Showerproofing a cotton jacket

[simonineaston]

See here a video showing how to wax poly-cotton garments. Note that less expensive alternatives to both Fjallraven garments and their wax blocks are available via the usual sources. I am lucky in that I work with a girl of Swedish origin who has taught me how to say "Fjallraven" properly, innit - the trouble is, now I can say it right, no-one knows what I'm talking about...

[thirdcrank]

After PH posted, I did some googling, although some of my ham-fisted attempts brought up hits for leg waxing. Fjallraven was the only thing of this type that came up and some of the reviews suggested it was pricey for what it was so any cheaper alternatives would be interesting.

I do like colin54's vid for a couple of reasons. The jacket I'm talking about could be part of a suit with those trousers; it dates from a time when my younger son was a teenager, into that kind of thing. He's in his mid 40's now and wouldn't be seen dead in it, which is why I have it for gardening. Just as I have part tins of all sorts of stuff, I also have all manner of wax candles dating from the days of "Vote for Ted, spend for days in bed" (four-day week, 1972?) The only downside is that it involves more effort than brushing on something.

As this is turning into All our (or rather my) yesterdays I'll mention that in my own misspent teens I knew a lad from Sweden who taught me all sorts of Swedish, mainly bad language. A few years later at police training centre, one of the older recruits had a Swedish wife. I tried out some of my Swedish on him and he thought I was making it up. On the first weekend he went home and tried it out on his wife and raised some matrimonial eyebrows. Anyway, if I did need anybody to speak Swedish on my behalf, one of my nephews has a Swedish wife, although I only speak English to her, and their four charming bi-lingual children

[colin54]

'Tillvaro', Ikean for tea light , There's Scandinavian for you !
https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/tillvaro-u ... -20300248/

[Ride-sleep-repeat]

You can pick up imitation Barbour Waxed jackets for as little as £25.I bought one in Keswick that I use for everything.I wouldn't want to spend £200 on a Barbour to damage it in the garden/garage etc but £25 is neither here nor there.I've had mine 2 years.It also doubles as a sit mat when I'm messing with the car/bike.
I have a Barbour and TBH there's not a lot of difference other than price!!!

[thirdcrank]

Euraka! Bingo! etc.

As so often happens in this house, I was looking for something else when I found a forgotten stock of nightlights.

I did a trial run by rubbing the candlewax all over a cotton flat cap. I was surprised how little wax it took to cover the cap completely. A quick all-over with a hairdryer and its appearance was back to normal. A test under the kitchen tap showed the water ran straight off, just as in colin54's linked vid - but my sink isn't outdoors. I found it useful to have something to press down on while waxing and I used the plastic cistern ballcock which is attached to our kitchen/garage/gate keys to ensure they are easily found.

This could easily become a hobby. I expect there will be bits I've missed, especially along the seams, but I'll deal with that as and when. In the meantime I've advanced to one sleeve of the jacket.

[PH]

After PH posted, I did some googling, although some of my ham-fisted attempts brought up hits for leg waxing.

How odd, I enter those two words and get several pages of products. This one looks most similar to my label less tin
https://equestrianco.com/products/walke ... protection

One of the hits was also an interesting article about waxing your own material
https://www.artofmanliness.com/articles ... -and-gear/

[thirdcrank]

PH

Thanks for that. I get the impression that a lot of these products are for renovating togs of the Barbour type. The 'Art of Manliness' isn't really something I aspire to - more a matter of accepting being a wimp, especially when it comes to getting cold and wet. I do have a Filson's Mackinaw "I'm a lumberjack" jacket but I'm not really.

Soft as a brush.

I am grateful for everybody contributing. I'm wiser than I was this time yesterday.

[Audax67]

Arriving as usual after the horse has bolted. You could always try this:

https://youtu.be/EGYSTvQ5_gg

Bloke uses a mixture of silicon sealant, such as one puts round a bath, dissolved in white spirit. Swears that the pong goes away if you air it for a day or two, but I'd try it on someone else's duds first.

♫ Nights in White Spirit...

[thirdcrank]

I queried whether my system would be effective on seams. I could try bathroom sealant straight out of the gun