Re-sealing Seams on Saunders Tents

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DoctorRad
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Re-sealing Seams on Saunders Tents

Post by DoctorRad »

I have some Saunders tent on which the seam sealant is coming away and needs replacing. The advice from my sister, who generally knows about these things is that "The seam sealant you want depends on what the tent is proofed with. If it's silicone elastomer you want sil-net. If it's anything else you probably want seam grip" but that "As far as we we know he used different materials for different tents".

Can anyone tell me what I should use for a Jetpacker (Plus. I think) and a Spacepacker? I'm hoping that it won't depend on the vintage as they were bought used...
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b1ke
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Re: Re-sealing Seams on Saunders Tents

Post by b1ke »

I'm no expert on this subject, but I resealed my Saunders tent last year because there was damage to the seam tape. The tent is made of a PU coated fabric. I used Seam Grip and it's worked well.

I had a Jetpacker plus a couple of years ago. The seams had no tape and no apparent sealant. When I looked into it, the information I picked up was that the fabric is naturally water repellent and sealant is only needed if there's an apparent problem. There's more info on this thread>> https://forum.cyclinguk.org/viewtopic.php?t=7992
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andrew_s
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Re: Re-sealing Seams on Saunders Tents

Post by andrew_s »

A Jetpacker is silicone coated, and wants Sil-net for seam sealing.
I'd only bother if it dripped during heavy rain - most silnylon tents don't leak.

I think a Spacepacker is the same, but I'm not certain. I expect @pjclinch will be along soon - he uses one.
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pjclinch
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Re: Re-sealing Seams on Saunders Tents

Post by pjclinch »

andrew_s wrote:
I think a Spacepacker is the same, but I'm not certain. I expect @pjclinch will be along soon - he uses one.


The Mk. 1 Spacepacker and Spacepacker Plus had silicone elastomer coated nylon flys, the Mk. 2s had PU coated polyester. It's easy to tell the difference because the Mk. 2 used seam tape, so no seam tape, it's silicone both sides.

I agree with Andrew that only do it if it's leaking. Bob's seaming was occasionally a little variable, plus they do stretch with age, but it's not a done deal that they'll leak if you don't bother.

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DoctorRad
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Re: Re-sealing Seams on Saunders Tents

Post by DoctorRad »

Thanks all!
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LinusR
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Re: Re-sealing Seams on Saunders Tents

Post by LinusR »

I have a Jet Packer and the seams do not have any sealant as the cotton thread on the seam is supposed to expand when it gets wet and make a watertight seal.
Last edited by LinusR on 16 Apr 2018, 11:03am, edited 1 time in total.
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