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While we have you here for a 2013/14 PTJ whats the best way to get rid of oil, road residue etc? Had a crash, then repaired and the jacket has been washed twice but still a bit of road residue ..
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So I just ran over the sleeve of my arcteryx atom and now have a black mark on the sleeve. Will a mixture of the advice you gave @amey and the above help me?
Where can I pick up some Grangers IRL?
amey
Tenderloin
@Chopsicle
If you've been washing with standard detergents, it probably has surfactant residue which inhibits the original DWR function, and allow moisture to permeate the fabric far quicker (as it's designed to do).
Standard detergents are fantastic for getting standard clothing clean - and increasingly more efficiently at lower temperatures - the surfactant action lowers the surface tension of the water allowing the cleaning chemicals to penetrate further into the fabric structure and yarn itself. For technical fabrics/fibres that have specific performance functions like wicking or waterproofing, the physics are simply contradicting one another.
You can try laundering the PTJ with a specific technical wash like Grangers (after doing a service wash on your machine to remove any regular detergent residue!) and then apply a re-proofer. Make sure you follow the reproofing instructions really closely. You need to 'activate' the new coating with a gentle heat like evenly drying a few cm from a radiator, or with a cool iron, or cool tumble. If you just spray the reproofer on, it's not nearly as effective and you probably won't see any results.
Oh, and don't use a softener either, this has the same wetting-out effect, and definitely no Bio/biological detergents.
This probably seems long-winded, but the more durable and effective DWR's are being phased out (due to environmental concerns of by products in manufacturing) so correct washing and re-application is essential to maintain performance ...much like a bike....
Let us know how you get on!