Re-waxing Oil

A traditional wax dressing for reproofing waxed canvas and oilskin. When your gear starts to look pale at the corners and water soaks in instead of beading, this is what puts the wax back.

It is a blend of refined waxes and oils that sits solid in the tin and softens to the consistency of soft butter when you warm it, ready to rub into the fabric.

The oilskin in our tarps, totes, blankets and ponchos comes fully waxed from the mill, ready for weather. Years of use wear that wax thin at the seams, folds and straps. The cotton underneath is fine, it has just lost its dressing. A thin coat rubbed in, warmed through and left to set brings it back, and keeps it going for decades.

The dressing is made by Halley Stevensons in Dundee, Scotland, who have been waxing cotton since 1864. We buy it in bulk and decant it by hand into 100g tins in our workshop in Tasmania. It works on any waxed cotton, including the old waxed jacket in the back of your cupboard.

How to use it

1. Brush it clean. Sponge with cold water only if it needs it, never soap. Let it dry completely.
2. Stand the open tin in a bowl of just boiled water for 5 to 10 minutes, until the wax is like soft butter. Never heat it on a stove or near a flame.
3. Rub thin coats into warm fabric with a lint free cloth, starting with the seams, folds and worn patches.
4. Go over it with a hairdryer on low to melt the wax into the weave.
5. Leave it somewhere warm for 24 hours to set.

The full step by step method, a how-to video and the common mistakes to avoid are in our guide: How to rewax waxed canvas and oilskin.

Caring for a mariner's blanket? For our Oilskin & Wool Adventure Blanket, we recommend the Oilskin/Wool Wash Kit instead. It has a wool detergent for the wool side and a reproofing spray for the oilskin side, so you can look after both without getting wax on the wool.

Details

• 100g tin
• Solid blend of refined waxes and oils. Softens when warmed
• For any waxed cotton: oilskin and waxed canvas bags, tarps, ponchos, jackets, hats and gaiters
• Made by Halley Stevensons, Scotland. Decanted by hand in our Tasmanian workshop
• A little goes a long way. One tin will see a bag through several years of touch ups
• Can also wax plain canvas, but it is a one way change. It darkens the colour and stiffens the cloth
• Not classified as hazardous. Warm in hot water only
• Store between 5 and 35°C, out of the sun. The empty tin goes in metal recycling

Safety data sheet available on request.