Home made Thorn proof dressing?

[Big Si]

As above. Has anyone got a good reliable recipe? I have amounted a fair amount of Barber and Drizabone garments and fancy a go at reproofing them but it looks like a tin of the "Good Stuff" won't go that far. So Does anyone have a proven working recipe, before I have to look on Youtube and lose another day watching kittens fighting sharks in a tub of strawberry jelly only to be eaten by lions living in a tent in the Lake District?

Many thanks for your invaluable input on this

Si

 

[TLM]

Sorry not to say anything constructive but from the message above I only got the reference to Youtube. Is there another way of expressing the message so that a non native might have a chance at understanding.

Not so very seriously TLM.

 

[Big Si]

So for the non-native speakers out there. I'm looking for a way of making a "Thorn Proof Dressing" similar to that by the makers of Barber or John Lewis. To re-proof my coats.

Si

 

[TLM]

Got it, to an engineer "thornproof" created images of something like an Imperial Storm Trooper. I hate commercial definitions.

 

[Big Si]

TML that's what the proofer is labeled as and sold over the counter as.

Si

 

[crosslandkelly]

50 / 50 mix of clear silicone and white spirit perhaps.

 

[Janne]

‘Thornproof’ refers to the fabric does it not?

The dressing acts as a water barrier, it prevents ( lessens in real life) water ingress.
A thorn will penetrate this dressing easily.

I did my own dressing of a whole Barbour jacket once. Ended up sending it to Barbour to be fixed. I think they had a good laugh when they saw how much I have used.

 

[TLM]

But why "thornproof", it's nowhere near that. Not even by rabid advertisers imagination on LSD high.

 

[Mesquite]

There's loads of recipes and 'how to' videos on YT but to save you from the kittens and sharks in strawberry jelly here's what turned up when I did a quick search

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=homemade+greenland+wax

 

[Janne]

But why "thornproof", it's nowhere near that. Not even by rabid advertisers imagination on LSD high.

Tradition. In the old days they could have a few bottles of Cocoa Cola and get imaginative.

I have ripped Thornproof Barbour several times.

Compare Grönlands Vax with Barbour Wax.
See and fel a difference?
Yes?
Wonder why?
Answer:

Grönlands Vax is made for sub Arctic and Arctic temperatures.
Barbour Wax for the warmer British climate.
Barbour Wax gets hard and pulverises away in minus degrees.
Happened to us. That is why I attempted a full jacket rep roofing, the ridiculous failure and giving the re-proofers at Barbour a good laugh.

 

[Janne]

That is the fun with internet and YouTube tutorials. Worldwide.
Next time you holiday in your favourite All Inclusive in Turkey and see a guy that is all shiny and oily, he probably oiled his water proofs with home made Grönlands Vax and it all melted on his shin.

Cue: Grönlands Vax means Greenland Wax, as in Greenland the Danish version of Bora Bora.
But slightly colder.

Recommendation: Find a w@y to replicate Barbour Wax dressing.

 

[TLM]

I guess the traditional versions for warmer climates starts with beeswax and carnaubawax, the warmer the more carnauba. Then one needs a softener in the mixture and possibly a volatile liquid solvent for spreading.

See, very easy. In practise slightly more complicated and involving quite a lot of testing probably. A good reason to find a ready and tested formula.

 

[Janne]

Carnauba might be a modern addition.

I do not know how far back in time oil/wax cloth goes.
1700’? 1800’?

Before oil cloth I guess they either stayed in shelter, or got pneumonia and contributed to the average life span of around 40 years!

 

[Janne]

Somebody should try a beeswax and lanoline combo.
I suspect that is close to the old.
Lanolin or fish oil.

 

[TLM]

While lanolin has certainly been used for a long time I think industrial production is fairly late (1800?), would be about equal with carnauba. But yes it would be a good candidate for a softener as it is a known low surface energy substance.

Maybe a touch of spruce pitch to make it stick to the fibres?

Now lets see, beeswax, carnauba wax, lanolin (and a bit pitch or pine tar)?

 

[Janne]

The pioneers in water proofing were seamen and fishermen.
Heavy work, needed water proofing that lasted.

Maybe somebody here knows what they send. I know that in the Navy they lubricated themselves with a daily very liberal dose of ‘best of Caribbean’, in other words, Rum.

Tar oil, or Stockholm tar, was used to water proof rope and wood.
I do not think fabric was treated with it?

But now we are on a parallel tangent.

I think the OP should just send the garments to the manufacturer.

As Mary Berry says - No Soggy Bottom!

 

[Dogoak]

Try the forum search function for Greenland Wax, I'm sure there's been recipes posted on here before.

 

[TLM]

On some other boards Greenland wax was given as 90/10 paraffin/ beeswax, I have no idea if that is true.

Tar was used for impregnating canvas on some boat decks, roofs and deck opening coverings.

 

[Tipi]

I don't have a reliable recipe per-se but i have recently made some Greenland style wax and added a bit of oil to soften it so it rubs on easier. not sure what the recipe for thornproof dressing is but i would guess at some sort of wax and oil combo.

my recipe was 50:50 paraffin to bees wax (just what i happened to have) and about 5-10% vegetable cooking oil. Its made a solid block but is definitely softer than a pure wax mix. its more like wax crayons than candles.

If you have the time and resources, i think it would be worth persevering in the vane of wax and oil recipes.

In an old American scout book i have it gives a recipe for a shoe grease which is bees wax, animal fat (think it recommends lamb) and a pinch of pine resin.

if you get any where with the experiments please let us know!

 

[Billy-o]

OT ... I recently waxed a canvas bag with a paraffin wax/beeswax mix. Too much beeswayx, I guess, as the bag now smells of honey. Not an unpleasant effect, but it does make me feel hungry all the time.

Also, FYI, Barbour dressing doesn't work on Fjallraven clothes .. in case you were thinking that way.