Recovering a tent fly that has gone sticky?

[craigprice]

Hi all

Ive an older tent that has been sitting in my cupboard for twenty five years, and like all older gear of this vintage, the light nylon fly has gone sticky on the inside. It is not yet flaking, just sticky. I'm not sure what material it was, but possibly PU coated ultralight nylon - it was a very very expensive 4 season snow dome tent from a top brand. The elastic in the poles is still ok, and ironically the pu coated floor on the inner is still good. Is there a remedy for treating the fly, or is it a death sentence?

Ive scanned the site and cant find anything atm. I'm sure there must be, this is a common thing that happens with gear even in the cupboard over time.. suggestions welcomed please.

[Moondog55]

The method I have used; with a reasonable rate of success; it to dilute a good quality neutral roofing silicone with a solvent and paint it over both sides of the fly.
I usually use a 50:50 mix of Shellite and mineral turpentine. 6:1 or even 10:1
It has to be done outdoors because of the fumes and fire risk and you need to choose a day with no wind or the coating picks up dust and grit .
You may or may not have to wash the item first but if it hasn't started to flake off you may be OK without washing first.

[craigprice]

Thanks - that’s an idea, I’ll look at this. I have the bag made of same material to do tests on.
The tent is a Mont Adventure 3 person geodesic dome, with 4 hoop supports crossed over each other. Very different and much stronger than todays designs - Antarctic level design for high winds in snow on the high plains.
I think it was a 90’s version of Silnylon.
If the solvents remove the waterproofing then perhaps I could try another wash with silicon mixed in to turps solution to waterproof it again, bit like we used to before Silnylon became cheap and available.

[Moondog55]

The model before the Epoch?

[craigprice]

Yeah and it’s a bit different to the epoch
Similar hoop design
Mine is symmetrical, No vestibule, just a dome

[Bill P]

If the fly still sheds water, I would just dust the inside of it with talc to get rid of the stickiness. Might be all you need to do.

[craigprice]

Tried the talc solution today - it appears to have worked surprisingly well (I’d always had mixed results using this method in the past, in this case it worked well). Yet to test it under the garden hose - tomorrow perhaps.