When I graduated Airborne School I got to meet the remaining members and families with widows of the original test platoon . What an honor it was. They punched my blood wings after my father did the original punch. Great memories.
I had a WW2 Denison smock (they were relatively easy to get in the 1970s) and it has this odd waxy coating over a lot of the smock. I asked the guy in the shop what this was and he said 'anti-gas sealant. It means to cloth won't breathe so you sweat a lot'. I still bought the smock and wore it to school!
I go to a lot of history events and last summer , I saw a Paratrooper in full uniform at an history event at an Airport near Franklin Pa. He looked like he came right off the page of a history book. His Airborne uniform was almost black in n places and you could tell it has been thru the ages. I asked if it was real and he said No. Be had done the aging himself. I think it must have been a treatment similar to this. The guy just looked the part. He was rather intimidating to be honest but once you spoke to him, he was really nice. Really knowledgeable too. I hope to see him again this summer.
I remember my father telling me that after treatment off cc2 on one set of uniforms, they smelled so bad that they stuck them in the bottom of their duffle bags and never used them again.
Just putting it out there - Canvak. Ive seen great results from it. Otterwax can look very grey but canvak keeps the brownish color that you'll want. Plus you save this whole time consuming process since you can just dunk it in and leave it to dry. It replicates the whole process more authentic. Hell you can even follow the original manual to get the best results.
Did this treatment way back in the early days of reenactment only difference is we used vasaline ( so much cheaper and equally effective just the same) I’ve also used Barber wax which is a wind proofing treatment , although expensive! I’ve used the vasaline treatment on the airborne uniform in 2014 in Normandy France for the 70th D-day celebrations and people and veterans commented how great and realistic the whole set up looked , great video though
Anyone ever told you that you are a dead ringer for Morrisey, the singer from the band the Smiths. While I was perusing you tube I was suprised to see the singer Morrisey talking about gas proofing WW2 uniforms! Oh good film thanks.
Snoseal also works great. You can put the pot inside a pan of hot water and then rub it in. You can also melt the wax in a pot, keep it warm and in a liquid state and paint it on Then you can use a heat gun to really melt it in. Wipe off the excess.
Great tipps! How aboud the Pathfinders wo put camo on their uniforms? (not the older unreinforced ones from Sicily, the ones where they used C-47 paint) Did they apply the camo over the cc2?
I have a small question about the gas proof coating. Could you use a recapie for waxed oil cloth. Using a heated paraffin and bee's wax mix to brush on the fabric in even coats then either drying in the hot sun or in a canvas bag in a dryer to remove the excess.
Unfortunately I think that would not yield the result that you want. Paraffin and beeswax act somewhat differently plus applying with a brush can lead to a rather uneven finish with a lot of build up where you first place the brush and a bit less at the bottom of the brush stroke. I would suggest a more tried and tested method because you don’t want to ruin your $200 uniform.
I’m not quite sure the result you are going for. To my knowledge they didn’t use anti gas treatment on their uniforms. If you are wanting to age your uniform it could yield a similar result.
Many years ago when I was a reenactor I found a set of CC2 treated underwear - long sleeved t-shirt and long johns. They were unissued and horrible to touch. I never wore them. I had an unissyed , treated gas hood too, which I also didn't wear. An untreated hood would be good winter wear
Wifey gonna be pleased when she takes her smalls out of the dryer after you treated your M42 to find them all coated and smelling of Otter Wax. Dont matter what you put the uniform in bag or what, the smell and wax will get into the dryer drum and just everywhere. DONT DO IT! If you want to save your marriage/relationship, just buy a second hand dryer then sell it on to your re-enactor friends.
I live in a world where people need to fake wear on their clothes because everything is so damned new rather than doing some physical work in it and wearing it out. What a strange world.
