In this post, I am going to share with you how to reproof your tent with Grangers Fabsil. I am certainly no expert in this, but I have found a way to successfully waterproof my tent so wanted to share. Especially as there isn’t much out there.
For reproofing your groundsheet, check out my other post “How to reproof your tent groundsheet with Grangers Fabsil”
Pre-loved Tent
Earlier this year I bought a second-hand Vango Bansee 300 from a Facebook group. I was recommended to give it a reproof as it was well used but didn’t have a clue which product I should use. After some uneventful responses on other Facebook groups, in forums and reviews, I decided to give Grangers Fabsil a go.
Before I go into the details, let me explain a bit more about why my new (to me) tent needed reproofing. Marty, who previously owned the tent had used it well. It is in great condition with all the seams intact, but there was a bit of sun block on the tent and it was wetting out in patches (this means that the water penetrates the fabric and makes dark areas where the water is not rolling off as it should do. This can often mean that it drips through to the inside making you wet when using the tent. Not good!) With this in mind, I decided that it would be beneficial to reproof the tent.
I have been doing loads of research into products and methods, but eventually had to make a decision and get on with it when I realised that it was only a week until I was due to go on my first camp of 2017 with the Outdoor Bloggers and Varta. Aaand, that it was looking like it would be a bit of a soggy one.
Working with the inevitable rain
So on a usually drizzly spring morning I popped into the garden to pitch the tent to see what the story was. After an hour or so in the heavy rain and drizzle, I noticed that there were a few patches of wetting out, but they weren’t to the extent of leaking (bonus!) and the seams were in great condition.
To begin the work, I gave the tent a jolly good soaking with the hose and rubbed it down to remove any dust and dirt from the surface. This is to make sure that the sealant has a good base in which to be applied.
I then wiped it down with a clean, dry, towel and left it to dry in the sunshine and wind.
Once it was completely dry, here’s how to reproof your tent with Grangers Fabsil with the paintbrush method.
Kit:
Grangers Fabsil
New large paintbrush
Old tuppaware
Soft Microfibre Cloth
Rubber gloves
How to reproof you tent with Grangers Fabsil
I popped the gloves on and poured some of the Fabsil into the Tuppaware (this was to make it a lot more manageable and to enable me to dip the brush into the solution. I started by working around the tent in sections starting with the smallest so that I could get used to what I was doing.
The product recommends that you keep a wet edge, meaning that you’re always starting from a bit that is already treated.
Applying the Fabsil
Once I applied the Fabsil pretty liberally coating the surface, I used the cloth to wipe off the excess making sure to leave a bit of wet solution for the wet edge. I continued with each panel until the whole tent was coated. I then went over the main roof again (as this area was the main problem) and used the cloth to just rub over once again on each panel.
I then left it to dry for 4 hours in the sunshine and wind (it might take longer for you depending on the conditions)
One thing to note is that you need to keep the tent completely dry while the Fabsil dries so it has to be done on a day with no expected drizzle or rain for the next 6 or so hours.
After the dry time I gave it a jolly good soaking with the hose and was impressed with the beading and run off. Even after a prolonged soaking the tent was dry and the beads ran off in seconds. The inside was bone dry and there was no wetting out at all.
The video
So here are the results of reproofing the tent with Grangers Fabsil. I think you’ll agree that it is miles better than how it began!
So it looks as though I should be nice and dry for the showery camping trip with the Outdoor Bloggers this week. I’ll let you know how I get on though. But for now, I am very impressed.
Have you ever reproofed a tent before? What were your experiences?
Let me know in the comments below