I have never used proofing on any of my tents,however after a rough weeek in Aberystwyth in June,I am considering proofing the top of my maritsa,any advice or experiences (good or bad) please share.
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DON'T unless your tent is very near the end of it's life & the PU coating is cracking up. I am assuming that the Maritsa is a polyester tent, so the water proofing is a PU coating on the inside of the tent. If the coating is going crackly, looks crazed like old crockery, and has milky white patches, then it is near the end of it's life, and a coat of Fabsil should make it last the season out before it is scrapped.
If the tent is less than five years old & you had water in the tent on holiday, it was probably condensation or a seam needs resealing. If it's a seam, just get some seam sealer & coat the inside of the seam, then leave the tent erected till the sealer is thoroughly dry (otherwise it can stick to whatever part of the tent it is folded against). Hope this helps.
As the surface treatment of polyester starts to degrade, the fabric will begin to 'wet out' if subjected to prolonged rain - that means it will not repel water and will become semi-porous. This may or may not lead to drips.
However, treating the outside surface with a 'universal' type of reproofer will cause rain water to 'bead' and run off. It will prevent the fabric wetting out.
The most effective (and also the easiest) method is to use an aerosol reproofer. The one I used most recently was 'Peter Storm Universal Re-proof' spray - but only because I got it on offer at Blacks (Peter Storm is an own-brand of Blacks/Millets). I've used similar products by Nikwax, Fabsil, Grangers and others.
I'm not sure where this "never reproof polyester" idea comes from. Certainly, I've extended the useful life of several tents this way and so have many of my friends in the backpacking and camping fraternities.
If we are talking purely about the waterproofing of polyester tents then I have to agree that you should never need to reproof the material (seams excluded) The polyester fabric has a polyeurethane waterproof membrane on the inside and unless it starts to break down the tent fabric should remain fully waterproof.
If however we are talking about the water beading on the outside of the fabric then a coat of "waterproofing" solution on the outside will help prevent the fabric looking "wet" when it rains. Some waterproofer also claim to contain UV inhibitors as well
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