Waterproofing duck cloth

[webradbury]

I am thinking about trying my hand at making a duck cloth poor boy bag because, well, because I'm poor. There. I figured since it was my first bag, I would try with something a little more forgiving and easier to find locally. So I was wondering how this material might be waterproofed. I have read that a half/half mix of blo and beeswax can be applied but it may feel waxy or sticky and that won't work for me. I want to keep it natural as far as ingredients/concoctions. Someone school me please! Will

[winemaker]

I use 1/3 turpentine, 1/3 beeswax, 1/3 blo. I mix it in a pot from the flea market as use as much as I need and let the rest harden for later use. This part needs careful planning, after it's painted on I roll it up in newspaper and microwave it for a 30 seconds at a time, after every 30 seconds unroll it and reroll it until all of the wax is absorbed into the canvas. The planning is making sure your wife isn't home, or kids, they will rat you out in a heartbeat. If you microwave a potatoe after and wipe it out, the odor is gone.

[T*O*F]

Squirt half a tube of oil paint in the color of your choice (burnt umber, yellow ochre, etc) into a bucket of Thompson's Water Seal.  Mix it up good and soak the bag for an hour or so, then hang it out to drip dry.

[EricEwing]

Whatever you do will probably be waxy or sticky for a while. Can't really have natural and waterproof without it as far as I know. The good news is it won't be waxy or sticky or even smelly for all that long, just let it dry a bit and it'll be fine.

[webradbury]

Great! Thanks folks.

[Clark Badgett]

Well if you want it to look like something from antiquity. You could use painted cloth, oil cloth or linoleum (not the modern kind). They are all variations of a theme, but the ingredients can vary.

[Curt Lyles]

Will 
    I would use beeswax with some castor oil mixed in it .Melt and blend them in a small cast iron skillet on the stove at the lowest setting.or the micro wave.Just be carefull and go slow .Apply it to the cloth and heat it with a hair dryer or hot air gun.The flash point for beeswax is 450 to 500 degrees.Keep workin it in the material and this will work just fine .Some say use a double boiler to melt the wax ,i have not found it nessisary if you just take it slow ,all you want to do is melt it not boil it.Curt

[Hungry Horse]

 I use BLO, turp., bees wax, equal parts. Once the wax is melted ( use a double boiler )and the ingredients are thoroughly blended, add a  heaping tablespoon full of either concrete tinting powder, or chalk line chalk, in the color you prefer. The powder helps seal the pores of the fabric when it's all dry. If you like living I'd forget I ever heard the part about putting it in the microwave. Go to Harbour Freight, and buy a cheap heat gun, and hang the treated bag up in the shade, and play the heat gun over it until it is dry to the touch.
 Oh by the way Harbour Freight has canvas painters drop cloths that will make a pretty good bag for cheap.

 Hungry Horse

[T*O*F]

By its very nature, heavy duck cloth shrinks when wetted and becomes waterproof.  That's why tents made from it don't leak and you have to loosen the guy ropes when it rains.

[Hungry Horse]

TOF, it doesn't become water proof, it becomes water repellant, which means if something touches the inside it will leak. That is why it has to be treated.

  Hungry Horse

[dogcatcher]

Has anyone added ever pine tar to the beeswax and BLO?    it is a natural ingredient and I think the end product would be better.  Pine tar has been used in boat building .for centuries, dating back to the 9th Century.  It also is mold resistant, but it does make the end product darker.

I read that pine tar was a big export item of the Colonies, so it was readily available.  Works good, and they knew it's capabilities, so it stands to reason they used it on cloth and maybe even leather to make them water resistant. 

[Hungry Horse]

 Pine tar dries hard and resinous after its heated. It would not allow the flexibility required in a shooting bag, or game bag.

     Hungry Horse