Waxing Canvas

[garbonzo]

Does anyone here have experience waxing canvas that was bought unwaxed? Does it work well? Was thinking of using greenland wax to use on a canvas satchel I just got but am reading differing opinions online.

[Noodle36]

I took some paraffin to an old carhartt jacket just recently. Sort of worked. The Greenland wax would probably work pretty well. Trial and error really.

[Quoise1203]

There was a thread bumped up a week or two ago where the thread starter documented his attempt atmaking a similar oil/wax combination used by barbour/belstaff/filson and applying it to a denim chorecoat. The results looked pretty good, but he hasn't updated the thread in five years. Might be worth a shot if you aren't afraid of ruining the item.

[Noodle36]

I found some recipes for Greenland wax online. Really simple and quite a bit cheaper than the store bought version. It might not contain all of the proprietary ingredients of the fjal stuff but still works. I also have a lot of beeswax straight from a local apiarie I use for leather work. 90% paraffin, 10% beeswax. Or a whole slab of paraffin to about a stick of beeswax. Someone else used a 50/50 blend.

Anyways my first attempts at just paraffin did not give me the results I was looking for. So I mixed up the two and spent part of the evening applying it to my jacket. It definitely darkens and stiffens the cotton duck but it is a good color. I picked up the jacket about a year ago at a thrift shop. Sort of a neo vintage find, labels all indicate that it was union made in the US. It was well worn and has some repairs to it. Who ever owned it before must have washed it quite regularly as there was no interesting fading. It's lined etc but was useless when it rained or snowed...thus the interest in waxing it. Here is a photo from my iPhone.

http://i1212.photobucket.com/albums/cc441/Noodle361/3FC8210F-E07D-4F80-ABE8-4F866A81593C-3790-0000060B553802AA_zpsb2f83a37.jpg

I applied the wax by simply rubbing it on. My kids helped too. I then bought a thrift store iron and melted the wax on medium heat.

[Noodle36]

For comparison I also have a Polo Ralph Lauren oil cloth jacket that I recently reproofed. Much more labor intensive. I ended up mixing the "Sailors" reproofer with 99% isopropyl alcohol and melting it in the microwave then applying it with a small paint roller. Lessened the application time.

About 4 hours for the oil cloth and only two for the rub then iron wax application.

[satchelbmoore]

i wax duluth packs all the time for people at the shop and have done a couple jackets and pants using a variety of techniques. my favorite technique is basically drawing on the bag/coat/jacket with a solid brick of wax and then using a heat gun to melt it in. it takes about 4 layers but it really gives a nice smooth texture and it easier to control than liquid/pasty wax. i am in love with pure beeswax so that's what i've used for the past few years.

 

below is a market tote i did for one of the bakers nextdoor to BlackBlue before xmas. i think this is layer 3 pre heat gun.

 

 

 

[Noodle36]

Waxed carhartt next to oil cloth Ralph Lauren. Terrible fluorescent lighting and iPhone pics again.

http://i1212.photobucket.com/albums/cc441/Noodle361/90DE8822-71AF-40BA-9BFF-AEBA2613F918-4086-0000069E51991383_zpsdf98a32a.jpg

http://i1212.photobucket.com/albums/cc441/Noodle361/9092A5E5-594C-4880-A14A-8AC4D7DEA6E6-4086-0000069E8B31ECE8_zps738a3011.jpg

Satchel - nothing beats the smell of pure beeswax. When I use it to burnish my leather the mix of tanned leather and beeswax is unbelievable.

[satchelbmoore]

the jackets are looking cool! leather and beeswax is indeed the best.

[Noodle36]

More searching came up with a suggestion to use a dryer to even out the application.  I didnt go out and buy a new dryer so I simply put the jacket in two garbage bags and threw in dryer.  It did even out the application and relaxed some of the stiff ness.  Will continue to put more layers on until the fabric resembles a Filson Tin Cloth.  I'm having fun so not much of a chore.

[danisdead]

Ive waxed a few things like canvas bags and hats, including a denim hat but never a full pair of jeans.  I've only ever used Otterwax and Filson tin cloth wax; I like the Filson wax a lot more for the fact that Otterwax for some reason starts to smell fishy after a while. Unfortunately the Filson stuff is not cheap.  I never thought to use straight beeswax.

[Noodle36]

Heat gun is def the way to go. I bought one and it is much better than the iron. I think the radiant heat melts the wax and allows it to permeate the fabric. The iron melts it but for some reason the same amount of wax never seems to take. Possibly the iron burns away some of it. Anyway te almost finished product at the ponies.

http://i1212.photobucket.com/albums/cc441/Noodle361/B118D070-D842-483F-B422-8DA80B0BC1EC-6561-00000A39A50203C2_zps917ef45e.jpg

That's my oldest to the right of me.