Adventures in Laminating Silicone-Impregnated Fabrics

"Does anybody see any reason to not attempt an entirely bonded silnylon (spinnaker?) tarp or tent?"

I had thought about this because of my fear of sewing:-)

I suspect it would require more overlapping of seams and the combination of the extra material and silicone bonding material would add ounces to the shelter, compared to stitch and bonded construction.

I'm still considering experimenting though.

Does anybody see any reason to not attempt an entirely bonded silnylon (spinnaker?) tarp or tent?

I missed that question the first time, sorry. Bonded cuben tarps recently available and a not as recent forum posting about a bonded cuben mid do make one wonder about the possibility of bonded siliconized fabrics. However, I have not tested that sort of thing.

I had thought about this because of my fear of sewing:-)

Weeeeeell … facing down one's fears is great way to grow, isn't that a lot like what we do as lightening our packs?

Jim

Nice post

Did you align the fabric weave of the patch or bias at 45?

Tz.

Tz wins the Miracle Max award for reviving a mostly dead (as opposed to completely dead) thread:-)

I have not paid attention to the orientation of the weave at all. It might make a difference but in some simple tests the joint was always stronger than the adjacent fabric so I’m not worrying about it.

Also, since that article I have made a silnylon tarp adapted from http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/make_your_own_gear_5_yards_to_sul_part_3.htmlJay Ham’s plans. All seams were bonded and even the guyout loops were made with laminated silnylon and glued on. The only stitching used was for installing a zipper on the beak and some small hang loops on the underside. It’s worked well for 2 years.

Jim
Thanks. I hope you did not get flack from your composite material consultant.

I will see how it works out this weekend
If it all fails the 8 by ten will be a 7 by 9.

Hi Jim,
Great article–glad the thread was revived, as apparently I missed it when first published.

I've made a bunch of rubber molds using silicone caulking, and sometimes use water to accelerate the curing process ((silicone caulk like GS Silicone II is moisture-curing). I wonder if something similar would work with your laminations.

I've never noticed that an accelerated cure weakened the material, but then the thickness and application was quite different than yours.