Repairing canvas

[Animal]

After four seasons my Otter is showing some ware and tear. Otherwise it is holding up very well and I plan to keep it for the next couple of years. I've got 4 or 5 rips in the canvas. I patched a couple of them with duct which worked quite well bacause I did it last summer when it was warm, but I'm looking for a better way to repair the canvas. Any suggestion will be appreciated.

Thanks

[jlm]

Go to JoAnn's Fabric and get the iron on patches. They work great, I have had good success with them. They tend to loosen up after a full year of use but you can just re-iron them. Lots of colors to so you should be able to match your house color! Good luck!

[kslipsinker]

Iron on patches work great. I have some on my Clam that are 10 years old. Make sure you do them correctly.

[Coldfeet]

If it is a cloth canvas I would recommend something called Tear Mender. It comes in a white bottle and you can buy it at just about any hardware store. Its a milky colored liquid epoxy. Use a small paint brush and spread it around the torn area and then get a piece of cloth (I use old worn out blue jeans and cut them in pieces) and apply it to the patch as well. It is very important to apply it to both surfaces. Place it over the tear and press hard from both sides. It will set up in about 30 seconds once you start pressing and should be cured in about 24 hrs. This stuff is SUPER STRONG. I had mice tear into my house two years ago and I patched something like 80 holes. None of the patches have even begun to loosen. It's about $10 for a bottle, but considering what a new canvas would have cost I'd say it's worth it. The only thing I don't like about it is that it smells like cat urine when it's in liquid form.

[Guest]

I agree with coldfeet tear mender is some really good stuff. Also another is gorilla glue but tear mender is faster setting.
be sure to silicone water proof it also this keeps the canvas from drying out and weakening.
Otter sells the repair fabric for a couple bucks for a piece.

------------------
en kala
(I fish)

[This message has been edited by frozenminnow (edited 03-16-2004).]