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Peeled Warmlite Aluminum Laminate


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Viewing 13 posts - 1 through 13 (of 13 total)
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  • #3724001
    Sergio R
    Spectator

    @sergior

    I am starting to completely restore my old Warmlite 2R and after washing it cold in the bathtub with GearAid I could see a lot of residue from the reflective interior wall coating in the water. Once the tent was dry I could see that the liner was cracked and peeled off easily. He asked me if anyone knows of any reflective paint that I can use on nylon that is flexible and non-flammable.

    #3724020
    Roger Caffin
    BPL Member

    @rcaffin

    Locale: Wollemi & Kosciusko NPs, Europe

    That is an aluminium layer applied most likely (imho) by vapour transfer: you boil the Al so it condenses on the fabric.
    Any paint you try to use will weigh a huge amount in comparison, and (again imho) it will flake off quickly.
    I think it’s a bit of a non-starter.

    Cheers

    #3724021
    James Marco
    BPL Member

    @jamesdmarco

    Locale: Finger Lakes

    Sergio, you probably won’t like the results of any paint. but you can get a white (not aluminum) fireproof paint. It is used as an exterior paint, but I am not sure how well it will stick to silicone or aluminum. I would suggest you simply call Stephenson’s and replace the liner with new.

    Iff you can get by without the fire proofing, you can simply paint the inside with a 10:1 mixture of white silicone caulk (ten parts mineral spirits, one part silicone caulk.) The white silicone caulk works fine as a heat reflector, but not as well as aluminum. I used to be able to get silicone gutter seal in aluminum, but I haven’t checked in several years….I always use clear. There was a gentleman that used the white on a tent with no reported ill effects. I have an aluminized tarp that I coated and seam sealed with clear, so I know it will stick. It *might* be a different material, though, soo, test it first on a small area! I seem to remember other colors of 100% silicone caulk, also (brown, tan, black, white and clear.) I do not believe they count the pigment as part of the caulk.

    #3724030
    Jerry Adams
    BPL Member

    @retiredjerry

    Locale: Oregon and Washington

    why do anything?

    are you trying to make it waterproof?  then use silicone if it already has a silicone coating ot polyurethane if it has that.

    are you trying to make it warmer – reflective of IR?  I don’t think it’s worth it.  It makes only a small difference.  I don’t think you can apply a coating that would actually be reflective in IR.  I doubt the original coating actually had a low emissivity, you can’t tell just by looking at it

     

    #3724095
    James Marco
    BPL Member

    @jamesdmarco

    Locale: Finger Lakes

    OK, I checked at WarmLite. They do have repair parts as needed. https://www.warmlite.com/repairs-and-parts/ Scroll down to PARTS. They can udoubtedly fix yours, but I do not think it will be much better. They state that ALL their fabrics are siliconized nylon. , so, the only thing you are buying is the WarmLite name. I am guessing their aluminized fabric is the same type as any other.

    #3724132
    Roger Caffin
    BPL Member

    @rcaffin

    Locale: Wollemi & Kosciusko NPs, Europe

    A lot of adhesive tapes of various sorts use a silicone-coated paper carrier. You cam buy silicone baking trays which just peel off the goodies. I don’t think paint will stick to the fabric.
    Cheers

    #3724164
    James Marco
    BPL Member

    @jamesdmarco

    Locale: Finger Lakes

    Roger is correct, of course. No paints that I know of will stick to silicone except another silicone. One of the problems is the aluminum oxide that forms on AL. It happens so fast you cannot clean the metal and paint it simultaneously with almost all paints. They do make a special aluminum paint that sticks quite well to aluminum. Again, I would suggest it isn’t worth it. Just get more fabric and use the original as a pattern, or, paint it with a slurry of silicone caulk and mineral spirits. It isn’t really a mixture, it is more like mayonnaise, an emulsion. The mineral spirits donot really prevent setting of the silicone caulk, but rather mostly coats the long chains and keeps them for setting. I said mostly. Even if a mix is left in a bucket, it will eventually set into a gell. With additional time to evaporate the mineral spirits, it will get harder. Since it requires H2O for setting, I assume it slows down the rate at which water can enter the reaction, an encapsulation if you will. When painted on, it mostly evaporates off leaving a thin coating of silicone. Whatever the mechanism, it works. Even mineral spirits has dissolved water in it, though at a lesser amount than air…it takes about 24hours to set up, depending on the temp. Much less than this for the mineral spirits to evaporate off, of course.

    #3724212
    Sergio R
    Spectator

    @sergior

    I think everyone is right that no paint will adhere to silicone more than the silicone itself.
    I had the opportunity to contact someone at Warmlite and they told me that there is no solution and that I should just apply silicone so that the aluminum does not keep falling off. Actually, there is not much aluminum, as many areas are completely white.
    I know that the application of a silicone tube diluted in mineral spirits is the best solution, but not the simplest, so I am going to take it easy and experiment in small areas with how these products that I buy work.

    Interior picture

    #3724266
    Roger Caffin
    BPL Member

    @rcaffin

    Locale: Wollemi & Kosciusko NPs, Europe

    I tried (reviewed) a Warmlite tent, and was both really confused and seriously NOT impressed. The sewing was pretty awful too.

    And I I doubt very much that the aluminisation ever did anything for the tent anyhow. It’;s loss is not significant imho.

    Cheers

    #3724310
    Sam Farrington
    BPL Member

    @scfhome

    Locale: Chocorua NH, USA

    Many decades ago, Warmlite tried to laminate an aluminized layer to its silnylon canopies.  My recollection is that they were trying to laminate an aluminized mylar layer something like emergency space blankets but thinner, but there was so much delamination they gave up the ghost.  But as it was many decades ago, my recall could be suspect, Roger could be right, and it may have been a process akin to aluminizing a telescope mirror.

    In any case, their purposes were to lower condensation, and reduce heat transfer.  They claimed that condensation was significantly reduced, but just couldn’t stop the delamination.  Nowadays, we have mylar lamination that is better with DCR, but requires a factory process, not something for garage tentmaking.   Perhaps Warmlite tried both lamination and aluminizing at different times, and I’m only aware of the former.

    I have a bunch of old Warmlite catalogs (no wisecracks please), and did dig out and post a long quotation on a BPL thread about this several years ago.  If there is any reason for further digging, would be glad to do it again; but doubt it would be helpful.  And I’m not sure if the folks at Warmlite now were around when all the above was going on.

    Am also not sure that the quality issues that Roger raises have been present throughout the entire life of Warmlite.  Like any family business that goes on for many decades, there are ups and downs.  But since so many folks have been satisfied with the tents, another review of the current tent offering might be helpful.

    I was fortunate to have Warmlite less than an hour away for many years here in NH before and after their shorter stint in California, and much appreciated their help with parts and materials.  Now they are in Colorado, but did sell me recently some YKK #3 zippers that are superior to the ones available at our usual suppliers.

    My suggestion to Sergio is that the tent might be suitable for use as a single wall tent.   Single walls are not for me, but a lot of BPL members have posted satisfaction with them.   There are a number of durable water repellent (DWR)sprays like Atsko that are silicone based and adhere will to silnylon.  3M used to make Scotch Gard Outdoor Silicone Water Shield which did a good job restoring a Wilderness Equipment silnylon tent fly, but the word “silicone” has since been removed from the labeling, although the can indicates silicone contents.  DWR sprays are not waterproof, but the silicone based ones seem to restore silicone coatings, and may be an easy way to retard further deterioration of a silcoat.

    #3724311
    baja bob
    BPL Member

    @bajabob

    Locale: West

    I have Warmlite tent.  It’s a well engineered tent.  I see no issues with any sewing.  It’s 20 years old and still going strong. It can handle just about anything you can throw at it.  2 poles 4 stakes and you are good.  Roomy and fairly light.  Whatever it is the tent definitely adds some warmth in Sub freezing temps. YMMV

    #3724312
    Roger Caffin
    BPL Member

    @rcaffin

    Locale: Wollemi & Kosciusko NPs, Europe

    The founder, Stevenson, died some time ago. Your 20 yr old tent may have been made while he was running the company.

    Cheers

    #3724421
    Sergio R
    Spectator

    @sergior

    I bought mine 10 years ago and I have not seen any faults in the seams nor have I had a single leak, the only problem has been the delamination of the aluminum, a problem that does not prevent the correct operation as a double wall tent. Maybe the store he analyzed was sewn up by someone who had a bad day or was looking to get fired. Humans are beings of strange behavior, so anything is possible.
    As for the aluminum siding, I was able to apply a metallic finish vinyl spray paint, and after a day of drying I tried to scratch it, bend it to try and peel it off and I couldn’t, no visible cracks or marks, looking at this, I think there is no silicone on the outer shell where the aluminum was.

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