Mombasa Rehab (1 Viewer)

[rusty_tlc]

I recently came into an older Mombasa RTT. I'm not a fan of the whole RTT concept but it does look cool as hell on my FJ60 and the price was right (traded some stuff I'll never use and couldn't sell for it).

This is an very old design, I can't even find it in their current line up. It has a steel ladder which I guess they abandoned early on.

There is some water damage from storage;
The cover has a couple of cuts which I will repair with Shoe Goo and vinyl patches.

The cuts let water into the tent during storage which resulted in the platform hard board swelling and the plastic coating peeling. Given the time and resources I'd drill out the rivets and replace the hard board, in the real world I found some Rustolem exterior enamel and primer in one that matches the color almost exactly. I scraped all the loose stuff off and sanded the edge to feather it. Next warm day I'll mask everything off and spray paint the exposed hard board to seal it up.

Now the biggie, the tent body fabric has some mildew and water stains. I tried scrubbing it down with detergent and water but that did nothing. The water proofing was shot anyway so I didn't hurt anything be trying this.

I'd rather not drill out the rivets to get the tent fabric off. Any suggestions on how to get the tent fabric clean while it is still attached to the platform?

 

[TRAIL TAILOR]

Dan,

I have used simple green, salt and a scrub brush with good results on an old canvas wall tent before. Mix the salt and simple green to a slurry and then use the scrub brush to clean the tent surface. The salt is just abrasive enough to get into the pores of the fabric and at the same time will completely dissolve after a little while. Rinse thoroughly with warm water.

I don't recommend a power washer due to the current condition of the fabric. Also, don't use bleach.. I have read that it will do more harm to the fabric than good.

Good luck, hope it cleans up for you.

J