Re-proofing rain jacket

pottssteve

Hullo,

I have a Castelli Velo jacket:


It has now lost it's water resistance. It's 100% polyester, very light and fine material.
I'd like to re-proof it; can anyone recommend a particular product that they have used, please?

Thanks,
Steve

CYCLESPORT1

Works for a while:
http://www.nikwax.com/en-gb/products/pr ... abricid=-1

StorckSpeed

The only 2 products I know of are the Nikwax mentioned above and Grangers - see link
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/gra ... l-ec011891
If you go to your LBS or outdoor sports shop, such as Blacks, they will stock one of them.
Each shop tends to have it's preferred brand, so unlikely you'll be able to compare both.

pottssteve

Thanks, Guys,

To the shops it is....!

keef66

I've given up trying to re-proof my Altura jaffa jacket. It's Pertex, and was originally showerproof at best. It's been repeatedly dunked in some Nikwax stuff, smells lovely, but has the water repellency of a teabag.

Maybe I should try the Grangers?

pottssteve

I gave this a go:

http://www.toko.ch/en/products/care-lin ... tile-proof

I'll let you know how it goes if I'm out in the rain this weekend.

Steve

morstar

keef66 wrote:

I've given up trying to re-proof my Altura jaffa jacket. It's Pertex, and was originally showerproof at best. It's been repeatedly dunked in some Nikwax stuff, smells lovely, but has the water repellency of a teabag.

Maybe I should try the Grangers?

Pertex is only water resistant but is good for active sports where breathability is important.
Can I ask what you wash the jacket with before re-proofing?
If you wash in detergents (i.e. supermarket wash powder) the dwr cannot adhere to the surface of the fabric very well. It is important to use a soap that works very differently at cleaning.

Kendal Black Drop

morstar wrote:

Can I ask what you wash the jacket with before re-proofing?
If you wash in detergents (i.e. supermarket wash powder) the dwr cannot adhere to the surface of the fabric very well. It is important to use a soap that works very differently at cleaning.

Yes, I agree. Use Nikwax Tech Wash (or the Grangers equivalent) or ordinary soap flakes.

skinnypunter

+1 to Grangers or Nikwax.

I reproof climbing / mountaineering gear regularly using both their products. The trick is to follow the instructions to the letter - any ideas about cutting corners just ends up with clean, but non-waterproof clothes!

MattC59

+1 for Grangers.

keef66

I don't think I washed it in anything; I was just trying to improve it's (lack of) water repellancy. maybe that's where I went wrong?

Also, do these wash-in reproofers have a shelf life? It's certainly possible it's past it's use by date...

Kendal Black Drop

keef66 wrote:

Also, do these wash-in reproofers have a shelf life? It's certainly possible it's past it's use by date...

They do put a best-before date on Nikwax products, usually about 4 to 5 years.

I've got an old bottle of Grangers and can't find a best-before date on it.

GiantMike

By way of an update, I've just re-proofed a gore tex jacket using the Grangers 2 in 1 detailed in a post above. It worked a treat (but you do need a tumble drier to activate the proofing).

Thanks for the tips guys.

pinno

You lot are all posh nonces - use liquid bitumen available in 20L tins from your local DIY store. Just dip the thing and let it dry in the oven. Gas mark 2.

pottssteve

I used the Toko stuff on the cycle jacket but I haven't been out in the rain since!

However, I re-proofed my walking jacket with the Grangers stuff and that has worked well, so thank you for the tips.

Steve