Waterproofing the Canvas

We used this 303 Fabric Guard that has been highly recommended all over the place for Sunbrella fabrics to waterproof our canvas this weekend.

Also needed are some pieces of cardboard to prevent overspray getting on materials it shouldn't touch like the vinyl and screens. We went around the trailer, Kyle spraying while I held various pieces of cardboard to make sure the Fabric Guard was sprayed only on the fabric.

You can see here the right panel has been sprayed, you want to thoroughly saturate the fabric so it looks like this. On a day like today where it was in the 90s, this stuff dried pretty fast. The cure time is what is important to pay attention to. Most directions say 6-12 hours cure time depending on the temperature outside. This means don't get it wet, let rain or dew on the canvas until the cure time. That is why we have waited so long to waterproof our canvas, you really need a nice hot dry day to do this.

Here you can see the difference from saturated fabric to dry fabric. Kyle worked in overlapping motions to ensure each inch of fabric was saturated.

We only ordered one 32oz bottle, and soon found out we need much much more. This is where we had to leave it today and will get back to the other half of the trailer and inside window coverings once we order more Fabric Guard. For a camper this large, we think the 128oz bottle (or four 32oz bottles) will do the trick in covering all the canvas.