I recently bought a denim jacket and I've noticed that many people wax them, unlike denim pants which are starched. I want to wax mine, but I can't find fabric wax where I live. What other alternatives are there?
>>18697859https://www.otterwax.com/collections/waxesget order some otter wax or a similar brand, rub it into the jacket then hit it with a hair dryer or heat gun to melt it in
a brick of regular old paraffin wax will work.you can mix in some microcrystaline/museum wax to make it more flexible and long lasting.wax toilet rings are also decent.
>>18697887Thanks, anon. It's precisely because I can't find Otterwax that I was asking for alternative waxing methods. When I wax the jacket, I'll post the results on this board.
>>18697902paraffin will be stiffer than otterwax, to be clear. some of it may well crumble and flake off of the garment.and toilet rings are usually mixed in to a sort of oilskin solution rather than applied directly.
What does waxing the jacket do
>>18697955puts wax on it.
>>18697955Waterproofing. To a degree, at least.
>>18697955makes it a dirt&dust magnet
wash your jacket and let it dry fully first, then heat it with a blow dryer slightly to warm the fabric so it takes up the wax more evenly. You can apply just beeswax with a block directly but it'll be rather stiff in cold weather and tends to be tacky. If you want to avoid that you can melt the beeswax and mix it with paraffin (more convenient) or linseed oil (more natural/old school). You'll want to apply thin, even layers, melt them into the fabric by warming everything again with the blow dryer, then let it cool/dry before applying more thin layers until you get to the desired effect. You can use a wax melter to keep the wax/oil liquid if you use a mixture. If you use linseed, expect linseed smell and give it enough time to cute between layers. Imagine it like an oil painting on canvas, they need to be applied very thin and left to dry for weeks between applications for good polymerization. Keep in mind that depending on usage you can also just wax strategically, like elbows, edges etc. If you use linseed you can get a long lasting almost leather like finish but it'll takes patience because if you don't let it cure properly between layers or apply too much it will get rancid or mildewy. Go for boiled linseed oil if you try that and try a 2:1 ratio. For a more modern version you can do 2 parts beeswax, 1 part paraffin, 1 part boiled linseed oil.
I saw a girl on TikTok who did it with a large candle and it looked good, maybe that will work for you.
