My sombrella cloth dodger is beginning to show signs of ageing. It
leaks a little over the companionway when it rains. I tried Scotchguard
but it does not help much. Anybody know of a product or treatment that
will work better and let me get a few more years out of this dodger?

Thompson's Water Seal worked for us for about two months this year before our
canvas started leaking again... We plan to try another application before
replacing the encloser entirely.
Remove anxiety when replying

3M's 303 High Tech Fabric Guard works best of all of the products that
we've tried. You need to use a 1 gallon pressurized sprayer to get an even
coat otherwise you can get rings. The Starbright Water Proofer works well
too, but we think that the 3M product might repel dirt a little more.

-- Geoff

Jerry wrote in :

My sombrella cloth dodger is beginning to show signs of ageing. It
leaks a little over the companionway when it rains. I tried Scotchguard
but it does not help much. Anybody know of a product or treatment that
will work better and let me get a few more years out of this dodger?

Sunbrella doesnt recommend Scotchguard. They do/did recommend "Apseal 303".

The problem with ALL these water repellent products is that the active
ingredient was supposed to be removed from the market 2 years ago due to
extreme environmental concerns (the stuff is one of the most stable
man-made compounds ever formulated) .... I thought that by now a
substitute active ingredient would be in use .... and of course not as
good as the original.

Apseal 303 is avaialble from www.sailrite.com there are two Apseal
similar products so be sure that what you order is the water proofing
material and not the UV protectant.

Jerry wrote:
My sombrella cloth dodger is beginning to show signs of ageing. It
leaks a little over the companionway when it rains. I tried Scotchguard
but it does not help much. Anybody know of a product or treatment that
will work better and let me get a few more years out of this dodger?

I have heard of people using "Thompson Water Seal." I have never tried it
but I am sure someone who did will post.


"RichH" wrote in message
...
Sunbrella doesnt recommend Scotchguard. They do/did recommend "Apseal
303".

The problem with ALL these water repellent products is that the active
ingredient was supposed to be removed from the market 2 years ago due to
extreme environmental concerns (the stuff is one of the most stable
man-made compounds ever formulated) .... I thought that by now a
substitute active ingredient would be in use .... and of course not as
good as the original.

Apseal 303 is avaialble from www.sailrite.com there are two Apseal
similar products so be sure that what you order is the water proofing
material and not the UV protectant.

Jerry wrote:
My sombrella cloth dodger is beginning to show signs of ageing. It
leaks a little over the companionway when it rains. I tried Scotchguard
but it does not help much. Anybody know of a product or treatment that
will work better and let me get a few more years out of this dodger?

The standard product recommeded for Sunbrella is AquaTite. It lasts
for a season which is about all that can be expected for old fabric. By the
time it starts leaking it is time to start considering replacing it. How old
is your dodger? Is it
leaking through the fabric or though the seams?

Doug
s/v Callista

"Jerry" wrote in message
...
My sombrella cloth dodger is beginning to show signs of ageing. It
leaks a little over the companionway when it rains. I tried Scotchguard
but it does not help much. Anybody know of a product or treatment that
will work better and let me get a few more years out of this dodger?

The standard product recommended *BY* GlenRaven Mills (Sunbrella) is
Apseal 303 Fabric Guard.... all others will void any remaining warantee.

Sunbrella will recommend Aqua-tite only when 303 Fabric Guard wont
restore the repeliency and/or the fabirc is near the end of its service
life.

Dont confuse 303 Fabric Guard with 303 Aerospace Protectant a UV blocker
used on zippers, vinyl windows, inflatables, etc.

I put 303 Fabric Guard on my 12 year old Sunbrella dodger over a year
ago - still works great - don't use Thompson's or any other goop.


On Thu, 25 Sep 2003 04:58:50 GMT, RichH wrote:

The standard product recommended *BY* GlenRaven Mills (Sunbrella) is
Apseal 303 Fabric Guard.... all others will void any remaining warantee.

Sunbrella will recommend Aqua-tite only when 303 Fabric Guard wont
restore the repeliency and/or the fabirc is near the end of its service
life.

Dont confuse 303 Fabric Guard with 303 Aerospace Protectant a UV blocker
used on zippers, vinyl windows, inflatables, etc.