The bottom three pictures of the bag show the before, drying stage, and beading of the water once the whole bag has been dried. When we first poured water on the bag, before it was treated, it beaded up a little. However, not long after the water was left to sit on the canvas it began to soak into the bag. The wax will give the bag or canvas a "jelled" look before it is dried.
In the second picture on the bottom you can see the "jelled" look and the dry area near the ink stain.
Finally the last picture on the bottom right is after the whole bag has been treated and dried. There were a couple of spots that didn't bead as well, but a second coat of wax would take care of that. You can see that the water just sits in a bubble on the surface of the bag.
This one for example. Water proofing. I was specifically looking for a more natural way to create a water proofing agent that might be done in an emergency situation.
This video from SurjRacer56 was one that I couldn't wait to try.
The sound quality wasn't the best, but if you pay attention you'll see what needs to be done.
***Here's is the recipe.***
1 lb All Natural Bees Wax
8 oz Boiled Linseed Oil
8 oz Gum Turpentine.
You'll want a can or pot that will only be used for this purpose. And a stirring stick. We picked our stick up at the Home Depot when we purchased our Turpentine and Linseed Oil.
In the video SurjRacer56 uses a single burner camp stove. We used our propane camp stove.
I'd highly recommend that you melt and mix the ingredients out doors. The fumes this concoction create could be a problem, and it is simply better to be safe.
Pull or cut apart the bees wax into smaller bits. It will melt a little bit faster. Melt the bees wax at a very low temperature. You can use a double boiler, and for safety that is recommended. I melted the wax on a camp stove at a very low temperature in a #10 can.
While the wax is melting, stir constantly. Only use fresh bees wax. We tried our hand at some long stored wax but it was too dry and would not melt properly.
Once the wax is melted, remove it from the heat. Next pour in your 8 oz of Boiled Linseed Oil. Stir well. Then add in your 8 oz Gum turpentine. Again stir well. Finally let your mixture sit until it solidifies. This can take a while. Between relative temperatures and the ability of the Bees Wax to hold onto the heat, our batch took several hours to cool. We let it sit over night.
The wax will be soft like butter.
In the video SurjRacer56 used a cloth or rag to rub the mixture onto his canvas bag. We simply rubbed in the soft wax with our gloved hands. We made sure to make the coating as even as possible. Anywhere that the wax coat seemed a bit thick we simply used our gloved fingernails to scrape and then re-apply the wax in a new area. We coated the handles, seams, and even the zipper.
Once we had everything coated we used the heat gun to dry the bag. The whole process from start to finish was about 90 minutes. Not including the amount of time it took for the wax to cool.
I purchased the bees wax from Amazon.com as 2 1 lb blocks or slabs. It was $17.95 for the 2 lbs.
I found both the Boiled Linseed Oil and the Gum Turpentine in 1 quart containers at Home Depot for less than $8.00 each. Boiled Linseed Oil, $7.98 Gum Turpentine $6.97. Because they come in quart containers you'll need to measure them to 8 oz. However, 8 oz is the same as 1 cup. (Avoid buying the turpentine and Linseed oil from craft stores. The price for both was nearly tripled.)
The total cost per ounce is around $.36 cents. Considering the costs on some of the other water proofers we've purchased in the past this is very reasonable.
There is a bit of a smell especially before the wax has been dried. The smell will fade over time. And in my opinion is no worse than any of the sprays and commercially prepared water proofers.
We did two bags and used less than half of what we mixed together. I'd use this again, and am already searching out other items that I can use this on, including a pair of out door boots I have.
The only other thing we are waiting for, to see if we can dry the second bag using only the heat and sun of the day. After all, what good will it be if I can't dry it without electricity?
**UPDATE: Since adding this recipe to my blog, I have had the chance to water proof a couple of pairs of boots. One leather, one leather like. Both have a collar on them that is made of synthetic material. Materials that are not natural, i.e.; nylon, faux leather, plastics, are all susceptible to the heat from the heat gun. Use caution. These materials can melt or even burn when too much heat is applied to them. If your heat gun has dual temperatures use the lowest setting around these and quick passes rather than slow.
The leather on one pair of boots was a fawn color. In this case the proofer did alter the color of the leather making it a bit darker. This was not a problem for me, rather, something to be aware of.
Around the soles of the shoes there may be excess wax once you apply the heat gun. Simply wipe up with a paper towel. **
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