303 High Tech Fabric Guard

Apparently, High Tech Fabric Guard by 303 Products is THE STUFF to restore the water repellency of Sunbrella boat canvas.

I sure hope so! My cockpit bimini top started leaking this summer. Not so much “leaking” as “the water soaks in instead of running off, and eventually starts dripping from the bottom of the fabric.”

So yeah, leaking, I guess. Anyway, I’ve just used up a whole 16-ounce, $18 spray bottle of the stuff I got from the helpful folks at Seattle Fabrics.

Sixteen ounces is supposed to coat 40-80 square feet for heavier fabrics. I guess I overdid it a little, since my top measures about 30 square feet. Oh well, what would I do with a leftover four ounces of this precious stuff?

By the way, I cleaned the fabric the day before, with Woolite in the washing machine on “delicates” cycle, as recommended by Sunbrella. I let it air-dry overnight, and through the first half of the day today. It’s windy, reasonably warm, and partly sunny today, so the magic spray should set up pretty well on the fabric.

Now, I’ll just let it dry. Four to 72 hours, depending on conditions. I’ll hang it in the carport and leave it until my next trip down to the marina. With school (and work!) starting up again this week, that’ll be at least 72 hours from now.