Tarp Material and how to attach it to itself.

Unholy

New member
S.C... Thank you. The girl was telling me to rub a bar of wax onto the canvas! The video, that makes sense, there was another with a guy who makes two batches and applies it after it solidifies, rubbing it in. Which makes a bit more sense. The making of waxed canvas looks pretty awful. It surprises me, because examples shown in videos, the fabric looks almost stiff like cardboard. The one website that has is in stock, shows a very normal looking material, as did big duck canvas. BritKLR's photos show waxed canvas that looks like normal fabric almost! At this point, I am uncertain. Which the nature wrinkles and and such look great, I wonder how it will hold up under a couple hundred folds? Does the folding repeatedly, affect the water resistance?

I did look at billboard tarp material, I couldn't source local. The places that have it were mostly closed of busy. Half the places I called that do marine covers, bimini covers, etc, were closed for the week. It seems sense covid, unless you are buying a product made by them, most don't want to deal with you around here. With so many businesses hurting, you'd think more would jump at simply selling material to make a buck. Not so... I called a local company who makes covers today, they said they don't sell materials even scraps. I asked if they would be willing to sew my project, they said no. Awnings, boast covers, rv covers, cushions, etc... all custom, but they wouldn't even consider my project. I asked if there was a way I could trade work and they teach me. They said they aren't willing to teach anyone, they don't want competition. I stated I had no desire to sell their type of products or recreate them as to compete. This was just for a home project. I offered to pay, they still turned me down at very attempt. I noticed at the box stores not just online, that many fabrics are out of stock, or not even carried. Seems strange to me, I can understand lack of supply though. Still, a fabric store that has everything else fabric wise, even crazy high priced fabrics, but not something that appears to have so many awesome uses. :unsure:
 

Unholy

New member
Something I am concerned about after reading it, how well does waxed canvas work, when the temps are down to the 50's? That could be a problem.
 

BritKLR

Kapitis Indagatoris
Lots of great questions about waxed canvas so I'll try to answer them. LMK if I miss any.

Sewing waxed canvas: Generally speaking and depending on the weight of the canvas it'll be easier to sew with some type of heavy duty walking foot machine with a large needle. A light duty machine with only the lower feed dog may become frustrating with the heavy material and may even break the machine.

Paraffin waxed canvas is the original waterproof textile. It is a sustainable, cotton based textile. It is heavy yet somewhat flexible. It does have a chemical odor due to the paraffin treatment, if you've ever been in a military GP or troop carrier with canvas top you'll know the odor. The odor will fade with time, but a long time. It will stiffen with the cold weather to the point it can be difficult to fold. As it collects micro particles of dust and dirt it will patina become more water resistance as the particles absorb the paraffin wax and fill in the pores of the material. It can be retreated and thereby last for decades unlike many modern synthetic textiles. It is UV stable. I live at 8300 feet in the Rockies and have made custom canvas covers for my bbq, smoker and tractor with some of them being 9 years old with no fading, uv breakdown and still water proof.

I personally would not used 12 oz, paraffin waxed canvas for a folding RR tent. With all it's ruggedness, longevity and weather resistance comes with heavy weight, odor, challenge to sew on a small machine and difficult to fold when cold and there are better textiles out there for folding tent use.

If you really like the idea of waxed canvas there is lighter weight and odorless types of waxed canvas but they can get pricey. Heck, there is even rip-stop odorless waxed canvas that is incredibly cool to work with, but pricey.

Hope this helps. Good luck.
 

Unholy

New member
Thank you BritKLR, what would you recommend then for a RRT material wise? I'm at a loss on how I would make other materials water proof after sewing seams.
 

john61ct

Adventurer
Advances in materials tech have been amazing in recent years.

Sealants that remain flexible basically forever ore now commonplace.

But the specific choice depends on the substrate.

Once you choose your "fabric" material start looking at the data sheets from 3M and Sika. They even have tech support lines.

Also the plastic "welding" tech is also getting more accessible.
 

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