UKC

I have an old Karrimor Hot Rock 30 rucsac which is fantastic, however the PU coating on the inside which makes it waterproof is trashed and coming off in flakes. Does anyone have any knowledge of some kind of tough, flexible paint which I could use to paint the inside with to stop the flaking and won't peel off itself? I'm not super-bothered about making it waterproof again, not having to pick what looks like flakes of skin out my clothes and equipment is my main objective.

In reply to Toerag:

I've the same problem with a North Face rucsac of similar size. Its never really been waterproof & its mostly used for travelling for work (clothes for a couple of days plus papers) so I just want to get rid of the flakes. My solution is to periodically turn it inside out & brush with a soft wire brush to remove the worst of the loose proofing. Stops getting bits of black plastic in my papers, but I usually put shirts in a plastic bag just to be sure. I'm hoping that soon all of the proofing will have been removed & the problem will be solved permanently.

In reply to Toerag:

I've had success with mixing silicone rubber sealant with white spirit 50:50 then painting it on, to reproof a ground sheet. I don't see why you couldn't do that on your sack. Do however allow about a week or so to air it, so that the white spirit can evaporate fully.

This mixture is also very good as seam sealant.

IPP

In reply to Toerag:

I had a similar issue with an old and much loved Pod expedition sac. I turned it inside out and scrubbed/picked off all the old flakey stuff. Then I used a proprietary pu spray. I think it was McNett tentsure. It went on easy enough, and seams to have done the trick but it was only this time last year and I haven't given it much heavy use since. Probably not the cheapest route but the biggest pain was getting all the old flakey stuff off first.

In reply to Toerag:

My did the same, so I didn't bother to try and repair it. Now use dry bags in it instead. Actually much easier to pack and find what you want without having to rummage through the whole sack.

In reply to IPPurewater:

I am sorry for myself.
The silicone rubber mixture didn’t work for me (at least a couple of years ago). I do not blame you. I tried it on a North face tent ground sheet and on a Patagonia rucksack to water proof it. There are several things I noticed:
That all occupant smell of the mixture, also after several weeks, half a year. I didn’t dare and could not sleep in the tent with the new coating. (If you have the flue or a cold it is probably a good method to get rid of it, no pills needed.)
For my Pataguccy climbing pack I was really afraid the new coating would do something with the slings on the cams etc, if I would carry them in that pack. The new coating does also peel, it ended up in a mess. Applying cost a lot of time, getting old coating off, degreasing, way too much time, waste, go climbing! For you information I climb sometime with a 20 years old rope. I want to let you know I am not over prudent, but once again this mixture doesn’t work, horrible smell and above all not waterproof. I trashed, binned the tent. The pack I have it still for sentimental reasons, but no longer in use. I had more success with Tent Sure of Mac Nett on another tent (Bibler). Also a lot of work, cleaning etc. the ground sheet but it works. With an expensive tent it is probably worth the effort. But this magic mixture you recommand is not working for me.

In reply to RR:

Ah yes. Good point about how the mixture may affect rope etc. Sorry, I hadn't considered that. Perhaps best not to do this to a sack then.

In reply to Toerag:

Rubble sack - they seemingly last forever and cost only a few pounds for 10. Any colour other than black - they're so dark it's harder to find things.

In reply to Trangia:


I did likewise. I got a multi-pack of Lowe Alpine drybags for about £15 so bundling and locating items is now quicker than ever: clothing, kit, small valuables etc...

In reply to Toerag:

Nothing works. Soak rucksack in warm water then the coating scrubs off easily with fingers or stiff brush.Only few minutes to remove all the flaking bits. Done it many times Just use dry bags. Coating doesn't do anything useful.