How to make a tent darker?

Hi All.

I have had a canvas bow-flex tent for almost 10 years. On bright sunny mornings, the white canvas becomes a fluorescent glow inside, not so good for needed shut-eye!

A few years ago, I "painfully" dyed the ceiling of the tent with a suitable black dye = it took forever... But it did dull the light, so was a minor victory for my slow wake-ups!

Now I need to deal with the walls, (inside) that are also white, but this time I want to use a paint that will be a quicker/ cheaper process. Will need to be an acrylic based product, and I will be using a roller with the aim of sparingly applying the paint until it achieves enough blackout, but still allows some air permeability (being canvas).

I have done some window shopping, and the thought of paying $70 per litre is not my idea of smart DIY, and utilising a full repertoire of products living on our local big shed shelves!

I'd prefer to hear from those with experience - camping/ painting/ haperdashery knowledge. Through that, we can all learn a thing or 2...

Thanks in advance.

Find more posts tagged with

Craft and Hobbies

Comments

EricL

Hello @Kathydraal-Cal

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's sensational to have you join us, and thanks for sharing your question about painting your tent.

I don't recommend painting your tent as paint is not a flexible medium even if it is acrylic. Acrylic paints flexibility is measured against moving solid surfaces such as walls and ceilings. A tent wall is super flexible and moves with the wind. When this motion is repeated dozens of times, the paint will either crack or peel.

I propose a different approach, I suggest getting the lightest most permeable black out cloth you can find. Cut it to the size of the bright sections of your tent and use Velcro to keep it in place. This will block out the bright light while still allowing air to pass through that section of your tent. The best part is that you can fold your black out cloth away when it is no longer very sunny.

If you have any other questions we can help with, please let us know.

Eric

Child Item