Camper canvas… how to fix?
We just bought a 1977 starcraft pop-up but the canvas has a lot of damage/rips. It feels a bit on the dry rotted side and the rips in it seem to rip even more when I pull on it just a little. I don’t have the money to replace it right now because it cost between $900 and $1300 for a canvas. So I’m trying to find the cheapest rought for right now, until I get the money for a new canvas. I’ve been racking my brain for ideas, (and the internet) this is what I have come up with…
I read that you can use water seal decking on the canvas to help water poof it. What if I sew/patch the rips then water seal it? Would the water seal help to hold the canvas together as well and sort of refurbish it? Would it be like coating it in a glue that will strenghten it and keep it from leaking?
And ideas on how to repair it that isn’t costly would be great…. Thanks
Can’t you use your glue idea – say maybe contact cement – to glue some cheap canvas cloth over the bad parts to strenghthen them?
You’d be using the original canvas as the model to glue your patches on.
But I would ask at a hardware store to make sure that the new glue is flexible when dry. And whatever you use as the cloth, make sure it is thin and flexible too. I would not apply the water seal until the patches and glue are well dried out. Then I would apply the water seal over the whole thing.
Good Luck
Forget the existing canvas, its had it. Go to a Home depot or similiar, and buy a nylon tarp, they are water proof come in different sizes, and it would be a good temperay solution untill you can replace it with new canvas.