DIY waxed denim--is it possible?

[thunderball17]

I'm very curious as to what the substance used on waxed denim actually is. Not the more subtle waterproofing stuff, but the type of waxed effect seen on the Dior Homme waxed jeans which debuted in SS'04. Also, does anyone know how to reproduce this effect? I suspect that it is some kind of PVC coating and not wax at all--any info will be greatly appreciated.

[mr fluffernutter]

Asstricks told me it was silicone coating of sorts. I've tried to recreate it but no luck yet.

[chromesquared]

Theres a thread here by family man n which he details the whole process, but I can find it now. Search it up!

[thunderball17]

i found family man's project; thanks Cr^2! his jacket turned out very nicely, but the dior effect is definately something else like silicone. what exactly did you try, diamonds?

[tweeds]

chromesquared - look under the tags in superdenim, for the "projects" tag. for future reference, that will get you all the significant DIY ideas in denim.

[familyman]

http://www.woodcentral.com/cgi-bin/readarticle.pl?dir=smalser&file=articles_368.shtml

This should do it.

An update on my coat, I would only use maybe half the beeswax that I did. The coat ended up very soft and not at all 'cracky' like a traditonal waxed jacket is. I may re-apply it soon, and see how it works. There's certianly an art to the whole process.

[mizanation]

how's the waterproofing on your coat, familyman? does it really repel water?

[familyman]

It's waterproof-ish. It will keep you dry from the car to the store just fine. Water does bead up on it for the most part. The best comparison is to those water resistant nylon coats you can buy. As long as it's not raining hard and not for long you're good. It is worlds better than untreated denim by any measure. I really think less beeswax would make every aspect of the coat better. Part of it may be the climate I'm in. They say that you need to add beeswax to keep the fabric flexible when it's cold and the colder the use the more beeswax you need to use. I think I basically have a northern winter recipe on my south texas coat.

[mizanation]

interesting. would like to see updated pics when you get a chance. maybe after the winter's over.

[technicolor]

Yes, updated pictures please!