Making a trail tarp???

[Curmudgeon74]

I have a king size egytian cotton sheet that I want to make into a trail tarp. What do I treat it with, I heard of deck sealer ??? Thanks for any help...

 

[mrclean100]

I needed to do something like that not too long ago . I looked online and found a guy somewhat local that made and sold tipis . I called him and asked how he waterproofed them and he directed me to my local hardware store for a "tompsons" like product . If you can find someone local he could tell you something available in your area . Otherwise , yea , something like tompsons water seal .

 

I have a king size egytian cotton sheet...

Do you mean a "sheet", like for a king size bed, or do you mean you have canvas?

 

[Joe Yanta]

I have been thinking along the same lines. I haven't tried it yet. I noticed where ever oil cloth coats and jackets are sold they also sell a tin of the wax/oil compound used in treating the cloth. I have three tins to do a project with. I am going to treat some cloth with it. I am too paranoid to use the linseed oil treatment because of the spontaneous combustion associated with it.

Joe

 

[kansas_volunteer]

According to the Thompson's WaterSeal site this is the thing to use:

Thompson's® WaterSeal® Sport Seal® Leather & Fabric Protector

It comes in spray cans.

Nikwax for fabrics would probably be a very cood choice.

 

[David Shaw]

I have made two oilcloths using boiled linseed oil and red iron oxide. Haven't combusted yet. Biggest problem I've had is tackiness and I do mean tacky. You might check into red barn paint if you want the period correct look. I would be concerned about the durability of cotton sheeting as opposed to canvas.

 

[Trapper]

I've made several oilcloths. 4 qts boiled linseed oil,1 qt mineral spirits and 2ounces Japan drier(sometimes I'll add an ounce more). Now mid ya, roll this up in a ball before it's dried and ya might end up with a fire. Mix all together put in the egyptian cotton, wring out all the excess, now hang on a cloths line till dry. I did mine in the dead of winter by hanging in the garage. I kept checking for any signs of heat, like my dear old dad said(professional firefighter) ya need to have it rolled up to create the heat while drying, relax. It was dry in 3 days. Used it this summer, weighs only about 3 lbs(king sized sheet)roughly 8x8 ft. I'm doing the same thing using 600 count cotton to make a rain coat for hunting....A long weskit with a cape to cover my hands... I'll be able to tuck the flinter lock under the cape when it rains. Just my 2 cents. Try it you'll like it!

 

[Rod Lassey]

I used linseed oil/red ochre barn paint on one side only. There is an article on producing oilcloths in a past Museum of the Fur Trade Quarterly. The mix they used historically was pretty thick, the illustration in the MOFT article shows a fellow using a trowel to apply the mix. They also used a sizing applied prior to the oil application. This thicker mix on canvas does add to the weight, but is correct, and it certainly is waterproof.

My old oilcloth is showing it's age, so I'm saving my pennies for some Russian sheeting this time around instead of cotton canvas.

Rod

 

[pichou]

THE PAINTER AND VARNISHER'S ӬGUIDE 1804

Of wax cloth. Oil cloth.
It is possible that the term wax cloth, given to some cloth prepared in a certain manner, originated from the first trials, in which wax perhaps formed a part of the composition; or it may have arisen from one of those modes of concealment, so often employed by inventors, who endeavour to take advantage of their researches, or of a happy discovery. It is, however, certain that this denomination is absolutely foreign to the articles of this manufacture, in which wax is not uted.
The art of preparing these cloths is one of those vvhich escaped the ingenious and useful undertaking of the I :ite Academy of Sciences at Paris, entitled Description des Arts et Metiers. I am acquainted with no author who mentions it even indirectly. What I shall ofler, in this work, will be only a sketch of the art, the processes of which, in regard to the grounds and the application of the coloured designs, are so varied and interesting as to justify and even render valuable a detailed description of them. The manufacture of these cloths, considered under a political point of view, is not unworthy the attention of the public. I shall, however, confine myself to some particular experiments, and to the knowledge I have acquired in regard to this kind of labour: it will be sufficient to prove that the preparation of oiled silks and oil-skin is connected with that of varnishes, and dependent on it.
This art originated in Holland, in consequence, no doubt, of the wants of commerce, which consumes such a large quantity of articles proper for packing goods. It is probable that the first attempts werfe undertaken with a view to this end, which seemed to insure to them a constant and extensive sale. It is probable also that the first processes admitted the use of wax, and that the cloth first manufactured might have a resemblance to those packing-cloths which come from India, and which are covered with a waxy substance.
The name of wax cloth, which was then proper for them, surviving the composition, may have served to denote, till the present time, finer compositions, executed with greater care, and yet less expensive; as wax is of more value than the substances now used in preparing these cloths, which are employed for so many useful purposes.
If Holland was the birth-place of this kind of manufacture on a large scale, it is possible that the first processes may have been known and followed in neigh- touring countries. This much, at any rate, is certain, that the extent since given to the manufacture, by admitting a certain finish in the designs, must contribute to multiply the enterprises. There are indeed excellent manufactories of this kind in the ci-devant Austrian Netherlands, in Germany, and particularly at Franckfort, where the workshops altogether occupy a very considerable extent.
Every manufacturer and every workman has his own compositions and methods, which he applies to the kind of work intrusted to him. The process for com* mon varnished cloths is very simple; but, as I have already said, there are others which require more in- telligence on the part of the workman, as the same care is necessary as for painted cloths. In these varnished cloths the art of the colourist is put to the test; because the finishing, the happy mixture of the colours, the richness of their variety, the natural appearance of the shades, and the delicacy of the strokes, concur to enhance their value, and consequently to secure tp them a speedy sale.
But if the difference of the labour has so powerful an influence on this kind of manufacture, it may readily be conceived that the quality of the cloth must contribute towards the same end; for it is this quality alone which determines the kind of painting that ought to be employed. Varnished cloths, therefore, of different de- grees of fineness arc manufactured.
Common wax cloth or varnished cloth.
The manufacture of this kind of cloth is very simple, and may be carried on at very little expense. The cloth and Unseed oil are the principal articles required for the establishment.
Common canvas, of an open and coarse texture, is extended on large frames, placed under sheds, the sides of which are open, so as to afford a free passage to the external air. The manner in which the cloth is fastened to these frames is very simple and convenient; for when it becqmes slackened, during the application of the varnish paste, it can be again tightened. It is fixed to each side of the frame by a kind of hooks which catch the edge of the cloth, and by pieces of strong packthread passing through holes at the other extremity of the hooks, which are tied round move- able pegs placed in the lower edge of the frame. The mechanism by which the strings of a violin are stretched or unstretched, will give some idea of the arrangement of the pegs employed for extending the cloth in this apparatus. By these means the cloth can be easily stretched or relaxed, when the oily varnish has exercised an action on its texture in the course of the operation. The whole being thus arranged, a liquid paste made with drying oil, which may be varied at pleasure, is applied to the cloth.
Liquid paste with drying oil.
Mix Spanish white or tobacco pipe clay, or any other argillaceous matter, with water, and leave it at rest some hours, which will be sufficient to separate the argillaceous parts and to produce a sediment. Stir the sediment with a broom, to complete the division of the earth; and after it has rested some seconds decant the turbid water into an earthen or wooden vessel. By this process the earth will be separated from the sand and other foreign bodies, which are precipitated, and which must be thrown away. If the earth has been washed by the same process, on a large scale, it is divided by kneading it. The supernatant water is thrown aside, and the sediment is placed in sieves, on pieces, of cloth, where it is suffered to drain: it is then mixed up with oil rendered drying by a large dose of litharge, that is to say, about a fourth of the weight of the oil. The consistence of thin paste being given to the mixture, it is spread over the cloth by means of an iron spatula, the length of which is equal to that of the breadth of the cloth. This spatula per- forms the part of a knife, and pushes forwards the excess of matter above the quantity sufficient to cover the cloth.
Though the earth mixed in this manner still contains water, it readily unites with the boiled oil. The water passes into the tissue of the cloth, which facilitates its evaporation j and the cloth at the same time acquires the property of not suffering itself to be too much penetrated by the oily varnish. However liquid the varnish may be, it does not transude to the inferior siuv face of the cloth.
When the first stratum is dry a second is applied. The inequalities produced by the coarseness of the cloth, or by an unequal extension of the paste, are smoothed down with pumice stone. The pumice stone is reduced to powder, and rubbed over the cloth with a piece of soft serge or cork dipped in water. A whole pumice stone, one of the faces of which has been ground smooth, may also be employed. The cloth must then be well washed in water to clean it; and, after being suffered to dry, a varnish of gum lac dissolved in linseed oil boiled with turpentine, and which is liquefied with essence of turpentine, if necessary, is then applied to it.
This preparation produces yellowish varnished cloth. When you are desirous of rendering it black, nothing will be necessary but to mix lamp black with the Spanish white, or tobacco-pipe clay, which forms the basis of the liquid paste. Various shades 6f gray may be obtained, according to the quantity of the lamp black. which is added. Umber, Cologne earth, and different ochrey argillaceous earths, the nature of which has been explained in the chapter on colours, may be used to vary the tints, without causing any adddition to the expense.

:snore: :snore: :snore:

 

[Curmudgeon74]

Yes sir a cotton bed sheet. My friend made one and I was just wanting input on different sealing materials used and what worked best for folks. This site is the best for good input. Thanks fellars...

 

[Va.Manuf.06]

Bedsheet material is too thin (fragile!) for what you want, when painted it will tear like paper....
The following link will give you some options, read well and heed all warnings:
http://www.geocities.com/union_guard/oilcloth_and_painted_accoutermen.htm

Yes, Civil War period but the recipes are authentic for the earlier periods as well. You might also try the Scarlet Scarab if you decide to have someone else do it for you, about 2/3 of the way down the page if it doesn't take you right there:
http://www.scarletscarab.com/scarlet4.htm#O

 

[kansas_volunteer]

Egyptian cotton bed sheets, with a very high thread count, are basically the same fabric called balloon silk in the old days, as I understand it. If you read camping books from the late 19th and early 20th centuries you will find mention of balloon silk for light weight tents. It was the nylon of its day. The water proofing methods recommended for it don't include boiled linseed oil, at least not in any of the many old camping books I have on my shelves. It's just a guess on my part, but I'd bet ballon silk, as in king sized sheets, isn't period correct for earlier time periods, from the civil war back. I'm assuming it is a product of the industrial revolution. I'm not sure such fine weaving was done earlier economically by hand. Maybe one of the PC experts can address the issue.

Here's a discussion of balloon silk:
http://books.google.com/books?id=8...AkbIN&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=10&ct=result

 

Yes sir a cotton bed sheet. My friend made one and I was just wanting input on different sealing materials used and what worked best for folks.

That's why I asked. You cannot make a "tarp" out of a sheet. It's not even think enough to use for patches.

Buy a cheap painters tarp and start with that. You'll get a lot of use out of it and refine your method of 'waterproofing' in the process.

 

[Robert Egler]

Yes sir a cotton bed sheet. My friend made one and I was just wanting input on different sealing materials used and what worked best for folks. This site is the best for good input. Thanks fellars...

At the risk of getting snide remarks for this no doubt very non-pc item, I'll say I have a 9 x 9 cotton bed sheet diamond shelter I use in the summer (with leather reinforced corners). It is very light and compact to carry around for the day. Rolls up to about 8 inches long and 3 inches thick. It is also very cheap to replace if it rips to much to patch.

BUT! I use it for a sun-shade shelter when fishing in the sun. It doesn't work worth a darn as a rain shelter. Even a light drizzle will get it soaked pretty quick.

 

[laufer]

THE PAINTER AND VARNISHER'S ӬGUIDE 1804

Of wax cloth. Oil cloth...

:snore: :snore: :snore:

could you please privide the reference for this text? thank you.

 

[pichou]

http://books.google.com/books?id=9_...tcover&dq=THE+PAINTER+AND+VARNISHER'S+ӬGUIDE

Tingry, Pierre François, 1804. The Painter and Varnisher's Guide. London: printed for G. Kearsley, Fleet Street. 540 pages.

 

[aloyalistdawg]

Hello
Well we paint ours with acrillic paint (forgive the spell'en weell yea, it is pliable yet looks like the orginal painted canvas what the 1770's British army used. After a couple of time it bend to the pack shape and works great..
well just the way we do it might be worth a try
my best regards just a "loyalist Dawg" :hatsoff: