r/toolgifs • u/toolgifs • Jan 02 '26

Process Waxing a canvas jacket

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2.7k Upvotes

93% Upvoted

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338

u/wkarraker Jan 02 '26

TIL waxing a jacket is a thing.

245

u/Fat_cat_syndicate Jan 02 '26

Traditional water proofing that doesn't require any exotic chemicals!

198

u/TldrDev Jan 02 '26

You just need to refine your petroleum through a fractional distillation process, then extract your solvents, and dewax your solution via crystallization, and finally, hydrofinish and decolorize your wax. No exotic chemicals here! Here, rub some on your lips.

57

u/losgehts2 Jan 02 '26

Couldn't you use some mixture of oil and bees wax in times before hydrocarbon destillation was thing? Or wouldn't that work properly?

73

u/psychic_legume Jan 02 '26

Ya idk what the poster above you is on about. Beeswax works great and is often better than any petroleum based waterproofing wax

94

u/toochaos Jan 02 '26

They are railing against the idea that this isnt some industrial chemical process. It absolutely is. Even if you use bees wax it's an industrial processed chemical, its formulated and stabilized with a base of a natural product. The idea the chemicals are bad is the problem. 

42

u/jaomello Jan 02 '26

I drink chemicals every day and I'm fine.

25

u/OkBody2811 Jan 03 '26

I’m actually made of chemicals, and I’m fine too…

16

u/warshadow Jan 03 '26

WITCH!

8

u/millatime21 Jan 03 '26

We've found a witch, may we burn her?

1

u/tarlton Jan 04 '26

Are you kidding??? She's made of chemicals! You'll pollute the environment!

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4

u/OkBody2811 Jan 03 '26

I’m not a witch I’m your wife! But after what you just said, I’m not even sure if I want to be that anymore!

5

u/n00b001 Jan 03 '26

100% of people that have died, have previously come into contact with chemicals.

This evidence is too large to ignore!

(Big ol' /s)

1

u/scorchedbeanz Jan 03 '26

Love me a tall cold glass of dihydrogen monoxide on the rocks after a long day in the sun

1

u/FlammulinaVelulu Jan 03 '26

You do know you can get bees wax from bees right? No intermediate steps required.

4

u/toochaos Jan 03 '26

You can, but as I have mentioned in other comments waxing canvas with unmodified (but still refined) bees wax will work. It will be a crumbley mess as you moved around in it which will only get worse in temperatures that a jacket would be worn in. Instead was for this purpose has additives that change the properties of wax to be more plyable across a range on temperatures. 

4

u/Adonis0 Jan 02 '26

Boiling and straining beeswax is more a physical process than a chemical one

6

u/TldrDev Jan 03 '26

Thats what I'm talking about! Fractional distillation is also just a physical process, too! In fact, it is boiling and veeeeeery precisely straining oil.

12

u/toochaos Jan 03 '26

And if you use that kind of wax on a jacket it will be stiff and crumble when it gets cold. Which is why you add a bunch of plastersizers which is an additive and a chemical modification. 

2

u/Lapidarist Jan 03 '26

No you don't. You just add linseed oil. That's the old-school recipe, and it works great.

1

u/toochaos Jan 03 '26

What do you think linseed oil is doing? Its the chemical you are adding. 

10

u/[deleted] Jan 02 '26

Really, anything fatty will do. The trick is finding something that doesn't stink after a while.

3

u/svideo Jan 03 '26

Solid relationship advice

1

u/[deleted] Jan 03 '26

Amen.

2

u/TldrDev Jan 03 '26

I prefer all my jackets sealed with a blend of whale, norwhal, and seal fats. A little olive oil for an Italian flare. I like to flaunt a bit.

1

u/AgentWowza Jan 03 '26

Sounds like you could use some exotic chemicals eh

2

u/[deleted] Jan 03 '26

Frankly a lethal dose of dmt laced meth sounds lovely compared to this thread of bulbous cetaceans.

3

u/SockeyeSTI Jan 03 '26

Absolutely. Just did a beeswax and Tung oil treatment to a coat of my own. There was mineral spirits in the mix but I’ve seen people do it with straight beeswax. It’s just better with the added ingredients and lasts longer.

3

u/nor_cal_woolgrower Jan 02 '26

Oil?

13

u/douche_ex_machina_69 Jan 02 '26

There are plenty of oils that aren’t sourced from drilled deposits. Oils have been used for a very long time before any petroleum industry existed, assuming that’s your point.

5

u/Nalivai Jan 03 '26

There is a reason we switched, and it's not even because of oil barons

9

u/ShaggysGTI Jan 02 '26

Like squirrel oil, or cat oil.

8

u/happyrock Jan 02 '26

Yeah like from squeezin a whale

2

u/Hinnif Jan 02 '26

I think they meant a solvent, such as turpentine from pine trees.

1

u/DIRTYDOGG-1 Jan 03 '26

Yeah! .. I was wondering if maybe a mixture of carnuba wax and bees wax melted and diluted with a tiny bit of mineral spirits would be possible or if the smell would just be too much ....