UprightJoe

This morning my breathable rain jacket stopped being waterproof. Rather than beading and running off, the water just soaked right through. The jacket has only been lightly used and isn't visibly worn so I'd rather not buy a new one yet. Does anybody have any experience with waterproofing sprays (i.e. Grangers, Nikwax, etc)? If so, which one did you use and how well did it work? Did you have to constantly reapply it? Did it affect the breathability of the jacket?

tate65

Yep, I use it on my nylon pants and jacket, as well as my mtb shoes I wear in wet weather and when on a tour. I buy the "camp dry" at wally world. It works great and I havn't seen any issues, I usualy do 2 coats about 1/2 hour apart. I didn't notice any breathabliity issues, but it's usualy wet and cold when I wear them anyway.

TromboneAl

Below are some instructions I got from Northface. I followed these and used Nikwax, and had only so-so results. I've redone it once. I didn't notice any difference in breathability, but this was not a cycling jacket that I used it on.

One option: Forget about breathability. On a bike you're going to overwhelm that anyway. Just get a non-breathing rain jacket with vents.

I recently got this jacket, but haven't tried it yet.

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C C. My Gore-Tex® jacket by The North Face is leaking. What can I do?

Gore-Tex® garments are made of a nylon outer fabric that has been laminated to a Gore-tex® membrane. This nylon outer fabric is treated at the mill with durable water repellency, called DWR. DWR is a substance like Tectron® or Scotchguard®, only it is much longer lasting. The Gore-Tex® membrane is what keeps raindrops out and allows body vapor to pass through. Once the DWR wears off, water will soak into the nylon layer of the jacket, but Gore-Tex® membrane will keep water from soaking all the way through to your skin.


In order to revive the DWR, the product needs to be thoroughly cleaned with a powder detergent (do not use liquid) in a regular washing machine, in warm water. Put the product through two rinse cycles to ensure there is no detergent residue. Then dry it in a regular clothes dryer, on medium heat. When cleaning your Gore-Tex® jacket, be sure to attach all Velcro® closures and zip all zippers. Finally, the entire outside of the garment should be touched up with a warm iron on the steam setting.


This process should revive the DWR. For even better performance, treat your product with a coating of a DWR spray, such as Tectron® or Revivex®. This maintenance program is only required when water stops beading up on the outside of the garment.
In the event you find this process ineffective, please send your Gore-Tex® product in to us. We would be happy to inspect it for you. (top)
D. My shell jacket will not stay dry anymore. What can I do about it?

All of The North Face Outerwear shell fabrics are treated with a Durable Water Repellent finish (DWR). This finish helps the shell fabric resist wetting by causing the water to bead-up so it easily falls off before being absorbed into the fabric. Additionally, some of our performance fabrics have a waterproof back finish (such as Gore-Tex® fabrics and HydroSeal®) that prevents penetration of the water through the fabric. As a garment is worn and used over time, accumulation of soils from external sources as well as from your own body can lessen the performance of these finishes.
In order to revive the DWR, the product needs to be thoroughly cleaned with a powder detergent (do not use a liquid detergent) in a regular washing machine in warm water. Put the product through two rinse cycles to ensure that there is no detergent residue, then dry it in a regular clothes dryer on medium heat. When cleaning your Gore-Tex® jacket, attach all Velcro® closures and zip all zippers. Finally, the entire outside of the garment should be touched up with a warm iron on the steam setting.


This process should revive the DWR. For even better performance, treat your product with a coating of a DWR spray such as Tectron®. This maintenance program is only required when water stops beading up on the outer surface of the fabric.

lil brown bat

As per TromboneAl's statement, liquid detergents are death to DWR. If it's really shot, you can use a spray-on product, or what's even better are the wash-in products (Nikwax makes one that I've had good results with). It won't last as long as the factory DWR but it's better than throwing out your jacket.

UprightJoe

Interesting. I've actually never run this jacket through the washing machine. When it's gotten a little dirty, I've always just rinsed it off in the shower or sink. I think I'll try giving it a wash and dry first (with powdered detergent), then try the wash-in Nikwax stuff next if that doesn't work.

Thanks for the info.

CastIron

You seem to confuse water repellent with water proof. The Nikwax will help restore the water repellent coating. These coatings, however, will never make anything waterproof. Perhaps a different jacket is in order.

d2create

I'm also looking for waterproofing/resistance but for canvas duck bags. Like Carradice.

CastIron

Filson sells their wax blend in a can.

VolGirl

Liquid detergents remove the water-proofing/resistance. Powdered less so. I usually wash in 1/2 the amount of powder too.

GV27

Sno-Seal. It uses Beeswax for waterproofing. I think the instructions say to (and if not DO) use a hair drier to warm up your bags (or boots or whatever) a bit to help it spread and soak in.

In Houston you can get it at REI.

Lopton

+1 for "Camp Dry" that stuff is amazing, I have used it on our panniers and it works wonderfully, the water just beads right up and falls off, doesn't change the color or anything. Sprays on easy and just let it dry (but it does stink when drying =)

Blue Roads

When the DWR wears off, you can try washing with powder detergent, two rinse cycles, tumble dry or air dry, then use one of the spray-on water-repellency products such as Nikwax or Gore ReviveX. They work okay. Depending on your use, you'll have to eventually reapply it.

Gore-Tex really doesn't wear out, short of an abrasion. It's the surrounding fabric that loses the DWR, thereby allowing the garment to become saturated and clogging the breathing action.

I'd be leery of the wash-in products, as it seems to me you'll be applying the water-repellent to both sides of the fabric, and negating the breathing action. Though, maybe others have had good luck with it.

Jarery

I always thought it odd of a waterproof material that lost its ability to remain waterproof when it became wet

GV27

It's still waterproof, just not breathable. The nylon on the outside becomes soaked and it stays dry on the inside.

lil brown bat

I've used plenty of Sno-Seal, on leather boots and gloves. I'm not so sure it would work well on canvas, but I've never tried it.

GV27

Canvas "duck" is waxed or "oiled" canvas. Sno-Seal should restore that wax. It's marketed for leather but says right on the can that it can be used on oiled canvas.

Just did a quick search and came up with two products specifically for the job: Filson's Wax and Australian Outback Dry Feel Reproofing Cream. They both sound pretty much like Sno-Seal. They're the opposite, marketed for canvas but said to work on leather. I reckon they're interchangeable products.

https://store.thewharfonline.com/work...wax-p-882.html

https://www.australianoutback.com/?cP...d=9900&tpid=79

Just like Sno-Seal, warm up the thing to be re-waxed and warm up the wax and go to town.

Chris

Jarery

No, the OP clearly is saying his waterproof material hadnt just turned into plastic bag, it was no longer stopping water..

mattm

velo orange also sells stuff specifically for carradice bags: https://velo-orange.com

UprightJoe

FYI, washing with powdered detergent and tumble drying on medium heat worked great. The DWR was renewed and the jacket is waterproof again. I would have reported back sooner but there's been very little rainfall over the last month so I haven't had the opportunity to test it.