RE: Anyone familiar with Canvak?

[garym053]

 
I stopped at an RV dealer yesterday to pick up some Starbrite Mildew Stain remover and some waterproofer for the canvas over ther screens in our pop-up, as I noticed that there were some leaks in the corners of the " master bedroom" .
 I usually use Scotchgard Waterproofer as recommended by Jayco, but I had applied it two days ago and it leaked in yesterdays rain, so I went searching!
 The dealer recommended a product called Canvak. I ve never used this product, does it work? How did you apply it? Brush or spray? Did you apply it on the inside survace or the outside surface?
 He also told me that I shouldn t be using Starbrite on canvas. It will evidently deteriorate the canvas! I have used it for a couple years, but did not buy it on his say so. Is he feeding me a line? He sells Starbrite so I think he really is looking out for me otherwise he would have just kept quiet and made the sale!
 Any thought?
 Thanks!

[wssfetch]

 garym053
I have used Scrub Free Mildew Stain Remover on my Jayco canvas.  Spray it one, let it sit for a couple of minutes and rinse liberally. Usually I only have to do the outside, not the inside.  So I zip up the canvas and hose it off.  Let it dry and then rewaterproof.
 
 The corners of the bunkends have problems because of the way the roof drains when it rains or from a/c.  And those corners get dirtier too from dust and dirt on the roof all flowing over that area. Several people on the list have made PU gutters out of pvc. That way the runoff goes off to the side away from the canvas.
 
 The best waterproofing I ve found is from WalMart.  They have the 3M waterproofer and then a sort of no-name waterproofer in a brownish can right next to it.  A couple bucks cheaper. I hit those corners of the bunkends hard with the waterproofing and it seems to work.

[mike4947]

 garym053
Back during last years " great mildew cleaning debate"  I contacted Scrub Free s parent company and their reply was that their product was NOT to be used on fabric surfaces as it was designed for hard non porous surfaces. It could damage or discolor the high tech fabrics and would most definetely remove any waterproofing.

[garym053]

 garym053
Sue, You reminded me of another question or two??? (I hear the groans!) One is how do you clean the outside of the canvas with the screens in the way? The end of the bunks screens unzip for emergency exit, but the side canvas zip down from the inside! I have yet to figure out a good way to wash them without getting everything inside wet!!!
 Mike that s pretty much what I was told about Starbrite. It HAS made a mess of the bed rails where I ve missed wiping it off. I worry what it will dp to the stitching so on the RV Dealer s advice I quit using it!

[mike4947]

 garym053
GAry I can tell you from over 25 years of experience with PU s no matter what you do the stitching will go first. I ve always been amazed at the high tech fabrics they come up with and still use cotton thread to sew it together. They say it s because the thread swells up and seals the seams, but INHO they should be able to find a better solution. Anything I ve had to resew by hand I ve used fishing line and then coated it with seam sealer.
 As for washing it, join the club. We ve used just about everything from dish soap to industrial cleaners and never really found one that would do everything and not remove the waterproofing. As for the " windows"  same here. We just cleaned them the best we could throught the screens when doing the exterior. Then after a little banging on the inside to get rid of the excess water unzipped and cleaned from the inside. Messy but it gets them clean.

[garym053]

 garym053
Thanks Mike! I did find this " concoction"  on the MSN Pop-up site for killing mildew stains- 8 oz water, 2 tsp salt, 2 tsp Concentrated Lemon Juice. They say rinse well afterwards to remove salt. Haven t tried it.
 I just washed the canvas with Woolite. Wasn t too impressed with the results, but it is cleaner!Letting it dry then going to apply the Canvak and go over the seams with seam sealer and see what happens.
 By the way, do you apply your waterproofer to the inside of the canvas or the outside? When I bought our camper, they told us to spray it on the inside surface of the canvas, which didn t make sense as the rain comes from the outside but I just figured they knew more than I. This weekend I was told that you should apply all waterproofers, spray on or brush on to the OUTSIDE surface, which makes sense but now I m confused as to who is right!!!

[mike4947]

 garym053
Well I figure I d rather have the waterproofing on the outside so it ll keep the canvas and me dry. Putting it on the inside allows the canvas to soak up water. So if for no other reason than it ll dry it out quicker after a rain I ve always went with waterproofing on the outside.

[garym053]

 garym053
Thanks Mike! I agree it makes sense, and I don t know why the RV dealer told me to spray Scotchgard on the inside, but it may explain some of the problems I ve been haveing!!!

[mike4947]

 garym053
Well it could be for the reason I just thought of. My ex MIL always had FIL spray the inside as well as the outside. she said it made the inside easier to clean. Of course that was before the days of in/out stoves and she did a lot of cooking inside. I couldn t figure if the mess the ScotchGuard made all over everything inside was worth the slightly easier cleanup. But with the number of cans FIL used to spray there was no water going to get through even if a fire hose hit it.

[tlhdoc]

 mike4947

 

ORIGINAL:  mike4947
 
  As for the " windows"  same here. We just cleaned them the best we could throught the screens when doing the exterior. Then after a little banging on the inside to get rid of the excess water unzipped and cleaned from the inside. Messy but it gets them clean.
 

 I just started using Plexus to clean the windows.  Just spray it on and use a microfiber cloth to wipe it off.  The windows are much more supple now.