Turning an Instructables apron into an Indestructible apron: Water-proof, flame resistant and easy-clean. Could be it turns a knife too!
Ever wonder why some canvas, like the stuff that a Carhart jacket is made of, is so much tougher than, say, a drop cloth? The secret is 'tincloth,' invented in some year by some guy --probably an American-- who needed something tougher than canvas or denim-- tough enough for fighting dragosaurs with a claw hammer on horseback across the Great Plains. Tincloth is that kind of tough stuff.
To demonstrate the wonder of tincloth I took a shower in my clothes and tried to set myself on fire. Allow me to explain...
Ever wonder why some canvas, like the stuff that a Carhart jacket is made of, is so much tougher than, say, a drop cloth? The secret is 'tincloth,' invented in some year by some guy --probably an American-- who needed something tougher than canvas or denim-- tough enough for fighting dragosaurs with a claw hammer on horseback across the Great Plains. Tincloth is that kind of tough stuff.
To demonstrate the wonder of tincloth I took a shower in my clothes and tried to set myself on fire. Allow me to explain...
Remove these ads by
Signing UpStep 1: A simple recipe
Tincloth is made by coating canvas in oils that dry and harden, namely beeswax and boiled linseed oil. To demonstrate this simple process I will be coating my Instructables apron. The reason I made gallons of the tincloth mixture is that I am also coating a 20'X24' canvas tent that I sewed for winter camping. I only used about a cup and a half for the apron.
Equal parts:
beeswax (I used toilet gasket rings for this. Done dirt cheap.)
boiled linseed oil
(Optionally you can add turpentine. I saw it referenced in a few places while I was doing my research. I opted against using it since it seemed to increase drying time.)
Melt and mix the beeswax and the linseed oil. It doesn't have to reach a certain temp, just hot enough to ensure complete combination.
Equal parts:
beeswax (I used toilet gasket rings for this. Done dirt cheap.)
boiled linseed oil
(Optionally you can add turpentine. I saw it referenced in a few places while I was doing my research. I opted against using it since it seemed to increase drying time.)
Melt and mix the beeswax and the linseed oil. It doesn't have to reach a certain temp, just hot enough to ensure complete combination.
Visit Our Store »
Go Pro Today »
Has anyone used this formula to RE-COAT any sort of Barbour type item? I just scored two jackets--one Thorndale (some say better-n-Barbour!) and a KAKADU of Australia that some dude on ebay had no clue how to list etc. Now these are slightly used and one is much too small for anyone here but the Thorndale--just might become a new biking jacket. But I wonder if re-coating it would be a good thing? I think Barbour sells a re-coating kit but if I remember right it was--not cheap.
And these altho not at all "smelly" don't at all smell like the AMAZING Barbour "Crayola" scent. That I LOVED.
OH--BTW---asked about those US toilet rings ---since sometimes it does pay to be married to a Big Box That Is Not Orange store manager---and he assures me that they are INDEED MADE OUT OF BEESWAX. Since just the other day I saw a chunk of beeswax at the "Health Food Store" for a whopping $18 this is good to know! In CANADA he sez they use silicone or something.
I love that smell too.
Thank you for the confirmation about the beeswax. I hope that this is the case, if only so that my local hardware store people can restore their record of 100% accuracy.
Local hardware guys are very knowledgeable--if you don't get the "New Kid" in Sept after the "Old Kid" goes off to college! My hubs sells these rings so----.
I should just go and buy myself a box of Crayola and sniff. Altho the "Re-dressing" for the KAKADU was only $12 Aus I did NOT however ask about the SHIPPING on that!
Here's a photo of a typical viking tent: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DpdHJmOomB0/UAw_vNlhxkI/AAAAAAAACh4/SVZRGc53hrk/s1600/Viking+kollasj+2.jpg
They were probably originally made of wool or linen (from the flax plant). Now they make them mostly in linen fabric, because that's cheaper. The frame of the tent is quite simple, but the top "logs" are often decorated by beautiful carvings, often with dragon/snake heads. We have a local viking organization, called Agder Vikinglag, and every year there is a viking market about 8 km from where we live. I've heard that there are quite many people with Norwegian ancestors in certain part of the USA. I guess it's because of the great emigration in the 1800. About 800 000 Norwegians went oversea to USA.
Sounds fantastic, if you ask me :)
Marxmellow, how did you do your volume measurements? Did you melt the wax first? I'm really hoping that you got all Archimedes and submerged your wax in water to determine its displacement...
Also, has anyone tried this on fabrics besides cotton, or different types of weave? I'm guessing that this process would result in one very uncomfortable cotton T-shirt, but I still wonder if it would work on tighter weaves, higher threadcounts, synthetics, ugly wool sweaters, etc.
I ask because I have an insulated Carhartt coverall that's great for working outside in sub-zero temperatures, but isn't very water-repellent. It's outer is made of "1000-denier Cordura, water-repellent nylon", according to Carhartt. I'd considered spraying it with some sort of commercial waterproofing spray, but this DIY technique might be just the trick, assuming that the formulation won't degrade the nylon over time or something...
the 1:5 ratio (no turpentine) I mixed before for another project was more like applying shoe polish.
I'm sure the water resistance is similar, but there's no way I'm taking a propane torch to my boys' new bunkbed just yet... I just finished yesterday and their room isn't even ready for it yet.
Does it have to be the hard-to-find pure stuff (usually sold as "heat-treated/polymerized/stand") or will the common, fake stuff made of raw linseed oil, petroleum solvents, and metallic drying accelerants do?
This site actually says to use raw linseed oil and provides instructions similar to this instructable. (This thread may also be relevant)
Also, am I correct in concluding from those links that the linseed is just to provide a compromise between water-resistance and stiffness? (Thinning out the beeswax to lower stiffness while replacing it with something that, while not as good at repelling water, does the job without being stiff)
...and I'm actually kind of curious why this stuff doesn't burst into flame since beeswax+cotton wick is the recipe for a candle and linseed oil-soaked rags pose an auto-ignition risk according to Wikipedia.
Finally, does anyone know if either kind of "boiled linseed oil" (fake or genuine) has a shelf life and how to test if it's still usable? We have a bottle that has been sitting in the laundry room alongside some paint cans and other such stuff since we moved into this house over 15 years ago.
I used raw flax (linseed) for this very (the fact that it is drying oil) purpose on my cast iron frying pans and I have yet to see one of them burst into flames from using such oil.
So while the mixture sounds like a recipe for a fire tinder the fact that is calls for boiled linseed oil makes it less of a fire hazard once it's dry. Thus I believe that the author of this instructable is 'spot on' with the fire retardant properties that he had observed.
Now I will say that this may work just as well with tung oil because it too is a drying oil.
The reason that wet linseed oil covered rags are a combustion hazard is because part of the drying process is oxidization. When allowed to dry as described by the original author I see no auto combustion hazard unless you wish to make a stack of these while making them instead of hanging them up to dry.
DDC
Let us know how it goes for you. Let's refine the process together.
I figure that my bodily health is only here for a little while so I may as well use it up while it's strong. It will go away whether I risk it or not. Then I'll die and that'll be fine too. Yippie ki-yay.
Maybe you could teach me something about Arduino. I know nothing.
Cheers, friend.
Half of my components got held up because some of the items in the order were out of stock.
(I'm experienced in various programming languages but the last time I seriously did much with electronics was when my age was measured in single digits. It was only recently that I re-evaluated my old view that things other than software could be affordable enough to buy just to putter around with.)
I am a beekeeper, so I have access to lots of bees wax.
I need something like a rubber apron for safety while I mix acids. Do you think this cloth would be acid proof?
I need something like a rubber apron for safety while I mix acids. Do you think this cloth would be acid proof?
( toddlers in training :-) )
for that alone you deserve a vote ;-D
Good luck!
I love this gorgeous lamp, BTW: http://www.instructables.com/id/Lotus-Pendant-Lamp-Bent-wood/
:)
DDC
Use a double boiler type thing to melt the wax; add the linseed oil. Just heat it enough for it to mix. Then add the turps. mix well and then use or keep for later. It looks like margarine if you keep it. Once you have it applied (with a paint brush or cloth) then either put it in the sun or heat it with a blow drier (rub with a saturated cloth too to get it in good.) In a week it will stop with the smell and not be so transferrable to anything else. I have used it on lots of things and it is great. Try it on old kit bags or backpacks and you'll love it. I have a pair of overalls i use to process my deer skins and i brushed it on them heavy in the front. The yuckies just dont soak in. Good stuff.