Message Forums

Quote: Originally posted by Miserly on 21/2/2016 Just a couple of points on the above. Canvas manufactures recommend proofing every 5 years or so,to protect the canvas from uv,important for use in sunnier climes than ours. The whole thing about redoing it every year is a myth. Secondly,there are many horror stories about tents being sent for cleaning and proofing,and it really is an easy job,the awkward bits can be done from inside.

---

So,basically,don't do it,and if you must ,do it yourself!

---

Quote: Originally posted by Blue Sky Pennine on 21/2/2016

---

Quote: Originally posted by Miserly on 21/2/2016 Just a couple of points on the above. Canvas manufactures recommend proofing every 5 years or so,to protect the canvas from uv,important for use in sunnier climes than ours. The whole thing about redoing it every year is a myth. Secondly,there are many horror stories about tents being sent for cleaning and proofing,and it really is an easy job,the awkward bits can be done from inside. So,basically,don't do it,and if you must ,do it yourself!

---

---

Some do recommend it, and would agree it's particularly relevant in sunnier climes. To be honest, though, because the vast majority of campers are folded up for most of the time, the harmful UV can't get anywhere near them, then, so that's not an issue for most of us.

It's not a myth, at all, to say they will need to be renewed every year, BUT that does depend on the state of the canvas when it was proofed, so it CAN be true, and, for others, it wont be. If you treat a canvas that has been allowed to dry out fully, the fibres will be at their smallest, and, therefore, the holes at their largest. I know a number of people who have treated it in this state and it has continued to flood in, because the proofing fluid has 'locked' the holes open.

If it is treated after a good weathering, then the fluid locks the holes closed, and then, I would, definitely, agree with you on that one Miserly. No need to re oroof for a number of years. Somewhere between the two (which is most common) the holes will be partially open. If this is the case, the fluid will seal them, but it doesn't take long for the movement of the canvas, the elements etc to break it down, and, hence, the commonly held belief that it needs re doing regularly.

As I say; all depends on the situation when it's applied.

---