down very small. 100% waterproof, but don't park them under trees! Although having been told that nothing rots them, after a few days camped in a wood near Keswick, I discovered some tiny pinprick holes in mine, with little spots of black discolouration around them. Tree sap? Some kind of bacteria/fungi/whatever? I have no idea. A couple of blobs of silicone sealant fixed them though.

Mine's a Vaude, tres expensif! Having said that, a mate of mine has just got himself a Berghaus tent (I didn't know Berghaus did tents, must be a new line for them), 3 man, very similar to my Blacks Octane, but silnylon, and at a reasonable price considering. Worth a look.
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Chickenystripgeezer's Biking Life (Latest update 19/10/18) Belgium, France, Italy, Austria tour 2016 Picos de Europa, Pyrenees and French Alps tour 2017 Scotland Trip 1, now with BONUS FEATURE edit, 5/10/19, on page 2 Scotland Trip 2 Luxembourg, Black Forest, Switzerland, Vosges Trip 2017
THERE'S MILLIONS OF CHICKENSTRIPS OUT THERE!

[lingeringstin...]

[lingeringstin...]

AND...

As this tent is probably 30 years old or so and made of light army type canvas I was wondering if it should be treated with anything to preserve it. A snoop online reveals any number of tent crap that claims to do anything you want it to do but I'd prefer some actual knowledge on the subject.