I'm curious what people have done to waterproof fabrics that are normally not considered waterproof (or even those that are). I'm interested in what the treatments were, what type of fabric was used, and what the results were.

I guess there are probably two main considerations here - one, getting fabric to repel (bead) water which I assume will be greatly driven by the tightness of the weave. The other being trying to get fabric to resist absorbing water into it's fibers, mostly effecting how fast it dries.

I'm curious how various treatments might effect the look and feel of the fabric. For example, does it make the fabric stiffer, or change the color. How long does it last?

Your thoughts and experience are appreciated.

Thanks,

-john

Hi John-

I've had great luck with Nikwax with all kinds of fabrics. Took a while to figure out which treatments were ideal for different fabrics, but their website explains things pretty well.
http://nikwax.com
Did not notice a change in the fabric at all. I've used it on breathable stuff (gore-tex, hypertex, etc), leather boots, down sleeping bags, and fleece.

There's also the Granger's brand of treatments. Same kind of thing, though I've heard their recipe is a little harder on the environment, but haven't verified that claim.
http://www.grangersusa.com

Good luck,
Jason

Thanks for the feedback. I knew I must not be the only person who has thought of doing this.

I use the Nikiwax wash in stuff on my Gortex and have wondered how/if it would work on other fabrics, but never quite tried it.

Thanks,

-john

You could try Thompson's Water Sea Sport Seal Test it on a hidden area before applying ! I have not tried it but the Thompson's Water Seal is amazing on wood, concrete etc ...

I've actually used regular old Thompson's Water Seal on cloth in two applications: a light canvas bedroll cover and groundcloth, and on a pair of heavy cotton coveralls. Neither came out as what I would call waterPROOF. Both were highly water repellant, however. It took several days of airing out for the smell to go away, though.

I've used NikWax to do a really nice waterproofing job on an old 60/40 shell I have. (How many here are old enough to remember 60/40???) I was amazed at how well it worked. Water beaded right up on that 30+ year old shell. I tested it with a yard hose and nozzle. Stayed 99% dry after a good 10 second full force burst of water. Real life tests have been limited to light drizzle, but it came through that perfectly (as expected). I used the NikWax variety that you dump into the washing machine, not the spray-on kind.

In a massive hours long downpour I'd probably trust one of my newer waterproof-breathables to keep me dry, excepting sweat, but short of hurricane conditions I actually prefer the breathability and soft comfort of that old 60/40/NikWax thing. "Waterprrof-breathable" is a great marketing term and concept, yet to be achieved in reality. "More breathable than a trashbag" - yes, more breathable than 60/40/NikWax - no. All that being said, I typically take my new wiz-bang shell along rather than my old 60/40 on hikes if there's significant chance of heavy rain. It's smaller and lighter. I'm a hypocrit ... what can I say?!

You are not the only old timer here. I walk miles a day in the Pacific Northwest. Nothing beats good 60/40 cloth for breath-ability as compared to the newer breathable fabrics. I walk at a minimum of four miles an hour for at least five miles and consequently I sweat. No mater what I wear, I am going to get damp but with 60/40 cloth I don't get totally wet.

My wife's friend's daughter works for a major garment manufacture and I get to test a lot of high end rain gear and jackets. The best success I have had is with garments that have a large number of vents. My favorite has more zippers than you can imagine. However in a blowing down pour, I have to zip some of them up to keep from getting wet from driven rain. I would sure like to try some jackets made from ventile. Until I find something better, I will stick to my old 60/40 anorak. I spray it after washing with Snow-Proof from Fiebing Co. It is odorless. A little goes a long way. A small bottle lasts for years.

Interesting. I stopped in at my local REI store to pick up some Nikwax. I was going to get some TX.Direct Wash-In (I was going to try it on some cotton and nylon items), but now they not only have that, but also a new one called Softshell Proof.

The blurbs sound almost idendical:

TX.DIRECT WASH-IN:
"Easy to use WaterBased waterproofing which restores and inproves water-repellency and maintains breathability of raingear. (Use Spray-on TX.Direct for garmets with wicking liners).

Recommended for Gore-Tex Ultrex, Entrant, Permatex and eVENT."

SOFTSHELL PROOF:
"Easy to use WaterBased waterproofing which improves water-repellency and maintains breathability of soft-shell gear.

Recommended for Windstopper, Windbloc, Schoeller and Polartec."

Anyone have any thoughts how these might be different?

-john

Edit: I just went to their web page ( http://nikwax.com ) and am even more confused. They even have "Cotton Proof" which isn't carried at REI. So what is the deal with all these different products? How are they different? Is it just marketing hype?

Edit2: And I still can't tell if you are supposed to run a rinse after soaking in it or not. For my test I just soaked, drained, spin and then threw them in the dryer.

So what do you guys think would be the best one for different items like a cotton jacket (very thin lining) or a jacket that probably has a nylon exterior with a lining. Hmm.

I think one of the bigger differences is whether the fabric is waterproof and is supposed to be "breathable". That usually implies some membrane sandwiched in there. In the case of softshell proof, most of those fabrics have a similar or identical waterproof/breathable membrane in them that the usual shells do (aka the usual ski parka or rain jacket). The layers sandwiching the membrane are made to repel water, while the membrane is treated to continue breathing and be a physical barrier to water.

With things like cotton, there's no membrane to worry about, so the stuff just waterproofs the cotton threads. The cotton then repels water, but there's no physical barrier.

These are just some thoughts picked up from friends and the Nikwax website, so I might be off base a bit. I'd email Nikwax- they're pretty responsive I hear.

Though, in the end, my guess is it's mostly hype.
J