Tarp Seam Sealing Kit

JRB tarps ship unsealed. This kit has what you need to seal one.

What's included

• Permatex 81730 Flowable Silicone Windshield and Glass Sealer, 1.5 oz
• 1″ foam brush

One tube is more than enough for either the 11′ x 10′ Hammock Tarp or the 12′ x 10′ Universal Tarp.

Why seal the seams?

A tarp sheds water across the panels. The seams are the exception: sewing a seam means putting a few hundred needle holes through waterproof fabric on purpose. Coated nylon and polyester can be seam-taped at the factory, but silicone-treated fabric can't — nothing sticks to silicone reliably, which is why silnyl and silpoly tarps across the industry ship unsealed.

Under light or brief rain, surface tension does most of the work and the holes hold. Under hours of steady rain, or wind driving water at the seam, they wick. You get a slow drip line rather than a leak, which is worse in its way — it's usually an hour before you notice, and by then something is wet.

Sealing is a one-time job. It adds almost no weight and you never think about it again.

How to seal it

Hang the tarp or lay it out flat. Starting at one end of the seam, run a bead of silicone about 5 inches long. Drag the brush from the start of that bead along its length to spread and thin it out. Once it's spread, lay down the next 5-inch bead and repeat. Work your way across to the other end of the tarp.

On the 12′ x 10′, dab a small bit of silicone on the stitching at each panel pull while you're at it. Optional, but it's the same tube and it takes a minute.