An adhesive or glue that permanently bonds to silnylon.

It's a seam sealant, but I've used it like an adhesive to bond silnylon fabrics when patching a small hole — that was a couple of years ago and the patch is still good.

EDIT: Just read the packaging… "Sil Net has only modest repair adhesive qualities (OK for pinholes)".

So I can use that to bond 4 little strips of silnylon to silnylon with that? Awesome!

Rich:

I just added an edit to my post above. Assuming those 4 little strips won't need to bear any force or pressure (e.g. you won't be yanking on them or anything) — then should be OK.

Crap. Yeah I need something that would be equivalent to sewing the strips on.

Rich,

We might be able to provide a more complete response if you describe the project.

Loctite Hysol?

I just need to attach 4 small loops (approx. 2 inches long)of silnylon to the inside of a silnylon tarp.

Reinforce on the outside, sew the loops on, seam seal.

Cheers

This reminds me of a situation where someone wanted a structural adhesive to strongly bond to (non-stick) Teflon.

Were you a premium member you could get ideas for that here, or you can purchase just the single article at less than membership cost.

Jim,
Thanks for posting the link.

I knew it was around here somewhere, but d****d if I could find it.

BTW, can anyone point to a similar 'expert' thread for cuben?

Rich,
Recently posted on MYOG my experiments with welding silnylon, inspired by the article recently reposted on this site by the editors.

The older silnylon, with the glossy finish, bonds very well. I used Permatex flowable sealant diluted with stove fuel, but many other choices would suffice.

The newer and most water resistant silnylons have a flat finish, and do not bond well in this fashion. I would like to bond rather than sew edge seams, as they are under much less stress, so I might try the stuff Dan Durston
noted using in his recent post about his cuben tent fly.

Anything that works will save a lot of sewing and create a stronger tent. Would particularly like to install reinforcement patches with adhesive rather than thread before sewing on attachments. Less needle holes to seal.
Sam

"The newer and most water resistant silnylons have a flat finish, and do not bond well in this fashion. "

Those coatings usually are blends with urethane.

Use Rodger's construction method.

David,
Perhaps I should have been more specific. Current Tarptents, Quest 1sts (not the "ultrasil")and Thru-Hiker silnylon all have the flat finish I was referring to. Should you have any reason to believe that the coatings on any or all of these fabrics include urethane, I would be very interested to know more.
Oddly, I've had no problem seam sealing any of these with diluted silicon sealers. The trouble with adhesion comes when I try to bond a silnylon patch to the fabric. Never had this problem before with the glossy silnylons. I was using the older stuff from my scrap box for patches; maybe I should try using the same silnylon as I am trying to patch instead.
Not sure what you mean by Roger's construction method, although I am a big fan of Roger's articles and innovations.
Thanks,
Sam

Yes, they have a coating that is a blend of mostly silicone
with some urethane.

I meant use Rodger's technique of sewing then sealing the
seams if you need a strong reinforcement such as
adding a tie out.

You can try using the below suggestion.

The double side tape call Peco II and 3M super seam tape it both for sail making for spinnaker sail.

some link i find in the sail making supplier catalog.
http://www.kokkotas.gr/PDF/pages112_113.pdf

Very interesting, David. Thank you.
Sam

This thread was timely in that I was tasked to replicate my RainShadow 2 mods on a newly purchased 2010 version RainShadow 2. Part of the mod is to glue guyout loops to the center of each side panel.

Before I resorted to sewing them on I contacted Henry Shires about the silnylon he's currently using. True to his history of outstanding customer service he came back with the following reply (same day!):

Hi Jim,

Hope that helps.

Note that he knew what I had purchased as well as when! Given his response I went ahead and glued the guyout patches on (GE Silicone II). I didn't try any measurements but they aren't budging when given a very solid tug.

Jim,
That is very interesting, also. Will try the GE Silicon II, diluted, on the Tarptent and other flat finish silnylon fabrics, and see if it makes a better bond than the Permatex. Will also try different fabrics for the material I am using for reinforcement.
Thanks.
Sam

Sam,
I used GE Silicone II as it comes out of the tube, not diluted. Just squeeze some out, spread it on both pieces to be joined and scrape off any excess (almost all adhesives make a stronger bond with a thin layer of glue rather than a thick layer).

A few years ago someone (maybe on this forum, maybe not) reported contacting the manufacturer about using GE Silicone II thinned with mineral spirits. The response said that would weaken the bond.

Also, I know this is a nit but … technically you would not be diluting the glue with mineral spirits. It is not a solution, it is a slurry.

Good luck with your project

Jim,
Call it a slurry, but I stopped using mineral spirits to thin silicone for seam sealing because the 'slurry' did not flow well and thickened too quickly. Now use camp stove fuel.
Also stopped using unthinned silicone because of the weight and the stiffness of the outcome, and because multiple thin coats seal better.
I noted in the earlier post, that the Permatex (thinned with stove fuel) works very well for me for seam sealing on all typed of silnylon, including the flat finish.
The problem arises only with bonding reinforcements and patches, and only when the silnylon has the newer, flat finish. Will try your suggestion, but expect that the unthinned silicone will not give me the desired results; that is, two layers of fabric bonded together without adding considerable stiffness and weight that will affect the function of the tent. If that be true, I will stick with using stitching to hem the fabric edges, and to add reinforcements. It is too bad, because in my experiments with the glossy silnylon of earlier manufacture, a very small quantity of thinned silicone made a very strong bond that had very little effect on the weight and stiffness of the fabric. Still, maybe using the unthinned silicone, scraped to a thin layer as described in the reposted article on BPL, will work as you suggest. Will try it.
Sam

Sam

After putting on a thin layer, try using a hard roller across the lot to squeeze the excess out and press the layers together. I have a roller left over from applying adhesive vinyl film which works very well.

Cheers

Thanks, Roger. A roller sounds better.
After reading Jim's recital of his message from Tarptent, guess it is clear now that the newer flat coatings are a mix of urethane and silicone. Which is good, I guess, for increasing water resistance at minimal weight.
Sam

In my experience, it is not the material the coating is made
from so much as the amount of coating that determines water
resistance under pressure. The blends I have seen are heavier coats,
so show a proportionatley greater resistance.

One drawback
to urethane is it reduces tear strength, while
silicone increases tear strength.

However, any of the current domestic sil nylon is
satisfactory for tarps. Other uses, such as dry bags,
may require fabrics with heavier coats or a membrane
of polyester such as cuben fiber uses.