How to wax (waterproof) a Carhartt coat

If you're like me, you love your Carhartt jacket. They're extremely durable and will hold up to nearly any abuse. The only negative is that they absorb water. Well, I was determined to overcome this and here is how I accomplished it.

Step 1: What you will need

1 Carhartt Jacket (or similar canvas style jacket)
2 cans of Filson's Oil Finish Wax
1 2" paint brush
1 Hair dryer
1 Heating element

Comments

[l8nite]

This will also work on denim jackets and pants and also makes them more wind/cold resistant

[cfranks2]

I would recommend this guys site for a great explanation and instructions for waxing canvas.  He uses just beeswax and paraffin wax, and it comes out looking great.  

[mudlark00]

tin cloth recipe:
To reproof oilcloth or to make a waxed canvas/cotton give this a try:

Reproofing Wax:


1/2 pound wax( 80% bees wax 20% paraffin)

1/2 quart raw linseed oil

1/2 quart turpentine

optional:

1/2 cup orange oil( for smell)

1/2 cup pine tar(? helps keep wax soft when cold? not sure.)

Heat the linseed oil and melt wax into oil. This should be done outdoors with care since both are flammable ingredients. A double boiler might be helpful. Once all wax is melted, remove from heat and add turpentine to mixture. Add optional ingredients now if desired. The proportions aren't exact. More wax gives better protection and a stiffer coat while more linseed oil offers less stiffness but less protection. Turpentine helps thin the mixture but requires more outdoor airing time(Your coat is going to smell heavily of turpentine.) Also, wax need not be food grade. you can save a lot of money by buying unprocessed bees wax.

How to Apply:

place reproofing container into boiling water until reproofing wax melts. brush on thinly in small sections of the coat. go over the whole coat with a blow dryer to melt the wax thoroughly into coat. Let air for a few days outdoors out of the rain until smell is acceptable and . A warm place away from direct sunlight is good.

[sakers1]

soo when you said tacky feeling and it went away in a couple wears or what not... that concerns me but i really want to try this method i live in Washington so waterproofing my coat is really important have you tried your coat in the rain yet and did it work? i could care less about it being shiny i would prefer if it wasn't shiny actually. and did it change the color? would this method be more effective then buying a can of water proofing spray?

[MrBoB]

 I am in the process of doing this to a Carhartt Detroit Jacket (#J01)  My only comment is that it takes an enormous amount of the wax.  I used four 3.75oz tins of wax, and just barely got one coat on.  After just one coat of wax, the coat didn't have the same look as a new Filson coat I was comparing it to.  The Filson was uniformly shiny, likely due to complete saturation of the fabric with the wax.  With only one coat, the Carhartt is dull in most places, and only shiny in places I added a second coat of wax.  I have ordered additional wax, and will report back when I have added a second coat.  

For this to be economical it would probably be wise to make your own wax, as detailed here: 
www.woodcentral.com/cgi-bin/readarticle.pl

[Neuronurd]

Not sure why it required so much wax. I used one tin and coated my entire "large" coat and it is completely waterproof. The purpose of the blow dryer and heating the wax is to make it more malleable and easier to apply. Plus, it helps it to melt into the threads of the coat. No matter what you do, it will not have the same look as a Filson. As much as I wish this were possible, the threading is different and they have a unique process to wax their coats. That being said, if you want to waterproof your Carhartt, this is a perfect way to do it without costing much money. Plus, the wax coats the thread fibers without cracking. My coat is still just as waterproof today as it was the day I applied it!

[carlosbenjaminwalker]

i too used more than recommended (3 full tins) on my carhartt, and did not approach what i would call an even coat, nor any where near what a filson looks like (although granted, im sure filson impregnates their cloth at a very early stage in manufacturing).

this is not to say its was unsuccessful - water does pill off most areas - but i was at least hoping for an even smooth-toned coating; right now my jacket looks like it lost a battle with a deep fryer - is the solution to add more wax to the other sections?

[Kmarcin]

Thanks for sharing!
This is exactly what I want to do my Chore Coat. I got only one concern: will the wax soak through the material into the lining? I was planning to use Barbour Thornproof Dressing but their website says that it will soak through and stain your clothes. Have you noticed any signs of this with Filson wax?

[Neuronurd]

The wax did not soak through the lining of my Carhartt.  This was an initial concern, but after seeing how fast the wax dries and how thick it was...that concern immediately went away.  Blow drying the wax really helps it to soak into the fabric, but not enough to go through the liner.  I can tell you that this method worked very well for me!  I wore the coat while clearing 50+ inches of snow this winter and every bit of liquid that hit it rolled off.  Before, when I would snow-blow the driveway, I would come in and the jacket would be soaking wet from melted snow. 

As I mentioned in another comment below, the wax does initially leave the jacket feeling "tacky"...but that went away after a number of uses.  I guess that is one of the downfalls of wax in general though.

[Kmarcin]

Thanks! That's great news. I am going to test it first on a swatch of fabric I got from Carhartt (great custemer service btw) and then my brown Chore Coat is going to get a new look:-) Thank you again for the instructions.

[Neuronurd]

Please let me know how it goes, I am curious as to what other people think about this method.  If you have any questions, please feel free to email me and I can help you out.
Good luck!

[dchall8]

Seems like it should work.  Have you tried it in the rain?  Does the wax have an odor?  Would other waxes work? 

[Neuronurd]

I have not tried it in the rain, but I did have it on while shoveling and blowing snow all last week. It made a world of difference! The snow just brushed off and none sank in to the coat. It was a huge improvement over the last time I shoveled snow.

The wax has a slight smell, almost like lemons. And the jacket was a little tacky to the touch when I first did it. After wearing it for a week, the tackiness and smell are all but gone.

I have no idea if other waxes would work. Filson wax is made especially for jackets/coats, so that is why it was chosen. I would think you would have to use some sort of fabric wax, as others could be too stiff.

My fiance suggested melting a pine candle to add a manly smell! :)

[knife141]

Great instructable!  Gonna have to try this.  Thanks!