From what I understand, oilcloth is just cotton or canvas that's been soaked in some type of wax. Has anyone out there done this on their own? Does anyone know what type of wax you use, or where to source it?
I'm thinking of trying to oil some Carhart clothing for the winter and for rainy days when working outside. I'm thinking of something like this -
JP
***************************** What's a "paraffin-based wax"?
I think there was (at some point) a kind of **oil** cloth. Vermont Country Store (on internet and catalogue) is currently selling either tablecloths or aprons of true (they said) oil cloth.
I remember canvas cloth impregnated with parafin ( buy near canning supplies or in candle shop) used as tarps but they weren't washable - cloth's wax all cracked up in warm soapy water and poof - no longer "water-proof" .
Interesting, just the same.
Josie
My goal is to make material like that which Filson uses in its oilcloth garments. They refer to their cloth as being coated with a "paraffin-based wax". Is it your understanding that what they do is heat up a bunch of wax and then dump the material in it? Can I use straight canning paraffin? Maybe I'll give it a shot.
Thanks for the info.
JP
My wife and I have waterproof dusters for horseback riding. I've reproofed her's before, but I can't remember where I got the wax/oil. I was rather thick in consistancy, so I brushed/wiped it on and then hung the coat in the sun to let it heat up and soak in. I'd start looking around Barbour or Orvis's site for the wax. Then you may be able to find it cheaper on the net somewhere else.
Yikes! Can't just dump material into the melted wax.
I think the straight paraffin is too inflexible by itself and people who do batik add bees' wax to give the wax flexibility. I think a batik person would add more or less bees' wax to change the amount of cracking the wax mix would do when dipped into cold water. You can get a double boiler from the kitchen section of a second hand or thrift shop, put water in the bottom, waxes in the top, don't think you'd use a cover. Have your fabric washed and dried. You might put cardboard cut outs of the clothing inside the clothing so the front and back don't stick together when you brush (cheap bristle) and you might have to cover the cut outs with wax paper, too. If you like your life you might put newspaper all over the floor where you are working (kitchen?) and wear throw-away clothes, waxes in the washing machine will bring out the worst in your S.O.. I think I'd get an iron from the second hand store, too. Any parts of the clothing with too much wax can be ironed over lots of newspaper padding. Excess wax goes into newspaper (some may go into the iron, that's why you get one from the second hand store) . You'll need to test temperatures. And you'll need to test brushing hot wax into cloth, too. Tack similar cloth to an empty frame, help keep your fingers from hot wax.
See Batik Wax in
This company has a good reputation and sells premixed batik wax:
Josie
Barbour waxed jacket wax, sold for re-treated the jackets.
I've got a bunch of Filson Tin Cloth and Shelter Cloth garments for extreme brush and woods hunting conditions. If you use "Filson's Original Oil Finish Wax"
Put the tin in hot water to soften it up. Then spread a heavy coat of the wax on the garment and use a blow dryer to melt it in.
John
No, it's covered in _OIL_ Otherwise it would be called "waxcloth"
I've done this. I've even posted web pages about it. Do some Google, FFS.
The instructions are all in a pamphlet by Bill Knight, "Staining and Finishing for Muzzleloading Gun Builders" - try a US gunshop. His recipe is based on modifying a commercial boiled linseed oil to reduce the acidity, then painting it onto sized canvas or calico.
My experience is that it's a total PITA to do, and the results are poor. It's worth doing, but only on a re-enactment basis, not as a practical material. I went from the basics, with my own lead-dried home-boiled raw linseed.
- Don't use an iron pan when boiling, it causes it to stay sticky forever afterwards.
- Make the oil in the Autumn (Fall), then overwinter it in bottles containing a chunk of lead. Coat the cloth in the hottest part of Summer.
- Make a lot more oil than you expect to need.
- Use a tightly woven cloth and don't size it (IMHE). The coating is strong but not particularly well attached. Over-sizing causes adhesion problem.
- Allow as long as possible for drying time between coating and use. It can remain tacky for years, if you're unlucky.
And Sarah, I'm sorry about the fish...
You can probably call anything just about anything you want.
Josie
Some is covered in oil paint. They don't call it oilpaintcloth.
Wax was introduced in the 30's to reduce the stiffness of oilcloth and to avoid the yellowing that linseed oil caused.
The materials changed over time, from linen to cotton, from oil to oil and wax or even paints. The name stayed.
Mike
Well, actually, Filson, Drizabone, Belstaff, and the like tend to call it "waxed cotton", but anybody who's lived with it knows that it's oiled, not waxed. You can tell that from the stain it leaves on everything it touches.
Oh, "Oilcloth". I thought he said "Loincloth".
Bill.
I seem to recall a receipe for oilcloth, possibly in one of the Lee Valley reprints. If my brain doesn't reset when I walk out the door I'll check it tonight. oe
No, it's waxed. Different stuff to oilcloth.
For waxed cotton, it's important to use a really long staple cotton and a tight weave. This is why Barbour's coats are still superior to all others - they use a better fibre.
For oilcloth the fibre staple length is less important, and you need a looser weave or else the oil has poor adhesion and will flake.
So what is that stuff that comes off all over everything that is placed in contact with waxed cotton?
Hang your wife's best silk dress between two waxed cotton coats if you think that it's not oil, and see how long you live.
How does a liquid "flake"?
Emulsified wax, or "grease" if you prefer (for the distinction between the two is getting pretty thin here - a saponified oil vs. an emulsified oil).
It cures after you apply it.
I've not noticed anything flaking off my 20 year old Drizabone.
Drizabones are waxed, not oiled.
They're also less heavily coated than a Barbour and less waterproof - if you live in Ireland, you notice this ! OTOH, they transfer stains less than Barbours.
You call it "wax", I call it "oil", perhaps we can compromise that they're all "greased".
Then you're just plain wrong. Barbour and Drizabone use wax.
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