How-to Wax A Jacket And Pants For Cold Weather Survival Tutorial

Learn how-to manufacture paraffin based wax cotton using a solar wax melter. Watch how I make wax cotton. Maybe this video will give you some good ideas. Do not put wax cotton clothing into the dryer. To clean wipe with a damp towel.

The outside temperature needs to be at least 25 Celsius or 77 Fahrenheit with no clouds in the sky for this process to work. Strong sunlight is required to make the process work.

Remember that paraffin wax and also other waxes and oils are flammable. Do not use the clothing in any situation where there is the possibility of the clothing catching on fire. For example, wearing wax cotton clothing while welding is probably a bad idea.

When I make the clothing, I only melt wax outside and I always use a double boiler to ensure that the wax doesn’t get too hot and starts to burn. I make sure that I am in an open space outside away from anything which can catch on fire. I ask myself the question: “If this project starts to burn by accident, will this cause a problem?” I always have a fire extinguisher and shovel easily accessible when I am working on the wax cotton. I know how to use my fire extinguisher.

The game plan is to take 100% cotton clothing, melt paraffin wax and paint the entire garment with wax. The wax covered garment is then placed into a solar wax melter until the wax on the garment melts and is absorbed by the cotton clothing, almost like a sponge absorbing water. Once the clothing is taken out of the solar melter and cools down, it will become very stiff. The stiff clothing then has to be broken in. Once the clothing is completely saturated in wax, it will become wind and water resistant and is now useful in cold, wet and windy conditions.

The clothing material should be 100% cotton, it should be woven, not knitted. The cloth must have a tight weave. I think thicker or heavier cotton material such as canvas works best. However other cotton materials such as twill can also work well. There are many different types of tightly woven cotton material. Experiment and find out which material works best for you. In my experience, the thicker woven cotton materials work best when using the paraffin process.

I size my clothing a couple of sizes bigger than what I normally wear. The clothing should be very big and very loose, because this allows a warm air bubble to form inside the clothing, which is very important in cold weather conditions. The oversized clothing also makes it easier to move around, because the clothing can be a little bit stiff. The result is almost like wearing a wax treated canvas tent. During really cold weather, I like to wear wool underneath the wax cotton clothing. The idea is to have the jacket drape down over the pockets and zipper of the pants, because these areas sometimes leak water.

This is primarily cold weather clothing. In my experience, this clothing does not function well in hot weather, it’s very uncomfortable. This clothing is quite water resistant, but it can sometimes leak water. Wax cotton is also highly wind resistant. This clothing works best in cold, wet and windy conditions. Wax cotton clothing is often much less expensive than high tech outdoor clothing. Wax cotton is also quite tough and it works well even when muddy; it just slips through the brush. It gives someone with limited finances another option.

The clothing is also quite inexpensive to make, and doesn’t take very much time to manufacture compared to some other wax cotton techniques. Many candles are made of paraffin wax, and they’re cheap and easily available. I just melt down the candles, and then paint the wax onto the cotton clothing. Second hand shops are often a good source of inexpensive cotton clothing.

Formula

It’s possible to use a variety of different waxes to make wax cotton. I often prefer the pure paraffin wax. Sometimes I even use scented paraffin candles. At times, I add a little bit of medical grade mineral oil or liquid paraffin to soften the paraffin a little bit and make it less prone to cracking. It’s also possible to use bees wax, which gives the clothing a really good smell. Bees wax tends to crumble while paraffin tends to crack. Some people combine paraffin wax, bees wax and mineral oil to get a different result. I don’t use more than 20% mineral oil. The mineral oil makes the wax mixture softer and oilier. Flexible microcrystalline wax might be another option. You’ve got to experiment and find out what works best for you.

History

Wax cotton and oilskin clothing has been used for hundreds of years. Tall ship sailors treated their sails with fish oil to stop the wind from blowing through the cotton sail. This made the sail more efficient. Eventually, the sailors made clothing out of the oiled sails, and the clothing was effective in cold, wet and windy conditions typically encountered by sailors. Cowboys also used wax cotton clothing to stay comfortable during bad weather.

Stay safe and have a Great Day!