Home made Thorn proof dressing?
- Thread starter Big Si
- Start date
The Fjälltäven Wax contain Paraffin end Bees Wax. It is hard.
Barbour Dressing contain Paraffin, and some say Turpentine. Semi soft.
Both should work on waxed fabrics, but in different temperature ranges.
From experience, the Fjällräven Wax is easier to apply.
Take Wax block, stroke on fabric, warm up with wife’s hairdryer.
After a couple of uses - buy wife a new hairdryer.
Barbour Dressing contain Paraffin, and some say Turpentine. Semi soft.
Both should work on waxed fabrics, but in different temperature ranges.
From experience, the Fjällräven Wax is easier to apply.
Take Wax block, stroke on fabric, warm up with wife’s hairdryer.
After a couple of uses - buy wife a new hairdryer.
This isn't just my experience. Heard it from others too. Possibly, Barbour dressing doesn't get a proper grip on a polycotton mix cos of the impermeability of the artificial fibre. Anyway, the effect is, having tried this on a Greenland jacket, is that it very quickly seems run to the bottom of the jacket 
Also, difficult to get the oil stain out without quite a few washes.
Even if I/m not explaining myself very well, don't do it
Also, difficult to get the oil stain out without quite a few washes.Even if I/m not explaining myself very well, don't do it
Beeswax is stickier, harder, but weirdly, more flexible than paraffin wax.
So, it is adhesive to cotton and canvas, and doesn'tflake like paraffin wax. However, it also is harder to get off of brushes, pots, working surfaces, fabrics etc.
So, it is adhesive to cotton and canvas, and doesn'tflake like paraffin wax. However, it also is harder to get off of brushes, pots, working surfaces, fabrics etc.
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Time to get out my brother's recipe once again, the rinds of dutch cheese dissolved in parrafin. I have not tried it myself, but I guess he must eat a lot of dutch cheese
I think back in the day that the original oilcloth was soaked in linseed oil. Mixed with turpentine it used to be used for preparing canvases for oil painting. There is apparantly a problem with linseed oil though in that it can cause spontaneous combustion when the cloth dries out. I have never seen that though, but I am very careful with the rags I use to oil my walking sticks and tool handles.
Mmmm ... cheese
(BTW, best way to apply Barbour dressing is to heat the can in a waterbath then use a brush to paint it on to the garment whilst keeping the hairdryer working on it. You get that factory, napped finish that way; rather than the (equally appealing) glazed look you get when putting it on cold by cloth and warming it up).
(BTW, best way to apply Barbour dressing is to heat the can in a waterbath then use a brush to paint it on to the garment whilst keeping the hairdryer working on it. You get that factory, napped finish that way; rather than the (equally appealing) glazed look you get when putting it on cold by cloth and warming it up).
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More is not better though. I basically ended up with cloth reinforced wax.
The Swedish stuff, you use like an eraser.
Gentle rub on, melt in with gentle heat.
The Swedish stuff, you use like an eraser.
Gentle rub on, melt in with gentle heat.
Paraffin is a by product of crude oil refining, beeswax is ment to be honeycombs, carnauba wax protects palm leaves from rain and sun and lanolin protects lamb wool from water. Just maybe it would be a good idea to also use the latter two.
The only recipe I've used (and that was a long time ago) was equal parts beeswax, rosin and linseed oil. It worked perfectly on a canvas bag but I've never applied it to a valuable item such as a coat. I've always meant to experiment a bit with the recipe (different oils for example) but I never got around to it.
I use beeswax and vegetable oil on my woodwork - different proportions depending on the application. I only add a thinner, such as turps, on furniture polish.
I use beeswax and vegetable oil on my woodwork - different proportions depending on the application. I only add a thinner, such as turps, on furniture polish.
Rosin?
That is interesting.
Tar oil was used as air mentioned before.
So Retsina makes your stomach more water resistant?
Ages ago I read they used ‘raw’ sheep’s wool.
Stank like h€ll I am sure!
I guess just another olfactory dimension/ layer.
I imagine that if you are ok with a bit of stickiness, you can make a fantastic waterproofing yourself.
Bees wax, animal fat. In Northern half of Europe we did not have any vegetable oils in the distant past. Of course I imagine the Romans brought it to Britain, but after the dissolution much was forgotten and went back to pre Roman customs.
Cotton cloth is fairly recent, maybe 400 years or even less?
@Toddy can surely enlighten us here.
Btw, how can a wax based dressing be ‘thornproof’?
Do they refer to the self healing of semi solid wax preparation?
Or an early sales blurb?
That is interesting.
Tar oil was used as air mentioned before.
So Retsina makes your stomach more water resistant?
Ages ago I read they used ‘raw’ sheep’s wool.
Stank like h€ll I am sure!
I guess just another olfactory dimension/ layer.
I imagine that if you are ok with a bit of stickiness, you can make a fantastic waterproofing yourself.
Bees wax, animal fat. In Northern half of Europe we did not have any vegetable oils in the distant past. Of course I imagine the Romans brought it to Britain, but after the dissolution much was forgotten and went back to pre Roman customs.
Cotton cloth is fairly recent, maybe 400 years or even less?
@Toddy can surely enlighten us here.
Btw, how can a wax based dressing be ‘thornproof’?
Do they refer to the self healing of semi solid wax preparation?
Or an early sales blurb?
Wrangerstar and Pratts Greenhouse have both posted great videos on making "metal" a.k.a. "tin" pants on YouTube.
Happy Trails!
Happy Trails!
That's really interesting. Tung oil finish is a mix of tung oil and a resin (as far as I can make out) so, in the end, it's another wax/oil/resin mix.
I feel inclined to try it on a pair of cheap cargo pants
I feel inclined to try it on a pair of cheap cargo pants
They look good, rustic and wholesome, but I think you'll find it very uncomfortable and not a little sweaty .. not ideal for working in
On the other hand, if you can find Carhartt double-fronted work trousers and just wax the outer layer, you may be on to a winner
On the other hand, if you can find Carhartt double-fronted work trousers and just wax the outer layer, you may be on to a winner