Horace Kepharts book Camping and Woodcraft contains a recipe as follows:
Waterproofing Cloth at Home. — If one has
home facilities, there is no reason why he should not
make a good job of waterproofing for himself.
Paraffine Process. — The cheapest, simplest, and, in
some respects, the most satisfactory way is to get a cake
or two of paraffine or cerasine, lay the tent on a table
rub the outer side with the wax until it has a good coat-
ing evenly distributed, then iron the cloth with a medium-
hot flatiron, which melts the wax and runs it into every
pore of the cloth. The more closely woven the cloth, the
less wax and less total weight.
Some prefer to treat the tent with a solution of paraffine.
In this case, cut the wax into shavings so it will dis-
solve readily. Put 2 lbs. of the wax in 2 gallons of tur-
pentine (for a 7x9 tent or thereabouts). Place the ves-
sel in a tub of hot water until solution is completed.
Meantime set up the tent true and taut. Then paint it
with the hot solution, working rapidly, and using a stiff
brush. Do this on a sunny morning and let tent stand
until quite dry. The turpentine adds a certain elasticity
to the wax; benzine does not.
For tents to be used in cold weather before an
open fire, the following process is better:
Alum and Sugar of Lead. — First soak the tent over-
night in water to rid it of sizing, and hang up to dry.
Then get enough soft water to make the solutions (rain-
water is best; some city waters will do, others are too
hard). Have two tubs or wash-boilers big enough for
the purpose. In one, dissolve alum in hot soft water,
in the proportion of 34 Jt). to the gallon. In the other,
with the same amount of hot water, dissolve sugar of
lead (lead acetate — a poison) in the same proportion.
Let the solutions stand until clear; then add the sugar
of lead solution to the alum liquor. Let stand about four
hours, or until all the lead sulphate has precipitated.
Then pour off the clear liquor from the dregs into the
other tub, thoroughly work the tent in it with the hands
until every part is quite penetrated, and let soak over-
night. In the morning, rinse well, stretch, and hang up
to dry.
A closely woven cloth should be used.
This treatment fixes acetate of alumina in the fibers of
the cloth. The final rinsing is to cleanse the fabric from
the useless white powder of sulphate of lead that is de-
posited on it. Failures are usually due to using hard
water, or a less proportion of alum than here recom-
mended, or to not dissolving the chemicals separately and
decanting off the clear liquor. When directions are fol-
lowed, the cloth will be rain-proof and practically spark-
proof, but not damp-proof if you use it as a ground-sheet
to lie on, or if exposed to friction. After a good deal of
use, the tent will need treating over again, as the mineral
deposit gradually washes out.
Remember that cotton goods shrink considerably when
first soaked.
Alum and Soap. — Shave up about a pound of laundry
soap and dissolve it in 2 gallons of hot water. Soak the
cloth in it, dry out thoroughly, and then soak in an alum
solution as above, and dry again.
I have had no success with the alum and lime
method mentioned by " Nessmuk."
Good waterproofing compounds can be purchased
teady-made from some tent-makers.
The following recipes, although not suitable for
tents, are useful for other articles of equipment, and
are included here while on the subject of water-
proofing cloth:
Oiled Cloth. — For groupd-sheets to use under bedding:
get some of the best grade of boiled linseed oil of a
reputable paint dealer. One quart will cover five or six
square yards of heavy sheeting. Pour it into a pan big
■enough to dip your hand into. Lay out the cloth and rub
the oil into it between your palms, using just enough oil
at a time to soak the cloth through, filling the pores, but
leaving no surplus. Then stretch it in a barn or garret,
or other dry shady place, for one week. Finish drying by
hanging in the sunlight three or four days, fi .st one side
up, then the other.
Apologies for wierd spelling mistakes as its taken from an OCR scan of the book that is free online and in the public domain here:
http://openlibrary.org/works/OL4965672W/Camping_and_woodcraft
