Fabsil or similar – anyone had any success?

The waterproofing on the inside of my old ones has disintegrated into dust. Not a major issue but if I can paint some more back on I might.

Unless you’re desperate to keep using it for old time’s sake, I’d be tempted to buy new.

Believe it or not I am aware of that option.

put a bin bag inside it 🙂

I have used spray on proofer on my Evoc ones a few times and it works. They tend to go in the wash every few months and I spray them while wet post wash and let them air dry.

what about a rucksack waterproof cover?

IME if they have lost the inner lining then no coating will make them waterproof

Read the question.

“Has anyone used Fabsil or similar?”

not

“How can I keep my stuff dry”

Funnily enough I am also aware of plastic bags 🙂

<chortle @ snarky Mol>

I had a leaky back pack, so I only used it on dry days.

You can get waterproof pouches to put any sensitive stuff in.

Hey; just don’t put anything in it that could spoil.

They never were waterproof anyway, they quickly developed worn spots in the liner etc. I’m more interested in general durability. The proofing seems to add weight to the fabric – it’s rather floppy and soft without it. Seems like keeping mud and dirt out will help keep the fibres in tact for longer. That and a little extra backup for things that aren’t worth packing in separate bags.

So.. back to the original question…

Maybe a bin bag?

put a bin bag inside it

I use a big stuff sack inside my (27 year old) rucksack – I am not aware of anything on the market that could come close to getting the rucksack back to having the stiffness you want.

rucksac rain cover for £8

😆

Wasn’t familiar with Fabsil, but it appears to be designed for tents which are a different material to rucksacks.
Maybe something like the spray on proofer used for fabric style walking boots?
Certainly don’t see why that wouldnt work, although clearly would result in some degree of water resistant rather than waterproof.

But from what OP is saying, it isn’t the rain resistance he wants, rather the stiffness the coating originally afforded the rucksack.

Yeah looks like Fabsil is a silicone based thing.. seems you might be able to get paint-on PU coating for tent floor proofing, but it’s expensive. Fabsil is cheap.

Have you considered a secondary receptacle that could be carried inside the disintegrating sack, thereby providing support and some protection to contents?

But seriously, the wash in stuff would give some short term coating but wouldn’t make the sack any more robust.

Fabsil

😛

Just Fiberglass the inside to the shape you desire 😛

Have you considered a secondary receptacle that could be carried inside the disintegrating sack, thereby providing support and some protection to contents?

Yeah that sounds a great idea. Some kind of, err, bag?

Possibly an insane idea, but turn inside out and paint with liquid latex?
http://www.instructables.com/id/Coating-Fabric-with-Liquid-Latex/

So you want rigidity n generally weather proofing?

Stuff it to the desired shape n fibreglass the bugger?

Rigid n weather proof 😛

You should use a bin bag. Or a rucksack cover. Or buy a new one.

But seriously, the wash in stuff would give some short term coating but wouldn’t make the sack any more robust.

It’s not clear if Fabsil is a coating or just some sort of Scotchguard type PTFE. Hence the thread, if anyone has any experiences. Seems not 🙂

Howdo, I work for Nikwax so know a bit or two about this. The stuff that’s turned to powder would have been a polyurethane (PU) coating. PU would have made the fabric as waterproof as a cheap’ish jacket (£80-£100 jobbie) but as the seams weren’t taped it would still let water in. As you’ve also noticed it would also give the fabric some additional stiffness and help it retain its shape.

Fabsil (bare in mind there are different types of Fabsil though) is one of the thicker DWR replacement chemicals available but once dried it still won’t add much rigidity.

I use a liner (orange or yellow are good, it makes things easier to find – except those items in the smaller orange or yellow bags). I suppose a cover makes more sense but then no-one would be aware of my expensive taste in sacs.

thanks Jim, molly is probably aware of that though… 😆

Thanks Jim. Question is, can I get paint-on PU coating?

If you do, it’ll probably come in a carrier bag.
You could use that.

More seriously what about tent seam sealer, when I put that on too thick it was very plasticky.

Use a cover, use a bin bag, buy a new one.
And in answer to your question: no.

I’m dunking mine in grangers nikwax wash in. Seems to work alright. Do my jackets, tent, tarp and pretty much anything that was meant to be waterproof but is a bit knackered now

It’s not clear if Fabsil is a coating or just some sort of Scotchguard type PTFE. Hence the thread, if anyone has any experiences

I have no used it BUT if you want to get an idea of what is in it you can take a look at the coshh data sheet.

Edit: After having a look at the data sheet its not that useful!

http://www.farnell.com/datasheets/1536436.pdf

2-HYDROXY-4-(OCTYLOXY)PHENYL_PHENYL 217-421-2 METHANONE1843-05-6 < 1%
BUTANOL-norm 200-751-6 71-36-3 < 1%
NAPHTHA (PETROLEUM) HYDROTREATED 265-150-3 HEAVY 64742-48-9 60-100% Xn;
ZIRCONIUM BUTANOLATE 213-995-3 1071-76-7 < 1%

So apparently up to 100% Naphtha!

Naphtha is obviously the solvent. I don’t know if PTFE is soluble in naphtha.?

Google say no but..

https://www.researchgate.net/post/What_are_suitable_solvents_to_dissolve_Teflon_Estane_and_Viton

“Dissolving fluoropolymers is hardly an option, they are stable in most solvents. If the pores are large enough, you could also consider buying PTFE fine powder and dispersing it in some hydrocarbons”

So it may be PTFE powder.

Overall I feel this post has been of no use but I have learnt that PTFE being a high molecular weight polymer (hence why it is so slippery) will not dissolve in a solvent, but maybe disperse with a hydrocarbon.

You are welcome!

Another actual solution to your problem that would be worth ago is to buy some silicon sealant (NOT the natural cure stuff, the one that uses acetic acid, smells vinegary) further dissolve with some solvent of your choice. White spirit should work from memory and paint on the inside of the rucksack.

Obviously try on a scrap bit of material but this should, depending on the level of dilution result in some level of water protection and some level of increased stiffness, which again will all depend on how many coats and level of dilution. I have actually done this to some material as an experiment but never used in anger so to speak to test how well is wore but kitchen tests seemed ok.

🙂

How do I tell the difference between natural cure silicone and the other stuff?

I did have some tent floor sealant.. wonder where I got that from?

I have a rag in the garage that I use to wipe Stans dregs out of the tyres before repairing them. Its now that stiff that it needs binning and it wont absorb any more Stans. If it was me I would turn it inside out and paint it with some old Stans and hang it up to dry. Might have to do it a few times.

How do I tell the difference between natural cure silicone and the other stuff?

Most of the time silicone sealant in not the natural cure stuff it’s less popular as it takes longer to go off so screw fix cheap sealent will be fine?

I think Tracey’s idea of using old tyre sealant, or if you don’t have any old sealant a small tub of latex from eBay as you would buy for a DIY sealant mix. Worth a try on a scrap bit of material to see what works. Compare against you tent floor sealer.