Any tip on waterproofing canvas camera bags?

Guncon · 7th April 2005

Read that it is possible to improve water resistance of camera bags made of canvas, e.g. Domke, Safrotto, Mekko, etc.
From 3M's website, 3 types of spray are recommended:

Scotchgard™ Fabric Protector
Scotchgard™ Heavy Duty Water Repellent
Scotchgard™ Ultra Water Repellent with Mildew Block

Anyone tried it before? Which is most suitable? Any feedback appreciated.

yanyewkay · 9th April 2005

i've seen the product before but have yet to try it. Was tempted to buy it at first but could think of what to water-proof?

Yappy · 9th April 2005

Apply onto your camera bags or? Maybe Scott can advise...

Yappy & happy

edlye · 9th April 2005

Most of these work by 'encouraging' any water droplets to bead so that you can shake them off. If the water fails to bead, it may still get into the fabric, hence these treatments only offer a level of water resistance.

Most are aerosol or spray based, but I generally stay away from the wash-in ones. So far, I've only used Gore's DWR polymer spray with my windstopper pullover and gore-tex jacket. Becoz its polymer based, I had to wet the garments thoroughly before spraying it on. Once done, the garments needed to be spun dried in the dryer as heat is needed to activate the polymer. The advantage of the polymer based spray is if the beading starts to wear off, all that needs to be done is to wet the garment and throw it in the dryer to re-activate it. One application stays good for abt 3-4 re-activations. I got my gear and the spray from Oz, but I think any decent adventure shop in S'pore should have a similar polymer spray or water resistance treatments available. If I recall correctly, the polymer spray cost me abt AUD60 3 yrs ago, so you do the sums. Are there any self-service laundrymats in S'pore with dryers, its been a while since I treated my jackets.

NMSS_2 · 9th April 2005

use lot and lots of starch and iron them! (dont flame me)

dominator · 10th April 2005

Originally Posted by Guncon

Read that it is possible to improve water resistance of camera bags made of canvas, e.g. Domke, Safrotto, Mekko, etc.
From 3M's website, 3 types of spray are recommended:

Scotchgard™ Fabric Protector
Scotchgard™ Heavy Duty Water Repellent
Scotchgard™ Ultra Water Repellent with Mildew Block

Anyone tried it before? Which is most suitable? Any feedback appreciated.

No 2 above works well for me. My waterproof raincoat of 2 years got worn out and makes me wet on rainy days...after I spray on scotch...good to use again

khnglh · 14th April 2005

Sorry if this suggestion sounds a bit out of place... but thats what i do... Put one nicely folded trash bag and when it starts raining... you know what to do....

PornStar · 14th April 2005

Originally Posted by khnglh

Sorry if this suggestion sounds a bit out of place... but thats what i do... Put one nicely folded trash bag and when it starts raining... you know what to do....

Haha...that's what I do too....big black trash bag.

7th April 2005	#1
Guncon Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Singapore Posts: 357	Any tip on waterproofing canvas camera bags? Read that it is possible to improve water resistance of camera bags made of canvas, e.g. Domke, Safrotto, Mekko, etc. From 3M's website, 3 types of spray are recommended: Scotchgard™ Fabric Protector Scotchgard™ Heavy Duty Water Repellent Scotchgard™ Ultra Water Repellent with Mildew Block Anyone tried it before? Which is most suitable? Any feedback appreciated.

9th April 2005	#2
yanyewkay Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Cons digger. Posts: 4,046	i've seen the product before but have yet to try it. Was tempted to buy it at first but could think of what to water-proof? __________________ “How fortunate for leaders that men do not think.” - Adolf Hitler

9th April 2005	#4
edlye Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 243	Most of these work by 'encouraging' any water droplets to bead so that you can shake them off. If the water fails to bead, it may still get into the fabric, hence these treatments only offer a level of water resistance. Most are aerosol or spray based, but I generally stay away from the wash-in ones. So far, I've only used Gore's DWR polymer spray with my windstopper pullover and gore-tex jacket. Becoz its polymer based, I had to wet the garments thoroughly before spraying it on. Once done, the garments needed to be spun dried in the dryer as heat is needed to activate the polymer. The advantage of the polymer based spray is if the beading starts to wear off, all that needs to be done is to wet the garment and throw it in the dryer to re-activate it. One application stays good for abt 3-4 re-activations. I got my gear and the spray from Oz, but I think any decent adventure shop in S'pore should have a similar polymer spray or water resistance treatments available. If I recall correctly, the polymer spray cost me abt AUD60 3 yrs ago, so you do the sums. Are there any self-service laundrymats in S'pore with dryers, its been a while since I treated my jackets. Last edited by edlye; 9th April 2005 at 11:36 AM.

9th April 2005	#5
NMSS_2 Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Northen part of Sing a pore Posts: 2,010	use lot and lots of starch and iron them! (dont flame me) __________________ My Wordpress Blog Flickr

14th April 2005	#7
khnglh Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 601	A big trash bag.. Sorry if this suggestion sounds a bit out of place... but thats what i do... Put one nicely folded trash bag and when it starts raining... you know what to do....

9th April 2005	#3
Yappy Member Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 546	Apply onto your camera bags or? Maybe Scott can advise... Yappy & happy