OK I am a glutton for punishment. I have been promising this for some time so here it is. I am going to post another recipe, and this one is different, complected (three ingredients) and a little dangerous.
Yes dangerous!
If you are obsessed with safety, constantly worried about "what ifs" or scared of being in close proximity to things that might ignite on their own just stop reading now and save us all the late-comer warnings, government advisories and cautions.
I am presenting my own advice right now so listen up. All of the things I am going to tell you to heat and mix together are dangerous. They can ignite!
All of them are chemicals that do not boil, they go directly from too hot to on fire!
For this reason I am advising that if you do this project you do it outside, away from the house, with a fire extinguisher nearby and heat all the ingredients in a double boiler
The double boiler I consider a necessity due to the low flash points of the materials. Each of them ignites at around 300 degrees F. The recommended wax ignites at 250 degrees F. If you use direct heat on a stove you have no precise control of that exact temperature. If you use a double boiler your temp will never exceed 212 F degrees so you will probably not turn yourself into a crispy critter.
My double boiler was a simple device made by sitting a small tin can inside a larger tin can with water in it, sitting on a hot plate.
Also, applying this mixture will ruin whatever base layer you have beneath it. Cover any surfaces you are using with plastic or you will wind up throwing the table, ironing board or counter top away. Some of you would wind up divorced so take heed.
If you are in a hurry and need it yesterday just leave now and go play with your I phone because this treatment takes time, which is probably why Filson charges $300 for the application.
Now for the rest of the story.
Back in the day outdoor companies waterproofed their gear, coats, packs, bags and such with a wax treatment we have come to call "Tin Cloth". Filson is the most well known company that still offers this treatment to their classic gear and it is good enough for some folks to still pay $500 for a Filson Tin Cloth chore coat that would cost only $200 without the coating from the same Filson catalog.
In the old days the basis of this finish was bees wax, and it can still be done with bees wax, but that is no longer what Filson and the other companies use. Today they use a "petroleum wax".
I searched all over the internet trying to find a recipe for this petroleum wax and how to apply it. I found dozens of recipes and sets of instructions and guess what???
!!!THEY WERE ALL HORSE HOCKEY!!!
None of them worked, and I tried more than a dozen over the last two months. Apparently all these people were google searching, finding the same recipes and advising them without ever trying them! Not only did they not work, some of them ruined the fabric samples I tested them on.
Imagine that!!!
Someone on the internet was wrong!
My instructions and recipe have been tested. They work. They make a true "tin cloth" of the old style. I tested the mixtures and application on canvas painter's tarp, heavy cotton pillow ticking until I got it right and each application is a long process, so it took several weeks to make sure it was correct.
After it was perfected I applied it to a finished cotton hunting coat from Cabellas , a yuppie level chore coat from Banana Republic and several cotton based caps and hats I found hanging behind doors and on racks around the house. It works, so I am passing it on.
Here is how it works.
You will need;
A heat gun or strong hair dryer
The before mentioned double boiler
16oz of boiled linseed oil
16oz of mineral spirits
1 wax commode ring (5oz)
Yep that is right, a wax commode ring!
This recipe will render enough of the formula to treat a thigh length chore coat and have enough left to treat a cap or hat. It will treat two hunting shirts or probably three fishing vests.
When the water in the double boiler is hot place the wax commode ring in the device and melt it. When it is melted slowly add the boiled linseed oil and mineral spirits. Wait until the entire mixture is hot. Do not remove the mixture from the double boiler to apply, it will cool and turn mushy. It needs to remain hot and fluid.
Using a clean paint brush apply the liquid to the fabric saturating the surface completely. Stir the mixture every few minutes. It will soak in very well while hot and the wax does not turn lumpy or solid while you are working with it as long as the mixture is kept hot
Once the entire garment is saturated hang it on a heavy coat hanger in a dry place out of the sunshine and let it dry.
Drying will take a full week. Do not go back and check the item every half hour! Do not go back and check the item every day! Go away and leave it alone for a full week.
The reason is simple. For the first two or three days you are going to think you have ruined the item. The wax will remain gooey and it will feel slimy to the touch. At some point between day 4 and 6, and it varies between fabrics, everything will dry out and turn to unfinished tin cloth.
When the garment has dried it will not feel waxy or oily and it will not smell.
Now that the item is dry it is time to "finish" it. The finish is what turns the application int real "tin cloth". You can not skip this part. It is the key to the entire process looking like you did it on purpose.
Take your hair dryer or heat gun, and being very careful, apply heat to the fabric one section at a time, bringing the wax in the fabric to nearly melting, but not burning the fabric. You will see the wax in the mixture change color and go nearly liquid. As it does any lumping of the wax as it dried, or streaking of the treatment on the fabric, will be absorbed or disappear giving you a smooth and slightly waxy appearance.
You now have "Tin Cloth".
Any of the mixture that is left over can be saved, reheated and it works fine. It will turn solid, but not hard, overnight and I suspect it would make a good leather treatment!
I would suggest you follow my instructions exactly for your first effort, but in this instance I will admit that I adjusted the formula a dozen different ways and still had some measure of success. The "16oz/16oz/1 ring" is simply easy to remember and works perfectly.
If you adjust it you are on your own!!!
You need your mineral spirits in there because they are your dryer and without them the fabric will never dry. However, if you want a more waxy surface, as you would on a pack or bag, you can use two commode rings and it will still work. You can use a bit less oil if you are running short, but the oil seems to be the carrier for the wax so you need enough to float the melted wax.
I had success with mixtures as dense as 1 part linseed oil/1 part mineral spirits/1 part wax. It took two weeks to dry and was extremely stiff, but it worked.
And here is a tidbit, you can substitute an equal amount of bees wax for the commode ring if you want a historically accurate waterproofing. None of the other instructions change. Just be aware that you can use too much bees wax and it will sit on top of the fabric and look terrible. Be stingy with it.
At any rate, I have a Banana Republic "tin cloth" chore coat to wear this fall. It is equal to a $500 Filson and I have about $20 in the Ebay coat and exactly $10 in the mixture.
I also have a Cabellas "tin cloth" safari jacket which can not be had from anywhere!
And a half dozen hats that will hold water.
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