Companion forum thread to:

Adventures in Laminating Silicone-Impregnated Fabrics

Great article. These tech articles are my favourite. Has anyone tried this with cuben? I've heard of people taping cuben together but never gluing.

Thanks for all the work!


Dan, see here:

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=20093&startat=40

Another project involving glued cuben

Edited by jcolten on 03/02/2010 16:53:02 MST.

Jim -

Great article. I really appreciate all of the myog contributions you make to BPL.

Dan -

I've tried something similar with some of the 0.75 "breen" cuben from the order organized by BPL members. So far I've only used Seam grip, mostly because its what I had around and I'd heard mention that it would work ok. Here are some photos. So far it is holding very well, but I've only had it out for one quick overnight.








Matt

Very nice tarp...neat stuff.

Very interesting article!

Have you tried to apply thinned glue with mineral spirits? This lets you apply a very thin layer of silicone.

I have not tried joining fabrics with thinned silicone glue. I did read somewhere that the manufacturer said that results in a weaker bond.

Roger Caffin (if I recall correctly) has said that there are lower viscosity silicone glues available. I have no info about comparative strength.

But I do use silicone glue thinned with mineral spirits for seam seaming and making silnylon shelter floors less slippery.

Lynn posted something for me on her repair of Cuben using adhesive:

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=29310

oops, I originally attributed this to the wrong person!

Edited by dkramalc on 03/03/2010 21:50:03 MST.

My friend uses my silnylon scraps layered and laminated
with tub caulk to make hydrolic limbs for robots.

Jim, this was great!

Does the wax paper work well as a buffer between the fabric and the weight or will you see some sticking?

On the side, what (besides snow) are you sleeping on in that lastish picture? -14 is freaking cold. Kudos to you.

Thanks again!

Edited by Niles on 03/03/2010 17:25:17 MST.

"Alison posted something for me on her repair of Cuben using adhesive:

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=29310"

Yes, something like that, but since your Refuge is silnylon rather than cuben, using the GEII sealant instead of self-adhesive sail cloth would be a good solution.

Does the wax paper work well as a buffer between the fabric and the weight or will you see some sticking?

Wax paper works very well. Plastic painter's drop cloth material also works if you don't have a lot of excess glue escaping the joint.

On the side, what (besides snow) are you sleeping on in that lastish picture? -14 is freaking cold.

Well that photo wasn't from the -13F morning ... it was a relatively balmy +10F. But the setup was similar, from the bottom up:
* silnylon bivy bottom
* 3/8"x72"x20" generic blue foam pad
* a very old 72"x20" ridgerest pad
* Marmot Arroyo sleeping bag
* a Primaloft One quilt as a top bag (6oz/yd^2)
* momentum bivy top
Bivy zipped up to about shoulder level to allow me to breath outside.

The trip with the -13F morning I had two quilts over the bag, the second one with 3oz/yd^2 Climashield XP. Was warm in bed but getting up was a shock. Pack up while heating water (if your stove will light), do the chicken dance until the water is hot, eat the oatmeal and hot beverages, hit the trail and hope the wind doesn't kick up. That's my coldest morning to date, not sure I'd want to "improve" on that.

very nice article.

Does it matter if white silicone is used instead of clear? I have white GE silicone II already. I guess I can give it a try.

You'll have white seams...

Cheers

Great article and examples. I'll return to this again when I make a Jardine-style flat tarp.

How about the chemical reaction between the glue and the fabric, won't that weaken the fabric?

Eins

Thanks for the write up! I especially liked your idea of using the foam boards to make assembling large pieces easier. Great idea.

How about the chemical reaction between the glue and the fabric, won't that weaken the fabric?

I have not seen any reference info that says it does or does not. But my own experience has not noticed any sign of weakening and I would not expect any.

Silnylon and spinnaker fabric are nylon and polyester fabrics impregnated with cured silicone polymer. Silicone "glues" are also silicone polymers. Maybe not identical molecules but certainly compatible materials.

Also, the threads in the fabric are already completely enclosed by polymer. The glue will not contact the nylon or polyester.