Our friends had never waterproofed their canvas on their 90 Westy, and while
camping a few weeks ago out east, during all the rain storms, they were
forced to close it wet.  Well, when they went to pop-up the top the
following night, they had a heck of a time.

I've never had this problem with my 84 Westy Wolfie, however I have
waterproofed my canvas.

I would assume that a good waterproofing would help avoid the canvas from
shrinking and possibly ripping.

Jack R.

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
Tom Buese
Sent: Thursday, September 25, 2008 1:24 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: brush-on canvas waterproofer?

I spray on liquid treating on canvas tilts that we manufacture.
There is a waterbased product that I used to use called "Kampkote",
but they pulled it off the market in 1 gal. bottles & only sell it in
8 oz. spray bottles.  It works nicely & is easy to use, doesn't smell
like the mineral spirits based treating I use now, but doesn't work
as well.  You can spray or brush both these liquids on your canvas.

Your best bet is to go to a camping supply store & get what they
recommend for canvas tents, but don't use anything w/ silicone in it
like Scotchguard as it will yellow your canvas & make it brittle,
supposedly.

YMMV,

Mr. BZ

On Sep 25, 2008, at 7:57 AM, Edward Duntz wrote:

> I would like to put some water repelant on my poptop canvas. The
> canvas was there when I bought the van, and in almost new
> condition, but I don't know which type it is. Is is a three-window,
> pretty thin material.
>
> I'd like to know if anyone has used any water repelant on their
> canvas that brushes on. Maybe that would be too heavy, but I
> thought it would save me the hassle of being extra careful not to
> get overspray where I didn't want it.
>
> Thannks,
> Ed in CT
>
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