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Thread: Tin Cloth Recipe

  1. #41
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    I have been thinking about an mid-19th century rain coat. This would be perfect. Along with a tent of the same era. I could also use it on a possibles bag, etc.
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  2. #42
    Senior Member hunter63's Avatar
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    Stormy Kromer now has a "waxed cotton Kromer....
    https://www.stormykromer.com/product...cotton-cap.asp

    Have a Carhartt hose cloth as well.
    I have to believe these be treated?
    Last edited by hunter63; 12-20-2016 at 07:04 PM.
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  3. #43
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    Quote Originally Posted by hunter63 View Post
    Stormy Kromer now has a "waxed cotton Kromer....
    https://www.stormykromer.com/product...cotton-cap.asp

    Have a Carhartt hose cloth as well.
    I have to believe these be treated?
    Nice hat... if I was in the Air Force. Take off the ear flaps, and maybe then I would like them.
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  4. #44
    Senior Member hunter63's Avatar
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    Dey wer'm up nort der....eh?
    LOL
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  5. #45

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    Last Sunday I made a batch of this according to the original ratios of the recipe. Now at five days since application and the fabric seems to be dry to the touch, however, the smell of mineral spirits is still quite strong. In my opinion, it hasn't lessened at all since application. The garments have been drying in a well ventilated, dry area. If I understand the process correctly, then the job of the mineral spirits is to act as a catalyst, drying the oil/wax as it evaporates. it seems to me then, that if the smell of the mineral spirits is still lingering, it hasn't dried completely. Can someone explain to me why this may or may not be the case?

    Only variable that was changed from the original recipe was the material to which the solution was applied. I'm attempting to make chaps for rabbit hunting and the best material I had was a pair of standard issue Marine Corps cammies. They are 50% cotton and 50% nylon. I realize this has a major affect on the way the mixture penetrates, sets, and its overall effectiveness. I thought I'd give it a try seeing as all I had to buy was the wax toilet ring, and I will never wear those cammies again. Regardless of the material, I wouldn't have thought the pungent smell of mineral spirits would still be so strong.

  6. #46
    Senior Member kyratshooter's Avatar
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    If it has been five (5) days since the application then you have not waited the full week that was part of the recipe.

    You have also not "finished" the garment with the application of heat.

    Go away for another two or three days and then finish the fabric and let it hang for another few days.

    It will take some time for the smell of the chemicals to dissipate and there will be a specific smell that is and has been associated with "tin cloth" which remains permanently.

    We could call it a heritage smell, like the aroma of a military surplus rucksack, tent, or any of the aromas us older guys remember as part of our outdoor experiences. I suppose the generation that has grown up in an odorless, tasteless, hypoallergenic world has missed out on that.

    My coat tree by the door now smells like my grandad's coat tree by the door, where he hung his Filson tincloth coat every day.

    In other words, the garment, whatever it is, will smell like tin cloth, because tin cloth has a specif smell, one you remember for all your life.
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  7. #47

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    Hello Kyratshooter. Great post and you actually got me to register on here to pick your brain. It is my understanding that Filsons tin cloth utilizes paraffin wax. They also used to make a soy wax cloth which they no longer have available. I always found it strange that they would use paraffin, as it melts at 99 degrees, and discontinue soy, as it melts at 120 to 180 degrees depending on the blend. I have a pair of Filson chaps that I completely melted out the paraffin on it on a hot summer day cutting wood.

    You say that this is how Filson makes their tin cloth, but I know they use paraffin wax not beeswax/toilet bowl gasket ring?
    Do you think/have you tried to use soy wax with this recipe?
    Is the paraffin used to ease application? (You can pretty much rub the wax together to get it to melt.)

    I plan on using your recipe and don't want to reinvent the wheel if you have in fact already tried soy and paraffin wax. I have a pair of canvas carpenter pants that I want to waterproof, wind proof, and briar proof both for the bike and cutting wood. I'd rather pay 30 bucks rather than 300 especially if the beeswax or soy wax holds up better than the Filson paraffin based tin cloth.

  8. #48
    Senior Member kyratshooter's Avatar
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    Paraffin wax turns hard and cakes up, then flakes off. I have never been able to make it work at any ratio or temperature. I have seen other people try to use it and all have been unsuccessful.

    If Filson uses paraffin they have a secret recipe no one knows and it is not part of the refinishing kit they sell.

    Filson at one time used bees wax but changed their recipe to a petroleum base many years ago due to the cost of bees wax.

    I have never used soy wax. Did not know such a thing existed.

    How do you wax a soy anyway?

    I say have at it and experiment all you want.

    It is the lack of experimentation that messes things up. People post sure fire recipes they got from the internet and never check them out. Most of them don't work or leave a mess.
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  9. #49

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    Quote Originally Posted by kyratshooter View Post
    Paraffin wax turns hard and cakes up, then flakes off. I have never been able to make it work at any ratio or temperature. I have seen other people try to use it and all have been unsuccessful.

    If Filson uses paraffin they have a secret recipe no one knows and it is not part of the refinishing kit they sell.

    Filson at one time used bees wax but changed their recipe to a petroleum base many years ago due to the cost of bees wax.

    I have never used soy wax. Did not know such a thing existed.

    How do you wax a soy anyway?

    I say have at it and experiment all you want.

    It is the lack of experimentation that messes things up. People post sure fire recipes they got from the internet and never check them out. Most of them don't work or leave a mess.
    Well, I'm a bee keeper so, I have plenty of wax on hand. So, I will give your recipe a whirl and save the soy for another time. I have a soy wax Filson tin coat that I got half off (who can afford full price) so I will be able to compare it to the bees wax that I use. This photo is of Filsons refinishing kit, I also have one for the soy jacket, clearly lists the wax as paraffin.

    IMG_0024.jpg

  10. #50
    Senior Member kyratshooter's Avatar
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    Try it then and see how it works.

    I believe the hard paraffin is going to disappoint you and that the paraffin used by Filson is actually a form of petroleum jelly mixed with drying agents, which is also defined as paraffin. (4 definitions I found for that substance)

    I may be wrong. Don't really care. My recipe works, and duplicates the original, so I use it.
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  11. #51
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    KYratshooter - I have decided to treat one of my Woolrich trekker vests. I love the vests but they are cotton and should be water repellant. I hope I can do as good of job as you did on your jacket I saw this summer.
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  12. #52
    Senior Member kyratshooter's Avatar
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    Been raining here for two days.

    I gave the waxed chore coat a workout.

    It is still holding up so we will see if it last longer than I do. I am pretty sure they threw away a good Filson jacket when my grandpa died back in 1965. His outlasted him.
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  13. #53

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    Thanks for this post, kryatshooter. I'm interested and this looks like the best procedure I have found after some quick searching.

    I'm not super familiar with some of what you're describing here, so I may be missing something that's obvious to others, but why is it that your recipe describes the wax in terms of it's intended use and not the make-up of the wax itself. I'm not very familiar with wax commode/toilet rings, but it seems possible they're offered in different types of wax, or at least different consistencies of wax.

    Right now I'm inclined to go the bee's wax route, but not because I'm making an informed decision, more the opposite. I'm inclined to choose bee's wax because I feel like I know nothing about the alternative. This makes me uncomfortable, as you seem to choose the commode wax as a favorite over bees wax.

    Anybody care to explain what kind of wax is likely to be used in the average commode ring? Is it standardized so they're all exactly the same kind of wax? are there other types of wax other than bee's and the commode ring you think might work well for this recipe?

    Thanks in advance.

  14. #54
    Senior Member kyratshooter's Avatar
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    Depending on where you are in the world a wax commode ring is a fairly standard item.

    In the U.S. you can obtain them at any Lowes or Home Depot in the plumbing department for about $2.

    You can also obtain them from any Ace or Do It Right hardware store for about the same price.

    I am sure any plumbing supply center, building products outlet or any plumber driving a van down the highway would have one available.

    I do not know the exact composition of a wax commode ring but I suspect that it is made from a combination of paraffin wax and petroleum jelly in some well defined ratio. I am not sure about that so do not take it as gospel.

    I used Bees wax in part of my experimentation but abandoned it due to two factors.

    1. the commode rings worked better
    2. the bees wax is incredibly expensive

    I also heard that you can make the formula from the ear wax of a Hivernaian dragon, but I never tried that. I hear the dragons are very difficult to force to stand still while harvesting the wax.
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  15. #55
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    Thought of you KYRS when I saw this video.

    Now I know how to make my own. $50 for Carharts, and KYRS's recipe.... much cheaper.
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  16. #56

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    Quote Originally Posted by finallyME View Post
    Thought of you KYRS when I saw this video.

    Now I know how to make my own. $50 for Carharts, and KYRS's recipe.... much cheaper.
    I should've posted this, too.

    I commented on this video, and included links to this post, and the Oil Cloth Recipe post.

    If you care, I'm Arkansas Pilgrim on YT.

    BTW, the Carhartt's are only double on the front, and not all the way up to the waist either. It's like I say about my Harbor Freight Compound Sliding miter saw, compared to a DeWalt: "You can put up with a LOT for $300 cheaper!"
    Last edited by JohnLeePettimore; 04-18-2017 at 03:29 PM.

  17. #57

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    I posted on this thread about 9 months ago and thought I would report back in with my thoughts after several months of use. The formula I decided on, included bees wax because I'm not comfortable with petroleum products that are on my skin, plus I'm a beekeeper with lots of bees wax.

    First, there was a light smell of solvent that didn't totally go away for about 3 months or so. The garments were totally usable, but you could smell the solvent (at least that is what I interpreted it as). After a few months, just a light pleasant smell remained that I'm guessing is what bees wax mixed with linseed oil smells like. I actually enjoy this faint smell, which is only noticeable if I put my nose very near. The garments work very well, shedding water and thorns very nicely. I plan to do a few more items this summer. I waited this long because I think prolonged heat speeds the process. It's also much easier to apply on a hot sunny day and the first few days, I can just leave them outside (when they stink the most).

  18. #58

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    I'm going to do mine this summer, too. Just waiting for the heat to help.

    The weird thing is, it isn't really hot here yet. It's usually pretty hot by the end of May (sometimes the beginning). It must be global warming.

  19. #59

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    So, I intend on making a waterproof cloak out of linen. I was going to use the oil cloth method you listed in a previous thread, but now I am questioning if it will be too stiff. My concern with the tin cloth is the heat. We move a lot and the cloak may get left in a hot car. Will that be a problem? Should I go ahead and just use oil cloth?

  20. #60

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    Oookaaayyy...I finally got around to taking a shot at making my tin pants.

    I followed your recipe, kyrat. 16 oz. of mineral spirits, 16 oz. of BLO, and one wax toilet ring; melt wax in a double boiler, add liquids, keep hot.

    I used Carhartt double front pants, but green, not tan. I may be a Wranglerstar fan-boy, but I'm not a total sheep.

    They're now hanging in my barn to dry. It's hot here, so they should dry well.

    The mixture acted a little differently than I was expecting. I brought the water to a boil while melting the wax, and waited until it was melted completely before adding the liquids. I slowly poured the mineral spirits in, expecting the room temperature (which is warm) liquid to make the wax re-solidify, or at least make a mush. It stayed liquid. I poured in the BLO, and it stayed liquid. It wasn't real thick, either. On the contrary, it was actually pretty thin. The water in the double boiler was always at or near boiling, so I guess that helped. I painted the pants thoroughly, making sure it soaked all the way through. There were never any lumps at all. The pants just look wet, except for still being stiff. The concoction soaked in completely without any surface residue.

    I just noticed that the recipe indicated a 5 oz wax ring. They didn't have the weight on the box, but I got the one that said "extra thick". I don't remember if there were any others that didn't say that. I bought it over a year ago, just before I went to the 1998 Procrastinators Convention. I probably should've weighed it. Oh well, I think the pants will be great anyway. They'll be tougher and more waterproof than they were before I treated them.

    I'll check in next Saturday and let you know what they look like. I'm wondering if they will even need the re-melt, but I'm prepared to do it anyway.
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