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Atsko Permanent Water Guard DWR spray


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  • #1307850
    And E
    Spectator

    @lunchandynner

    Locale: Pacific Northwest

    I recently ordered some off amazon and treated some of my jackets with it.
    Short story, it works really well.

    It comes in an aerosol can, with 10oz of product for only about $10, so much cheaper than reviveX, etc. And get better spread/coverage on synthetics. It does dribble a bit as you spray it though.

    I chose this particular one to try because they rate/guarantee the DWR to last 25 washes. Also, I've never had fully satisfactory results on my Stoic Vaporshell (terrible, terrible factory DWR that wets out even in a light drizzle) with nikwax wash in or spray on nor with ReviveX spray despite meticulously cleaning jacket (and cleaning the washer) first in sport wash and following all directions for treatment. Every time I treated the Vaporshell, I'd hold it under the shower with water on medium pressure and it'd still be as if there was hardly any DWR at all, with the face fabric immediately soaking up water (My fiancé and i have a couple other jackets that shrug it off like there was never any water to begin with).

    After a fresh wash and treatment with the Atsko Permanent Water Guard, and heat set with dryer, I'm happy to say it survived the shower head test! Time will tell if it really is as durable as Atsko claims.

    Also, one can/bottle was enough to treat the Vaporshell and two hooded windshirts.

    #2026577
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    Thanks for the info An-D. Yeah, i wish Stoic had their DWR process changed for the Vaporshell. Pretty good jacket overall, but crappy DWR.

    I'm interested to try it out sometime. I've heard that Granger's is one of the best and longest lasting DWR's. Besides price, what made you go with the Atsko over Grangers?

    #2026595
    Rick Adams
    BPL Member

    @rickadams100

    My local ace hardware stocks this. Works well. Be careful with overspray. Dont ask how I know.

    #2026622
    Roger Caffin
    BPL Member

    @rcaffin

    Locale: Wollemi & Kosciusko NPs, Europe

    Don't forget: if the fabric is dirty, NOTHING works. And you won't see the dirt.
    Atsko Sports Wash per the instructions on the bottle before you spray is the message.

    Do not try to substitute silicone spray for fluorocarbon DWR!!!! Disaster awaits.

    Cheers
    PS: some other brands also work.

    #2026649
    And E
    Spectator

    @lunchandynner

    Locale: Pacific Northwest

    I picked it because you get more product per can (10oz vs 5 or so) and they claimed it was good for 25 washes. Plus, I already use their sport wash.

    #2026794
    Sam Farrington
    BPL Member

    @scfhome

    Locale: Chocorua NH, USA

    Tried search for the above on Amazon and got a multitude of sprays with different combinations of the words in "Atsko Permanent Water Guard DWR spray," but nothing the same.
    Could you narrow it down a bit? Thanks.

    P.S. Tried Polartec wash-in DWR for my rain top, but from An-D's experience, and my own with Nikwax wash-ins, doubt that the DWR was restored. Sounds like this product might do it, if I could figure out which product it is.

    #2026805
    Michael K
    BPL Member

    @chinookhead

    Roger, can you please explain your tip? Are you saying that this is a silicone spray and that you should 1st apply some sort of fluorocarbon DWR before this kind of silicone DWR spray can work properly?

    #2026840
    And E
    Spectator

    @lunchandynner

    Locale: Pacific Northwest

    The Atsko is a cross linked Fluorocarbon spray, so it works well, and is heat set. When you wash it and dry it, the drying will reheat the DWR and it will link together again to restore the DWR properties.

    As for the specific bottle I bought:

    http://www.amazon.com/Seal-Water-guard-Aerosol-Water-Proofing/dp/B000B13VHC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1379817052&sr=8-1&keywords=atsko+permanent+water+guard

    It's called Sno-Seal Permanent Water Guard (but is a product of Atsko, my appologies for the confusion).

    I also bought the Extreme Water Guard, but have yet to try that out.

    #2026849
    Rick Adams
    BPL Member

    @rickadams100

    I think roger was referring to my post about atsko silicone spray. I was confused about the dwr product, didn't know they made it. The silicone product is apparently not good for modern dwr. It is great for tents and goodwill style outer wear for scout snow camping and stuff like that. Two different products. Snow seal is a third product from the same company.

    #2026867
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    I wonder what the differences are between the Extreme Water Guard and the Permanent stuff is suppose to be?

    #2026888
    Roger Caffin
    BPL Member

    @rcaffin

    Locale: Wollemi & Kosciusko NPs, Europe

    > Roger, can you please explain your tip? Are you saying that this is a silicone spray
    > and that you should 1st apply some sort of fluorocarbon DWR before this kind of
    > silicone DWR spray can work properly?

    Aaarrgghh, NO!

    Silicone spray leaves a soft and easily rubbed off finish. The silicone polymrs simply does not stick. It might be OK for suede street shoes, but it is NOT for back-country gear (with one exception).

    The exception is a silnylon fabric. You can hit this with a silicone spray for a small improvement. You could for instance spray your silnylon tarp or tent once a year with silicone. Pitch the tent, spray, and leave sitting in the sun for a few hours to bond. Yes, surprisingly, silicone polymer does bond best to silicone polymer!

    Now, techie details.

    Silicone coating and fluorocarbon coating are fundamentally incompatible. If you use silicone spray on a fluorocarbon-treated fabric it won't stick, but it will prevent you from ever successfully applying any fluorocarbon DWR in the future. So never, ever mix them!

    If you try to refresh the DWR without washing all the dirt off first, all you will do is DWR the dirt. The fabric won't improve. In fact, there will be (is) all sorts of 'stuff' on the fabric, even if it looks 'clean', which will be killing the DWR treatment. This includes skin oils!

    If you wash your DWR fabric in the washing machine with ordinary laundry powder or detergent, you will be killing it. Read the label: apple scent, fabric whitener, bulking agent, enzymes … and they do not rinse out! They stay on the fabric and kill the DWR. Stuff like Atsko Sports Wash is a pure detergent with NO additives, and it will rinse clean.

    In fact, it has been recommended that in some cases you may need to run the fabric through the full wash cycle with Sports Wash twice, just to strip off all the gunk from trees, skin and washing powders. A dummy run through the washing machine to get the washing machine tub clean is sometimes needed! It's a hassle, sure, but it works, and not getting the fabric clean first ensures rapid failure.

    Oh yes – you must do the heat cycle when refreshing the DWR. The heat is what bonds the new fluorocarbon to the fabric and the old fluorocarbon. Read the label.

    Cheers

    #2026891
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    Theoretically speaking, would it be possible to refresh a fluorocarbon DWR in the backcountry via a one half clear and one half black plastic bag, or full black bag put in full Sun for awhile and then maybe shaking it up while heated up? (in a warm climate, or in Summer for most others)

    Or does it require a much higher heat than that can generate to properly refresh such a DWR?

    #2026898
    Roger Caffin
    BPL Member

    @rcaffin

    Locale: Wollemi & Kosciusko NPs, Europe

    Hi Justin

    They often recommend using a tumble drier on medium heat.

    Cheers

    #2026976
    And E
    Spectator

    @lunchandynner

    Locale: Pacific Northwest

    I think the temp needs to be somewhere between 150-200 F.

    #2027042
    Duane Klinge
    Spectator

    @ksc

    I have same results that An-D had with same Stoic jacket and the Snowseal DWR spray treatment. It seems to really improves repellant properties.

    #2027121
    Sam Farrington
    BPL Member

    @scfhome

    Locale: Chocorua NH, USA

    An-D,
    Thanks very much for the clarification. Think I may wash the jacket again with the Sports Wash before applying the spray. But will wait a bit to see what you may have to say about the Extreme.

    Thanks again.

    #2027177
    And E
    Spectator

    @lunchandynner

    Locale: Pacific Northwest

    It may be awhile before I try the extreme spray as I've treated my jackets already with the permanent water guard. That was good enough too best off water from the shower and I will see how it does in the field this coming weekend if it rains during an overnight.

    They're only $9 a bottle, so a pretty good deal.

    I'd recommend running your wash with hot water with no clothes or any detergent, or a wash cycle with other clothes with sport wash you aren't going to treat to get any detergent buildup that may be between the drums of the washer. Then wash your jackets in sport wash. That's what I did.

    #2027237
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    Thank you for the reply's Roger and An-D. I don't know much about fluorocarbon based DWR's as until currently i've only ever used Nikwax.

    Does anyone know if Nikwax's claim about being more environmentally friendly/less toxic in comparison to fluorocarbon's is true or not? If realistically, there is not much of a difference, i would rather go with the latter since i've heard it lasts longer.

    #2027252
    And E
    Spectator

    @lunchandynner

    Locale: Pacific Northwest

    I believe nikwax is wax based, vs chemical. However…. There's really is no such thing as environmentally "friendly" in most cases… Just less environmentally harmful.

    Now, if the fluorocarbon based ones are slightly worse for the environment initially, I believe it'll make up for it by lasting longer (not needing as frequent reapplication as nikwax).

    #2027274
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    That may be true An-D, but body toxicity is also a consideration for me personally (having had, and still having to some extent some health issues). I've come to understand that our skin can absorb a lot more than is given credit for. But if used on an outer, shouldn't be much of an issue i suppose.

    #2027413
    Roger Caffin
    BPL Member

    @rcaffin

    Locale: Wollemi & Kosciusko NPs, Europe

    > nikwax is wax based, vs chemical.

    and wax is not a chemical??????

    Cheers

    #2027418
    And E
    Spectator

    @lunchandynner

    Locale: Pacific Northwest

    Touche, Roger. Yes, both chemicals. Not sure if nikwax uses naturally occuring wax vs synthesized vs lab made fluorocarbons, etc.

    You'd think I wouldn't have made that chemical vs chemical mistake considering I'm a molecular biology research scientist.

    #2027420
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    Well, i understood what An-D was trying to say, a more natural, nature based chemical compound vs a human made synthetic compound. Sure, there are plenty of toxins in nature but most of these are in relation to and concentrated with animal or plant defense mechanisms, and i don't know about you but i'm not in the habit of smearing cobra venom all over my clothes anyways…

    And i certainly would prefer smearing something like beeswax on my skin rather than something like Grangers no matter how safe and non toxic the companies that make this stuff tell me it is.

    Human made synthesized chemicals or nature distilled isolations and concentrations on the other hand, whole long list of toxicity in many different areas and applications. I'm not saying i don't use the latter, course i do, but i think limiting exposure is also a good idea too.

    #2027436
    Ethan A.
    BPL Member

    @mountainwalker

    Locale: SF Bay Area & New England

    Roger and others, which other brands perform well in your experience? I've found Nikwak doesn't last as long.

    #2027509
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    Not speaking from experience, but from having read other peoples experiences and recommendations (mostly here, but also on some other forums), Grangers seems to be one of the top ones. The McKnett ReviveX is also usually highly rated.

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