Experimenting with Wax and Oil to make Oilskin

I want to make an oilskin tarp and ground cover. Searching for commercial stuff, I found that they use an oil / wax mixture on their fabric. Not finding anything about this online, I do a series of experiments with different mixtures, to find the perfect blend for the tarp.

[@KB-qp7gk]

Thank you for the experiment! This is exactly what I was looking for! :)

[@TheOlsonOutfit]

Thanks for sharing your results

[@caminodantoo]

Larpwright, you’ve got me thinking, you’re almost relying on a single application, rather than multiple applications.
Maybe your 2/1 oil wax preparation should have been a base layer.
Also, did you shrink your clothe before treatment?

[@romar1581]

Use boiled linseedoil (Leinöfirnis) and beeswax melted together in a 1:1 ratio. Bring it to the required consistency with mineral spirits ( Waschbenzin) or paint thinner. Apply with a broad brush, like the one used to apply paste to wallpaper. Hang to dry for at least two weeks or until the smell of linseedoil dissipates. Beeswax can be obtained from beekeepers quite cheaply, but must be cleaned by boiling it with water and scraping off the grime from the underside of the solidified wax. Refined beeswax is quite costly. Boiled linseedoil is sold in home improvement stores.

[@romar1581]

This recipe comes from a 19th century manual, the only difference is the mineral spirits which replaces the oil of turpentine in the original. You can also add pigments like lampblack, iron oxide pigments ranging from ochre over brick-red to brown or a mix of ochre and lampblack 97% + 3% for olive.

[@caminodantoo]

Isn’t that the difference when dealing with the waxy feel. That turps breaks down the waxy feel, whereas, mineral spirit and isopropyl alcohol, help to apply the wax oil mixture before evaporating.

[@Craftypants7]

Try Silicone and mineral spirits, it’s the best waterproof mixture.

[@ninajager.-.-]

I‘ be done one with lineseedoil…beeswax…..orangeoil….pinetreetar (10:6:4:1). Without any non natural ingredients.

[@ctrip34]

Have you tried doing the canvas in the boiled linseed & mineral spirits. Letting it dry then applying the wax to it? I've been wondering how tentsmiths, coalcracker & that Spain bushcraft companies do theirs.

[@larpwright]

I have not tried that. You'd need to have a fairly big pot and batch to dunk all your fabric in it, and then wring out the excess fluid, before it cools. That would be a hot mess! Potentially hazardous.
I have to guess, but I think the Spanish bushcraft company is going with a continuous fabric web through a hot bath of wax/oil mixture (no spirits.) and then through a pair of heated rollers to precisely press out the excess fluid. After a cooling section, they should be able to wind the material, or hang it out for drying.
(I work in converting / roll-to-roll production. )

[@mj04f]

Are you using boiled or regural linseed oil?

[@larpwright]

Boiled

[@matador1111]

is there a reason that youre not including iron oxide in your mixture?

[@larpwright]

I didn't want to color the samples.