Motorex Protex Spray

Stuff being waterproof is great, especially in the UK, so anything that makes more stuff more waterproof should be welcomed. This Motorex Protex spray promises to waterproof a range of fabrics, but ultimately the performance is a bit disappointing.

Protex is a water-repellent treatment spray that you can spray on just about anything. It's hydrophobic, so water beads off the treated surface and doesn't penetrate the fabric, but it doesn't affect the breathability of the thing you've sprayed. You can pretty much spray it on anything and most of the time you'd not notice, although it does darken leather and some fabrics a bit.

I've tried it on quite a few things and the results have been mixed, but ultimately not great. Before the Chippenham Flapjack audax I spreayed it on just about everything I was wearing: tights, overshoes, gloves, cap. Given how hard and long it rained on that particular ride (get a taste here: http://chutzpah84.posterous.com/ride-report-chippenham-flapkack) I wouldn't have expected miracles, and I didn't get any. The Protex spray worked best on the rubberised overshoes, beading water off them nicely for a good hour. The gloves managed about 30 minutes; the tights and cap were wet within 10.

The spray seems to work best on tight-weave synthetic fabrics, but most of those can be put through the washing machine and a wash-in treatment (like Nikwax TX) is a much more hardy solution for stuff like that. You can give your jeans a spray to shrug off a shower, or give your shoes a bit of extra weather resistance. Actually for a single ride in light rain the Protex spray does a decent job of keeping your trousers dry, but they need spraying pretty much every time you go out.

At £12.99 for a can it's not cheap, and the results are temporary at best. Hard to recommend, really.

Verdict

Waterproofing spray promises much but ultimately the effects are pretty short-lived.