Can you use scotchguard on goretex

I really like my Gore-Tex running jacket. I've worn it now for over 13 years and it's been the best sporting apparel I've ever purchased.

After years of wear and washing it is showing little wear. Yesterday was a rather foul day with rain, ice, and wind and I noticed that the water no longer beads up on the outer layer.

I wasn't wet on the inside but it got me thinking about the water repellency performance of the jacket. I searched and found a website and that recommended reapplying a "topical" treatment available at most outdoor retail shops.

What is this "treatment"? Scotch guard? Any recommendations or experience to share with this? Quote Reply. Post 2 of 17 views.

One thing that actually revives it pretty well is running it through the dryer. This sort of redistributes the silicone and brings it back the surface. But your best bet is any sort of Scotchguard or NikWax product. Just amazon search "waterproof jacket spray. The Gore-Tex itself is actually a membrane applied to the inside of the fabric or sometimes sandwiched between layer and has nothing to do with the beading.

It's why you were still dry even though the beading no longer happened. Post 3 of 17 views. Post 4 of 17 views. I don't think you can expect miracles with any of the different products out there.

But, I've had the best experience with the Granger's wash in stuff -- just the weatherproofing, not the two in one wash and weatherproof. It should be on amazon, too. Post 5 of 17 views. Most breathable waterproof fabrics like Gore-tex have a DWR coating that really is only temporary. It will deteriorate typically within a year with occasional use - I have a jacket that wasn't used much but after 2 years, lost most of its water repellency, and this was a good REI jacket.

The spray on stuff works fine. I forgot what brand i bought, but it was from REI, and it was easy to apply and worked great. Post 6 of 17 views. Step 1: Wash the garment using a soap-based wash such as Nikwax Tech Wash, or you can also use pure soap flakes if you can find them in the shops.

A soap-based cleaner will remove dirt from the shell and Gore-Tex membrane. Do NOT use detergents, washing powder or fabric softener because these will block the pores in your Gore-Tex membrane and affect the breathability. You can either hand-wash which I do or machine-wash your waterproof jacket, but if you choose to machine wash you must remove all trace of washing powder and fabric softener from the machine before hand, i.

Bear in mind that if you are using soap flakes, these can clog some washing-machine filters, so keep an eye on your machine if you do it often. Restoring your factory applied DWR is easy, simply wash and apply heat. These steps will restore the factory durable water repellent treatment and water may bead up on your outerwear.

Sometimes, the factory applied treatment can no longer be reactivated. In that case, apply a new water-repellent treatment available as a pump-spray or wash-in product to the garment's outer fabric. Check the label on your jacket to verify the appropriate option. Spray-on products are easy to apply using the built-in pump.

Both products will work to restore the DWR to the exterior of the garment. The main concern with wash-in products is that the DWR is also applied to the inside of the clothing. This may compromise the ability of the interior fabric to wick perspiration away from your skin, and may adversely impact garment breathability.

The three main groups are fluorocarbon-based, silicone-based, and hydrocarbon-based polymers. Something else to keep in mind is that the product you used previously may have had a change in the formula as a result of improved performance or environmental impact.

The simple answer is no. DWR is a surface treatment and does not impact the performance of the waterproof membrane. Both properties are separate, meaning when the DWR wears off, a waterproof jacket is still waterproof. Waterproof ratings are determined without considering DWR. A well-maintained DWR treatment will, however, help your jacket breathe very efficiently by minimizing saturated outer fabric and maximize your comfort.

No matter your product, the story is relatively the same. New insights. Interesting perspectives. TIC Royce. I was there for 86 consecutive days, alone and with ONE mid-season supply trip.

It remains one of the highlights of my life as I was 26 and I LOVED it, even the vile weather and bouts of loneliness, I read Joyce's "Ulysses", a lot of Ezra Pound, Eliot and various biology tomes and hiked all over those gorgeous mountains whenever the rain allowed me to leave the lookout cabin.

I used to really enjoy drinking and taverns like that, the "Glacier Inn", IIRC, and could handle my share of "hangover juice". The "Grande Duc Mine" near Stewart was still going and Hyder was a busy little place, VERY fine folks and I still, 35 years later, remember "Dave" the bartender, a helluva nice, big bear of a commericial fisherman who would buy US about every third round I was last in that country in and my buddy and I "might" be up there again this coming summer.

We are trying for a Dall's Sheep draw north of there and "hope" to get a week when he is free of work to drive up and backpack into a couple of drainages; maybe go to Whitehorse, if his schedule permits.

The effectiveness against moisture seems to be all "in the head", Joined: Apr I would not spray scotch gaurd on it at any time if you want it to breath. DWR is like a wax that coats the out side causing water to bead of and to keep the water from wetting out the material that allows vapors to breath though.

A lot of gortex and other material can be rejuvinated sp by ironing the coat or throwing it in the dryer. Check with cabelas customer service they can give you a recomendation. Scotch gaurd is good for nylon type of material becasue it seals the nylon. But it won't breath. If there is any proof of a man in a hunt it is not whether he killed a deer or elk but how he hunted it.

I've had superb results Scotchguarding my wool and fleece garments. They have all seemed to breath the same as normal after the treatment. It is especially useful on wool, as most moisture except a downpour will bead on the surface and never get absorbed. Maybe we're talking two different treatments here? I've used the spray on stuff in a can "for fabric" that can be bought at WalMart.

Gortex is a different animal to breath it has to be able to push the air though a tiny pen holes. If you spray it you seal up the hole and then the it can't breath it may be water tight but it won't breath.

Does this make sense? I don't know why DWR works better maybe some one with more knowledge can explain it. Each pore is 20, times smaller than a raindrop but times larger than a molecule of water vapor, otherwise known as perspiration. PTFE is a thin membrane that on microscope has pores which are too small for liquid water to pass through, but large enough for water vapor perspiration to pass through. That's the so-called 'miracle of goretex'. I know that I have heard its not good so I can't give you a good answer sorry Olympic Peninsula, Wa.

I used to spend at least days a year in a goretex drysuit and used the Nikwax wash in as well as the spray on product. There is a large difference in comfort warmth in a newly treated suit versus one that gets wet, it's fairly expensive to maintain but certainly worth it at the end of a long day. I suppose I've had such good results on non-GT garments due to their larger fabric pores.

Also, did the spray on work as well as the wash in Nikwax? Further, how did you tell when it was time to restore the garment? I use the drysuit for creek boating here on the peninsula so I never had to wash it but used the washing machine to soak it with the treatment in the water, because of the gaskets it can't go in the dryer which is the best way to reactivate the dwr finish.

The soak method lasted longer then the spray but the spray is a lot easier and I probably sprayed it some every few days of use. The gasketed drysuits really show the difference between goretex brand and cheaper copies and of course non breathable nylon is unusable if you do any hiking around at all.