Tent Sealing

[sarge]

I recently bought a new macpac tent. The tent comes with a tube of seam sealer and instructions on sealing the tent seams.

The instructions seem a bit difficult and I am hesitant to try it out in case I do it wrong and wreck something (the tent was not cheap). Has anyone ever needed to seam seal their tent? Is it really required? Can someone offer any tips?.

I will be using the tent on the overland track in a few weeks and it will, therefore, need to be waterproof...

Help!

[tasadam]

A good friend of mine bought a Macpac Citadel tent that needed the same process, so I sent him an email.
He responded -

Separate fly from inner, then pitch the fly inside-out, so that the all the seams are accessible. Then run a thin layer of the sealant along the seams directly from the tube - leaving a ribbon of sealant covering all of the stitching and about the width of the tube nozzle.

It's easy, but begin in an area of lesser importance until you get fluent with the process. Make sure the fly is dry and clean first, of course, and preferably do it on a warm day, with plenty of light to see what you're doing. A second person to come along behind and smooth out any bloopers could be helpful.

Hope that helps!