Bushwalk Australia

Hi all,

I have a 20+ year old goretex jacket, but the tape seams are leaking as the glue/sealant broke down and the tapes simply fell off . Apart from the seams it is in pretty reasonable condition so thought I'd have a go at re-sealing it before forking out the hundreds on a replacement.
As I have never seam sealed before I need some advice.
1. Do I need to re-tape the seams or will simply sealing them with silicon be sufficient?
2. If they need to re-taped, what can I use for tape? (the originals are lost/gone) I had thought of using tyvek but this seems very stiff and I expect it needs to have more "give" to move with the shell
3. Do I need to thin the silicon down with thinners/turps etc or do I apply it straight? If so, how thin do I make?
4. Any other advice?

thanks

rebro5

Hi
Use Seam Grip not silicone sealant on GoreTex.
It comes ready to be used .
Use isopropyl alcohol to remove the sticky bits.
Shellite may also work, try in a small area first.
Franco

Hi Franco,
thanks for the reply.
Should I also tape them or is the seam grip suffient by itself?

rebro

I would just seal it and forget about re-taping.
But maybe someone else could offer different advice on that.
In the meantime have a good look around the McNett site...
http://www.mcnett.com/
Franco

I have the same issue, so glad to get some advice. So just sealing it sounds ok....any opinions to the contrary? Where do I purchase seam grip from? I'm in Ballarat, near Melb. Similarly, if I was to re-tape, where can this be purchased?
Thanks

I just bought the seam grip today from Paddy Pallin's. $19.95 RRP but 20% member discount today do so a bit cheaper.
I havent' used it yet but my first impression is that one tube may not be enought to do a whole jacket. By the time you go around all the pockets, hood, arms, sides etc etc there are many metres of seams.