Tin Cloth Hunting Pants

I turned some double front Carhartt pants into oil skin upland game pants.

Step 1: Get Some Pants.

These are Carhartt double front heavy duck pants. About $50 new.

Step 2: Make Some Goop.

- Beeswax
- Boiled linseed oil
- Hot plate
- Pan you don't mind trashing
- Cheap paint brush

Roughly equal parts wax to oil but a little heavier on the oil. Makes it spread and penetrate better. Heat it up to just past melting but be careful it will smoke easily. If it's too cool it will harden faster then you can spread it.

Step 3: Spread It On.

Work in small sections. Get your seams well.

Step 4: Apply Heat.

I've heard of some cats using hair dryers or torches. Have fun with that. I used this heat gun and it worked pretty slick. Hang on to the gun receipt. The first one didn't like this much work.
Work your way around your article however seems best. Apply enough heat to melt the wax so it is absorbed into the material and a little beyond so it starts to boil back up just a bit, then move on.

Step 5: Get It All.

Don't forget the sides and crotch. I did not go all the way inside the pockets. Apply some more to areas that look streaked and reheat. The final product will come out feeling waxy and greasy (go figure), get out there and do some good bush whacking and it will work itself out. You can practice first by making the goop out of toilet bowl rings and linseed oil on an old canvas bag or sneakers.
*Side note* Any breathability your material might have had will be gone so be ready to get a little clammy, especially as they get broken in.

Now quit reading about it and go do it!

Step 6: Things I Done Learnt

It's been a few years since I published this and some better practices have come about:

1. Don't use brand new pants.
The pair I used in this example were and I can't get them to loosen up for the life of me. I've made a few other pairs since, out of old loose Carhartts, and they turned out great.

2. I've landed on a better recipe.
Unfortunately the last time I made a batch was a year or two ago so I don't remember exactly, but I believe it was 3 parts oil to 1 part wax. That seems like a lot of oil as I write this, but I was making it in 12 oz batches and I know it wasn't 3 parts wax. Try it out, see what happens.
I also got some raw linseed oil to try which I'm looking forward to as boiled has chemicals I was unaware of.

3. Throw them in the dryer.
I have a sacrificial pair of Carhartts that I toss in the dryer with the new waxed pair. The unwaxed pair will take up some of the excess. It's not a lot, they won't become all waxed and stiff themselves, just enough to even things out.
I use low heat but milage may vary.
I've not had any problems with it in my dryer but if you're concerned, go to a laundromat.
Takes about 20 minutes or so.

Comments

[Mynedd]

Boiled linseed oil is highly flammable when hot. Be very careful. Baby oil is much safer.

[kenlukethe2]

Did this today and when I finished the wax wasn't very even. I threw them in the oven on 225 for about 10-15 minutes, folding them in different ways to keep even heat. When they were "done" I pulled them out with a pair of tongs and let them cool. In the end the wax looks very even and I'm pleased. As a side note, if you do this, there will be a light linseed oil smoke smell but 225 is too low of a temp to cause any real issue. Thanks for the post Nathan!

[Mynedd]

I mixed 60/40 ratio baby oil(it's mineral oil) and beeswax in a double boiler in an old cup. It cools into a large round disc. This is then easy to apply to cloth for as many times as you want. Heat with hot air gun gently . Job done.

[dziegler1]

Where is a good source for bees wax? (I don't know any bees personally...)

[RussellC22]

I found that turning the pants inside out and running 2 cycles in the local Laundromat with a pair of old boots melted the wax very evenly and the pounding from the boots kept the fabric from getting really stiff as it dried.

[The-Only-Duke]

these are great, definitely gonna make a pair :)

[discostu956]

What's the benefit of doing this to your pants?

[drosenkranz]

it makes them waterproof and fire resistant

[livichris]

won't the oil and wax make them very flammable?

[rherman1966]

I am not an expert on the materials here but this is my best explanation:

Linseed oil is a 'drying oil', meaning that it oxidises slowly over time to form a polymer-based film; it is a similar but much slower chemical reaction to combustion. This is why oil paintings are so incredibly durable and why after a few months, there is no 'oil' left in the fabric to burn. Wax only burns if it is in a vapour form. In a candle, the heat of the lit flame vaporises the wax directly below it, creating a self-feeding system. For the wax in the cloth to burn, it would have to first be heated to a tremendous level, even if it wasn't already bound up in the dried oil film. Last, the cloth itself is both largely shielded from oxidisation by the physical barrier of the heat-insulating oil and wax and has now a significant amount of mass added, requiring a larger amount of energy to be applied to raise its temperature. (In fact, the 'drying' of 'drying oil' is somewhat of a misnomer because nothing is evaporating as in a water-based binder such as acrylic; oxygen from the air is actually being added, further increasing the total mass.)

I hope this little science lesson helps to explain why oil cloth is largely inflammable and why it is especially ideal for high heat activities like the welding mentioned above.

[drosenkranz]

https://www.instructables.com/id/Tincloth here is an instructable where the guy puts it to the test

[drosenkranz]

also search google there is a lot of information on tin cloth

[unclelar]

This is the same thing that I use on my hatchets and axes,both the wood and the axe heads.Warm everything up a bit first so it soaks in better,apply liberally let sit for 5 or 10 min and wipe off remaining wax.I reheat it again to help it soak in a little more then reapply again if you want.Waterproofs the wood and helps stop the head from rusting.I actually got the recipe from an old gunsmith 50 years ago who told me that is was used by the military back in the day for protecting their weapons and some leather goods loke as boots and such

[nathanlsmock]

I have used the linseed on my knives but not with the wax. Does it make the handles slick?

[unclelar]

They are no slicker than with the oil,and the wax doesn't make it sticky like some think it would.Just wipe off any excess and polish it down like you would with the oil.It really does help to preheat what ever you are doing(I put my axe heads in the oven@200 for a few minutes,to long and it is to hot to handle) I wear rubber gloves and just smear it on with my hands.

[glorybe]

I have preserved large equipment that would get rained on often with common lard that I melted and applied with a paint brush. It looks sort of nasty but it works and no rust formed at all. But it is very difficult to remove after a few months. A steam cleaner might be the cheapest way to clean it up.

[glorybe]

I could be wrong but back in 1916 I think the military used shark liver oil on the rifles. It was pretty wet "over there".

[BitisG]

Nice write up. From my experience I would cut the linseed oil out, it leave a strong thick smell. Normally I will do half beeswax, paraffin wax, Vitamin E oil and some other type of oil. Unless you can find odorless linseed oil?

[jmwells]

Seriously, iron the paper first. The heat gives it a slick finish.

[jmwells]

I would recommend placing newspaper between the cloth and the iron.