Silnylon repair

[chris]

Repairing a tear in silnylon is not as straightforward as tears in other fabrics. Usually, I put down some duct tape over the tear and on the other side lay down a bead of Freesole. But, this won't stick to silnylon. So, it was recommended to be to use silicone cut with mineral spirits to glue a patch of silnylon over the tear. However, this isn't very practical to carry around. Do people carry silnylon repair kits? What is in them? Is it really necessary to cut the silicone with mineral spirits?

[Trail Yeti]

Chris, when I got a tear in my GoLite Speed the company sent me a piece of silnylon and some seam sealer. They said just cut the peice to fit and seam seal it in place. They even sent it next day air...how's that for customer service?

[Christian]

I think a few stitches under the patch are allways agood idea. It strengthens the tear a lot.

[Youngblood]

Ii is not required to cut the silicone with mineral spirits, it makes it easier to work with and less wasteful when you are applying a lot of silicone. For small applications it doesn't make much difference. Before applying the patch, I put scotch tape on the opposite side of the tear to keep the silicone from adhearing to areas that I don't want glued together.

I carry a small amount of duct tape to make temporary field repairs.

Youngblood