Cuben fabric

[Robert Carver]

What does everyone use to seam seal their Cuben shelters? Silnet? Seamgrip? Something else?

[Ty Reidenbaugh]

Silicone caulking thinned with mineral spirits.

[David Olsen]

Aquaseal.

[Dan @ Durston Gear]

As I recall, Ron Bell (MLD) recommended to me to use SeamGrip to seal my cuben Revelation pack. I think the company behind SeamGrip (McNetts?) changed the name of this stuff recently. I think the coverage of the most recent outdoor retailer market show talks about this.

For the two cuben shelters that I've owned, no seam sealing was necessary because the main seams are all bonded and it's just little stuff like tie outs on the corners that are sewn.

[Link .]

permatex flowable silicone

[Robert Carver]

I am very confused about seam sealing cuben. I have a cuben shelter from MLD, it came with a tube of seamgrip. The cuben shelter I purchased from Zpacks came with silnet. I really want to make sure I use the correct product on these shelters since they are not cheep to purchase. Would the type of cuben that each company uses require a different seam seal product?

[Rakesh Malik]

I don't think that they type of seam seal will matter all that much once it's applied. I think the difference is in how you apply them, and how quickly they set once you do.

AFAIK ZPacks' Cuben tarps and shelters have stitched seams and ridgelines, while MLD's are bonded, so there's no seam to seal, except where there are things like tieouts stitched onto the main shelter body.

[Nick Larsen]

I thought I remembered someone mentioning auto glass repair stuff for seam sealing. Could that stuff be used for cuben? Or was that for silnylon only?

[Jerry Adams]

auto glass repair stuff = permatex flowable silicone

silicone sealant like permatex, McNett, or silicone caulk is the only thing that works on silicone

on non silicone fabric, urethane sealant like McNett Seam Grip or Shoe Goo is stronger, silicone peels off easier

I would think that would work better on Cuben

[Colin Krusor]

Urethanes are used to make bonded seams with Cuben. Hysol U-09 and all other adhesives used to construct bonded cuben shelters are urethanes. They will form a stronger bond to the PET surface of the cuben than any other class of adhesive. But urethanes, in general, are not as environmentally refractory as silicones. Many silicone products will last decades in full sun and completely exposed to the elements, whereas urethanes are susceptible to UV damage and hydrolysis (deterioration due to prolonged exposure to moisture). The cracking and peeling of old urethane WPB membranes on jackets is an example of hydrolysis.

I would choose silicone because, in the spaces within a sewn seam, the seam sealer is protected from mechanical strain and a terribly strong bond isn't necessary. Resistance to UV and moisture seems more important.

[James Marco]

There is little in the line of sealants that will actually bond that well with the plastic films used in cuben. I would suggest thinned silicone as others have. But, it will still eventually peel off. Plastic tools is how I apply silicone in bathrooms and kitchens because it cleans up easily. Some of the siliconized adhesives may work better, but I haven't tried these yet.

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