DIY Waterproofing - Waxed Canvas, cotton, leather 

Yep, great tip. I actually reheat my solution so it will easily penetrate the clothe without having to use a heat gun.

@@alexanderh.5814 then why even let it sit overnight?

Up to date? Darn it, I must’ve updated to the new version of earth. Can’t get this to work now :/

What materials do you use this on ?

@@pedroclaro7822 , hi. Well, a year has passed but maybe you will see my message. Precisely, the tip is to use the product immediately, as it will penetrate the fabric when warm, without needing to use a hairdryer. That's the magic of it! After applying it to the fabric, you put it away. When using again, heat it up and apply it to the item you want.

Ok thanks..i rlly did not want to have to use that turpentine.

Thanks, I didn't understand why would anyone use anything but wax... I'd even be tempted to use beeswax only, but I guess that would crack and shed due to hardness

It seems the BLO is essential for keeping the fabric and wax supple and properly integrated

@@SuperBardley BLO hardens resulting in the crinkly "tin shirt" effect, its not used in any modern cotton jacket waxes.

Yeah I have to say, I a lot of my background is in textiles and design then in to mixed media work and I dont see how you cant use at least some amount of some sort of oil to just stabilize and soften and help carry it into the fibers and just keep the wax from returning to that fully rigid form, especially considering that this process is always used on outerwear and accessories. It is in colder temperatures that wax achieves that undesirable rigidity and the wax can take on that opacity and I have owned low quality waxed garments that you can actually scrape that wax off in cooler weather in which the wax has not properly integrated with the fibers, and an oil is integral for that. It is simple material science. Waxes are incredibly strong, naturally occuring materials that serve to protect tissues in nearly all plants, birds, insects and mammals, that we harvest as a by-product and exploit for its same protective uses, BUT we must first TEMPER IT in order to manipulate it properly. Adding the oils serves to soften that strength just enough to enable us use it as a tool. If we aren't able to do so then it just floats on top of the fibers, which is what we want the water to do, what we want the wax to do is lightly become a part of the fabric, to, kind of "oil stain" it with the wax. But if we use only the wax, the molecules are too large and you are simply just "covering" the fibers in heavy wax. It makes the fabric soo heavy. You should not essentially be dipping candles with your garment. The oil acts as a vehicle. If you dont like the smell of linseed, find another oil? The turpentine is a solvent that can produce finer outcomes often, but I believe in making all of my own materials and organic chemistry is pretty simple when you break it down. Simple thing like potash and lye, those can all be made from things like ashes. Just high alkaline compounds that allow for the proper emulsion and combination of hydro and lipid substrates. We can make anything from scratch!

Well have you used yet ?

Dang he must have died.

1980's ... to the 2020's ... that is pretty great. Nice Did you yet get onto an application in the end, since then?

+William Collins (WC Knives) Where I'm at I probably only get a handful of 90 degree days a year, but that's a good thing to note for anyone else that may read this. Thanks for the tip! :-) BTW, love your knives & channel!

+David's Passage thanks so much for the support. Yep not a big issue up north but for us in the south could be a issue.

Thank you for that info

+David's Passage awesome video

+William Collins (WC Knives) If that's the case, then you overwaxed and used too few layers and put them on too thick. You have to layer. This is key.

+William Haase lol, yeah I hear ya. Wonder if we had the same dad ;-)

+William Haase Wow! I am going to have to check that stuff out!

Good one ! Thanks for sharing.

🤣

You also can try silicone, especially for door hinges.

How much did you added Thank You

Omar Lemus how you wash the jacket? For the inside as daily use wear and motorcycle. Thinking paraffin n bees wax

I’m an oil painter n the only thing that breaks that paint down is turp & linseed oil…linseed oil can be used in its place. I also buy an “odorless mineral spirit” that does the same thing, these really all smell like death ☠️ (Well, LsO not so bad & odorless is still killin’ brain cells most likely lol. The reason ppl mix these in though is because as well as being water resistant it makes it stain & fire resistant! Impossible to achieve without some kind of complex chemical. ;)

Boiled linseed oil is a hard drying oil. It forma a protective shell on the cotton fibers. It cracks, though, which is why it's Combined with beeswax. The beeswax fills the voids between the fibers. The turpentine is used as a thinning agent so that the linseed oil and wax deeply penetrate the fibers for a more water resistant fabric. However, turpentine is known to damage fabric which is why mineral spirits are better. "the lone woodman" here on youtubr making the ultimate tin pants. It's the same process. You can always leave out the linseed oil S it can make the jacket excessively stiff. I seriously recommend you watch his video for the exact recipe and ingredients. He uses microcrystalline wax as it's better for this application. Hope that helps.

Great tips Mike! I'd skip the teflon or any chemical nonstick, but I'm working on testing out rollers and plastic scrapers.... lmk if you've found other successful methods since your comment 5 years ago! lol

Well there are higher grades and lower grades of teflon. Basically when teflon is heated too much (nowhere near an iron or melting temp for wax) I think it was phosgene gas was emitted hence the reason not to allow cheap teflon coated cookware to burn on a stove. I use one of those beauty salon devices that melts wax now and it works very well. I have also found that one would be wise to preshrink the canvas before applying the wax. It ends up with a tighter weave and lower weight product. When I took 15oz canvas and did not pre-shrink it was extremely heavy when done. Another tip I learned from working with fiberglass on the rollers. Take a pair of scissors and trim the cotton very close to the cartridge. This works wonders when using a roller (both with wax and fiberglass resin). One can buy fiberglass roller cartridges already with short hairs but why when a good pair of scissors will do the same. Regards, Mike

Aren’t the turps used as a solvent to help the wax and BLO fully combine? Then the VOC’s evaporate off.

oddly enough, a pound (weight) of bees wax is around 15.96 fluid oz. So his measurement of 1/2 lb. of bees wax is around 8 fluid oz. So 8 oz. (1 cup) bees wax: 4 oz (1/2 cup). linseed oil: 4 oz. turpentine (1/2 cup) formula is correct. Basically, 2 parts bees wax to 1 part boiled linseed oil to 1 part turpentine as he stated. However, paraffin wax is different. 1 weight lb. of paraffin wax is 17 fluid. oz. so he would need to use a little bit less than a 0.5 lb of paraffin wax to use the same liquid amount of linseed oil and turpentine. According to Super Formulas Arts & Crafts How to make more than 360 useful products that contain honey and beeswax. by Elaine C. White. There's a section entitled Measuring Beeswax. Here's the excerpt Measuring Beeswax Usually there is a great difference between the liquid volume of an ingredient and its dry weight. This is not true of beeswax. Example: 1 ounce weight of solid beeswax is equal to 1 ounce liquid measurement of melted wax. The following chart can be used to measure beeswax as a solid or as a liquid. Melted beeswax or liquid measure= Solid wax or Dry Weight 1 Tablespoon melted beeswax or liquid measure=1/2 ounce solid wax or dry weight 2 Tablespoons or 1 ounce= 1 ounce 1/4 cup or 4 tablespoons = 2 ounces 1/2 cup or 8 tablespoons= 4 ounces or 1/4 pound 1 cup or 16 tablespoons = 8 ounces or 1/2 pound 2 cups or 16 ounces= 1 pound or 16 ounces The liquid displacement formula Solid beeswax can be measured by displacing liquid. For example, to measure 1 Tablespoon beeswax use the following method. Since 4 tablespoons of liquid equal 1/4 cup, add 3 tablespoons of water to a clear measuring cup. Add lumps of solid wax until the water reaches the 1/4 cup line. Pour off the water. The remaining wax equals 1 tablespoon. Set the wax aside to dry before using it in any formula.

@@patratacusthank you. Good info

+RedDogBushCraft Thanks for the tip! Can I ask what the benefit is of using mineral spirits over turpentine are?

Hello can i also use it for artificial fibre like rain jacket (old jack wolfskin) thanks

Bit late to the party, but over the decades I've used both a Harbor Freight Heat Gun and regular hair blow dryers on occasion to reproof (rewax) wax cotton jackets, and it makes little difference. The heat gun's maybe quicker and more powerful, but could also risk burning if you don't pay attention. I use a fresh sponge to rub in the melted mixture from a double-boiler setup similar to his, removed and replaced for a short time on the heat as needed to keep it fluid.

+Nature Calls After it dries, it doesn't smell much. It has a stronger smell at first that dissipates upon drying.

Thanks! Any requests in particular? :-)

David's Passage Not really, just anything DIY or where you're teaching us something new, or a new way to do it. I wish I could be more helpful, but you seem much more of an outdoorsman than myself.

Grant Butler Stay tuned then. There might just be something that interests you in the future :-)

Steve a guy on YT shows it that way but said it's really hard to get it even when ur painting it on..this video's method looks easier and a little more control.

@@deplorabledixie2834 It's easy. Warm up the garment with a hairdryer, paint the wax on as a liquid and then hang it outside or in a shed while the worst of the smelly vapour evaporates.

@@fatroberto3012 Thank you for the tips..that's a good idea to warm up 1st. I'm thinking of trying organic beeswax from this little family owned beekeeper website, so there's no smell on it..I have a nose like a bloodhound and any kind of bad smells bother me so much.. this website says their beeswax "smells wonderful" ..Im gonna try.. hope it works out.

@@deplorabledixie2834 Yes, beeswax does smell wonderful. But then again, so does turpintine - which I'm pretty sure would overpower the smell of everything else. David's Passage: the odor of the turpentine has me hesitant to do this on my hunting gear. There is so much effort put into odor control while hunting that I don't want to make it all a wasted effort by having my stuff smell like turpentine. How is the smell say 6 months later?

I did a similar process with out the turpentine, but added some peppermint oil (tip from another youtube channel). I painted the mixture into a jacket while is was still warm and in a liquid, waited for it to dry, then went over it with a heat gun.worked fine. Not sure the purpose of the turpentine...why is that part of the ingredients?

Please understand typing in all caps indicates YELLING and SCREAMING; most certainly not your intent. Yes, using all caps is highly frowned upon.

Think it work for a denim jacket for bike use? Heavy rain?

+Joe O's Channel That's a lot of waterproofing! :-)

+David's Passage Oh, I'll have a few other projects to use it for as well :)

Technically you could, but you wouldn't want to iron clothes with it afterward.

There's not much surfing going on here in Michigan, but I would be curious about that as well :-)

Thanks, A M.

The turpentine Keeps the mixture softer like a paste so it can be applied much more easily with the brush with a much more thick and even coverage. It also aids mixing/blending of the oil and wax while they are liquified under the heat. The turps then later evaporates away eventually... (hence the smell of turpentine reduces after a few days, as does the smell of linseed oil as it polymerises/ “dries” )

+Gary Cloud After it dries, it doesn't smell much. Actually it doesn't smell at all now. It has a stronger smell at first that dissipates upon drying.

I wouldn't use boiled linseed oil if you're worried about smell, that stuff is pretty nasty for a while

Thanks for watching. I first started looking into it upon reading a part in Horrace Kephart's book, Camping and Woodcraft. That led me to several different recipes and ideas, and finally I settled on this one in particular.

+James Ingram Genius! Thanks for the tip! :-)

+Fredi “Fredrockinva” R Yeah, I think the ratio I used was 1:1:2, that is... 1 part turpentine to 1 part boiled linseed oil, to 2 parts beeswax. I wouldn't think too hard about the fluid to weight ratio.

I was wondering the same thing. Kind of looks like a shoe shine brush

@@bpcardella You are correct, it's known as a dauber and it's from a shoe shine kit, but you can find it in Amazon as well