adding support to bags

[toothjockey]

Hello,
first time posting to this site. I just recently my first two bags- a small frame bag and a gas tank bag for my 2014 Spec. Camber. I didn't bother to sew in sleeves for plastic panels to add support, and was hoping to find a way to do this retroactively without starting over/deconstructing the bag. I am mostly concerned about the gas tank bag, is it is quite floppy at the moment. I was thinking about gluing in some pieces of thin plastic from flexible cutting mats directly to the inside on the bag using seam grip. I've heard it is good for patching nylon (tents, etc) so I thought it might work for this. Any ideas/advice?

[Smo]

What fabric are your bags made of?  That will effect things a little.

I've only used seam grip on Xpac, and it adheres to it extremely well, so it would probably be a good choice.  Something with a looser weave like cordura might have trouble with any sort of adhesive.

If you try the seam grip and it doesn't work, give contact cement a shot - I've had good luck using it on mixed materials.  I've glued cordura to plastic with it and it's held up not perfectly, but good enough.  If you go that route with cordura I would put a lot of cement on the cordura, because it'll seep into the fabric.  And with contact cement you shouldn't move the pieces after you stick them together, so get it right the first time.

[sean salach]

Thin foam will add a lot of support. Or a semi stiff plastic mesh. Every time I get products with thin polyethylene packaging, I save the packaging for stiffeners and other projects. The only easy way to sew in a sleeve would be by hand if you don't have access to the equipment or skills of the pro bag builders. Gluing should work.

[toothjockey]

The fabric is 400 x 300 Denier Cross Dyed Nylon / Polyester Mini Diamond Coated Ripstop Fabric, so somewhere in the middle between Cordura and Xpac probably? I have never used Xpac, so I'm not sure what it is like. I will probably pick up some contact cement at home depot this weekend and give it a shot. will decide wether to glue in a sleeve for the plastic, or just glue the plastic in by itself also. Thanks for the tips guys.

[Kattamah]

Bit late to the party here. But you might try grabbing one of those cheap see through coloured folders, made in a thin plastic. I've seen em in all kinds of places for office or paper supplies. It's easy to work with, doesn't kill your scissors (don't use the good scissors!), helps keep some water out of the bag, is cheap, and you can pull it out to wash the bag when needed. I'd try cutting the bag pattern with the main base as the middle; Like a one piece folding box pattern, only using your original bag pattern.

[roadpacker]

is waterproofness vital? You may be able to stitch straight through thing plastic. Sew that baby right onto the walls on the inside.

[Kattamah]

is waterproofness vital? You may be able to stitch straight through thing plastic. Sew that baby right onto the walls on the inside.

True that. However if it's not sewn in you can wash the bag, and it packs smaller (flat pack). But either way would work cause there's always seam tape!