Was there a natural product? Or was there a generic product?
TIA
Chris
Was there a natural product? Or was there a generic product?
TIA
Chris
They were not waterproofed at all.
You had a fly sheet made of waxed cotton.
That was stretched over the tent to keep the rain off.
The tent itself was unwaxed top allow it to breathe.
I remember a looooong time ago waterproofing some clothing by soaking in a solution of epsom salts. Don't remember how effective it was though.
John
GNU, Fabsil etc. There were a number of such products I used in the 60's
Some used nothing, just bare cotton canvas which would swell up when wet and self seal - providing you didn't touch it, the water would run off. Later came waxed cotton, then spray on water proofing solutions.
Waterproofing? I've heard of epsom salts being used for fireproofing.
Yet you still got condensation and it ran down the inside...
Brian
I have found recipes for waterproofing using aluminum acetate: dissolve in soft water, dip or brush on.
Thomas Prufer
My father used a recipe that involved soaking the canvas first in a soap solution, then in alum. I don't recall it being particularly effective.
Colin Bignell
alum sound more like fireproofing - were candles used in the tent?
Nope. It was definitely intended as waterproofing, applied to the flysheet.
Colin Bignell
Ventile is still going, and despite its cost it's still being used for tents for polar regions.
| Ventile is not coated or laminated yet the combination of the dense | weave and the swelling properties of the fibres when wet provide | excellent weatherproofing.
Alum confirmed as a means of waterproofing by this link-
Yep, that's pretty much my experience. It's why you had to pitch the tent taut, hence all those "best pitched tent" contests on arrival day. You also had to go and tighten the guy ropes after the first rain or first dew.
large scout tents often had a linen fly sheet and a much smaller cotten inner.
our local boys brigade leader used to make a mix of beeswax and liqid parrafin, and brush that on after erecting the tent.
Yup that's what I remember being huddled in a ridge tent at west wittering with 2 cousins and uncle exhorting us not to touch the sides.
AJH
I always knew there were many reasons I hate camping.
What's Fandom?
That sound very like the stuff I used for waterproofing a jacket many years ago. Might have been Belstaff wax.
Andy
He was still protesting his innocence when arrested.
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.