Oh, this is one of my favorite subjects! I have waxed many a fabric in my day!
The best and least effort way to wax fabric involves dissolving the wax in kerosene and then dipping the fabric into it.... But this is advanced and I wouldn't recommend it for completed garments/items! The more common way to re-waxed something is as follows. It is a bit time consuming and can lead to some on un-evenness if you glob on too much wax in any one place. So going slowly will result in a better final product. 1. Clean the garment/item is a brush. I reckon a soft-bristle brush the best, if you have a horse-hair brush made for show polishing, that is the best choice. A thorough brushing of any areas you intend to apply wax is best. 2. Grab a good ol' bar of beeswax. Just straight beeswax, nothing fancy. I reckon you could use a beewax candle (if you are sure it's beewaxs and not petrol-based) But it's likely to break and what not, so bars are the best. I think Riv used to sell beeswax bars back when they had the Bike-Book-Camp store in downtoon Dub Cee, maybe longer? I think Grant used to use it to finish axe handles, amongst other things. 3. Now you's got rub that beeswax into the fabric, like a crayon! Engage your inner toddler. Again, take your time, do not go hog-wild and over apply or you might and up with patchey results (ask me how I know??) Thin, even coats of wax work best here. 4. Now you got to heat the wax! You got a couple of options: I find irons work best. I actually have a dedicated waxing iron (Did I mention that I'm into this???) But definitely do not use your good iron that you use on your Sunday best, that'll ruin it. But if you have an old iron that you want to dedicate to re-waxing, this is your chance! Alternative, or in conjunction, as mentioned previous you can use a heat gun or blow dryer. I say "in conjunction" because you might find cervices/seams that build up or otherwise trap waxed that the iron can not properly melt and require some forced hot-air. With either option of iron, blow-dryer, heat gun: start with low heat and go slow. Turn up heat incrementally. It should take time: you aren't trying to melt the wax instantly. Too much heat can warp fabric, damage leather, and potentially burn the fabric. 5. At this point I like to give the item a good brushing again. Maybe it's not necessary? But it's how I learned. And to me, waxing fabric is like polishing a shoe and that's what you do after applying wax to a shoe, so I do it. But maybe its optional? 6. Repeat step 3-5 as necessary to achieve the desired finish. 7. Once you got your got your Sackville bag/Filson Tin Cloth coat/LL Bean Waxed canvas backpack looking like new again, take a photo and post it up on the RBW Owner bunch for all of us to enjoy! Ben On Wednesday, October 1, 2025 at 7:27:02 PM UTC-7 Minh wrote: > to tack on to this question, does anyone have tips on cleaning the bag > before reapplying the wax? i have a pretty dirty bag that needs a bit of > deep cleaning. > > On Wednesday, October 1, 2025 at 10:18:30 PM UTC-4 exliontamer wrote: > >> I've used Otter Wax and a heat gun on everything from canvas backpacks to >> Sackville bags with great results. >> >> On Wednesday, October 1, 2025 at 9:10:51 PM UTC-5 Nick Payne wrote: >> >>> Nikwax sell a couple of products: "Cotton Proof" and "Wax Cotton Proof". >>> I've used the Cotton Proof on cotton japara tents and Carradice saddlebags >>> - diluted it about 1:9 and brushed it on. Seems to work OK. I assumed that >>> the Wax Cotton Proof was the same product pre-diluted in a hand spray >>> bottle, but I haven't used that. >>> >>> Nick Payne >>> >> -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/e4850ae8-24d1-4975-bcde-9e3039ce0880n%40googlegroups.com.
