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cartman
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cartman
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PostThu May 18, 2017 10:20 pm 
I was given an REI Quarterdome tent in good condition. However, it had been seam sealed years ago and it's all now flaking off. It would be a major effort to scrape all the old seam seal off. If I just add new seam seal over the old, would it just seal the flaking stuff in place, and would the tent be waterproof? Or is there something I could use to remove the old stuff without a major effort? Anyone ever had a similar situation and how did you deal with it?

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spamfoote
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PostFri May 19, 2017 12:47 am 
As far as I know, nothing takes silicone rubber off other than rubbing it and scrapping it. That is how I have done my packs and a single tent. It is tedious and very very very slow. I have not had this problem with sil nylon yet. Just the Nylon Urethane coated stuff. If you apply new silicone rubber over the old it will NOT seal it and keep the rest from peeling. Though, if you mix up a very thin batch with mineral spirits and can get brush and work it into the peeling parts it WILL slow the process down. Problem is you have to seam seal and seam seal and seam seal and seam seal and seam seal and seam seal because a little more keeps peeeleiiing and peeeeliiiiinnngg.

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InFlight
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PostFri May 19, 2017 12:06 pm 
I'm about 95% sure all the old Half Domes & Quarter Domes are polyurethane coated (Not Sil-Nylon.) You do not want to use a Silicon Sealer on this tent! You can tell for sure by looking at the fabric; if there is one side with obvious coating it's PU. Silicon-Nylon is coated through and doesn't have any obvious differences on the two sides. I would remove as much of the loose material as possible. I would personally use Gear Aid - Tent Sure Polyurethane Sealant. There are other heavy adhesives such as seam grip or shoe goo that would adhere ok. I'm sure they have their fans; but repairing it with the same polyurethane material would seem like the safest route.

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Randito
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PostFri May 19, 2017 12:37 pm 
You could aways just ignore the peeling factory seam tape on the inside and apply PU seamsealer to the outside.

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Schenk
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PostFri May 19, 2017 1:58 pm 
If the old sealer is "flaking" off then perhaps it is one of the older formulas that tended to get brittle with age and UV exposure. I have had some moderate success peeling those sealers off like tape, with a tweezers. Sometimes I could get a strip as long as 9-10" before it broke and I had to get it started peeling again. If it was stuck on well enough that some physical abuse would be needed to remove it then I left it in place and sealed over it again.

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Franco
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PostFri May 19, 2017 4:36 pm 
I would do as Randy suggested. Scrape what you can on the underside then apply Seam Grip (not silicone) on the outside. Best to do it with the tent set up and in diffused light so that you can see where the sealant is applied and catch drips. Have a cloth on hand to wipe if needed.

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cartman
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PostSat May 20, 2017 7:12 am 
RandyHiker wrote:
You could aways just ignore the peeling factory seam tape on the inside
It's not seam tape that's flaking, it's some sort of post-manufacture seam seal application. it's in little 2mm x 2mm bits all along all the seams. May be more bother and time than the tent is worth to deal with.

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Randito
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PostSat May 20, 2017 8:54 am 
cartman wrote:
it's in little 2mm x 2mm bits all along all the seams.
If thats all thats wrong at the moment, perhaps you should subject the tent to a "lawn sprinkler" test and see if it leaks before undertaking repairs.

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cartman
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PostSun May 21, 2017 5:33 am 
RandyHiker wrote:
perhaps you should subject the tent to a "lawn sprinkler" test and see if it leaks before undertaking repairs.
True, though the previous owner let me know it leaked when he gave it to me. The sprinkler test would tell me where it was leaking and I could just fix those spots, so that's a good idea.

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RumiDude
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PostFri May 26, 2017 11:31 am 
cartman wrote:
it's some sort of post-manufacture seam seal application
cartman wrote:
May be more bother and time than the tent is worth to deal with.
Bingo! It's not worth the time and effort to fix a failed fix on an old tent. "Part out/repurpose" the tent and landfill the rest. Rumi

"This is my Indian summer ... I'm far more dangerous now, because I don't care at all."
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KillerCharlie
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PostSat Jun 10, 2017 11:36 pm 
I was going to post the same topic. The factory seam sealer on my ~8 year old Marmot Aura is falling apart. It's crumbled into pieces and would take forever to remove. I like the idea of sealing the outside.

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