Sizing in Patch Material

[Rokon]

I recently purposely did not pre-wash .018" drilling to remove factory sizing before cutting out patches and shooting them.

RESULTS?

Patch material cut much cleaner.
There was no difference in accuracy.
There was less black powder blast markings on the fired patch.

Is the removal of sizing just another one our Old Wives Tales we have to revisit and confront?

What think you? Based on factual experience ofcourse.

 

[Vaino]

I agree w/ everything you listed. Have been shooting "unwashed" pillow ticking for yrs.....Fred

 

[Len Graves]

I was always told it would make your gun hard to clean. Did you notice any difference there?

 

[coloradoclyde]

I don't wash mine.

 

[Semisane]

Me either.

 

[M. De Land]

Washing out the sizing makes the cloth more pliable so it will bend around the ball more easily and make it slightly easier to seat in the muzzle.
Being that it is softer and more pliable it probably seals the groove off more efficiently and causes the ball to be less deformed from the loading rod.

 

[coloradoclyde]

Washing out the sizing makes the cloth more pliable so it will bend around the ball more easily and make it slightly easier to seat in the muzzle.
Being that it is softer and more pliable it probably seals the groove off more efficiently and causes the ball to be less deformed from the loading rod.

Doesn't lube accomplish the same thing?

 

[azmntman]

I never did wash mine till reading here. I tried it twice and the cloth comes out so wrinkly its hard to make the dutch system patches? Maybe line dry vs dryer? :idunno:

I never saw any difference in cleaning difficulty before when I did NOT wash though.

 

[M. De Land]

It probably helps as my lube is soap, alcohol and water so it's sort of getting washed in the bottle they're carried in.
Washing fluffs up the cotton fiber which makes the weave tighter, more pliable and probably stronger for its job of sealing off gas and transferring rifling rotation to the ball.
The sizing stiffens the fiber and tends to keep it from stretching, which my guess would be is it's purpose.

 

[Hunter John]

Did you notice a difference in the patch's ability to absorb whatever patch lube you were using? My hunch is that the prewashed patch material would take the lube better and not just run off.

Did you notice any difference in pressure needed to seat the ball at the muzzle or force needed to push the ball down the bore?

Never thought about trying this. Thanks for sharing your experiences !

 

[Rokon]

No. No & No.

 

[necchi]

"Sizing" is just a chemical added to fabric strands to ease the manufacturing process. Basically it makes fibers and strands/threads harder and more resistant to wear while the fabric is woven.

Starch, gelatin, oil, wax, and manufactured polymers such as polyvinyl alcohol, polystyrene, polyacrylic acid, and polyacetates are employed.

The stuff tastes bad if ya spit patch.
I use Dutch's system for the most part, cut at the muzzle.
I don't cut my fabric, I never cared for all those loose strands falling off all over the place.
I rip the fabric and pull a few edge strands on each side.
I guess I never found it inconvenient to launder a 5-6yrd piece and be done with it for years.
:idunno:
azmntman say's it's harder to use Dutch's system??
I find just the opposite, the fabric absorbs the mix much easier and lay's out perfectly flat when wet,,

 

[Rifleman1776]

I pre-wash to I know what I am using batch to batch. I don't want my lube mixed with unknown 'stuff'. And, it makes the cloth soft and pliable. Works for me.

 

[Pete G]

I used to use it as it was sold. Since I started washing before use I like it much better because it absorbs the lube better, both my water based target lube and the grease type lube. Try it both ways and see which one you like.

 

[azmntman]

I had to iron the last piece to be able to get it laid "flat" to dry :idunno:

 

[Hunter John]

Yeah, same here.

After hand washing and rinsing in hot water, I let it air dry over my front porch railing for an afternoon. The dried ticking sheets are usually a bit firm feeling and wrinkled as heck...no way it will lay flat.

A hot steaming iron set to "cotton" takes care of the wrinkles in minutes. Folds nice and flat then.

 

[longcruise]

I pre wash for several reasons.

One, I was told years ago that the sizing could act as an abrasive. We can probably debate that right up until Claude locks us. :haha: :haha: . Fact or not, I continue to wash for the following reasons.

I wash twice in hot water with soap in the washer and then hot dry it in the dryer. This seems to tighten the weave of the material.

I often spit patch and don't want to put sized material in my mouth!

On several occasions I have noticed a strong smell of insecticide in the yard goods departments. Suspect it is applied to protect the material. In any case, I don't want that in my mouth either.

 

[coloradoclyde]

Textile warp sizing

Sizing the warp
Sizing of the warp yarn is essential to reduce breakage of the yarn and thus production stops on the weaving machine. On the weaving machine, the warp yarns are subjected to several types of actions i.e. cyclic strain, flexing, abrasion at various loom parts and inter yarn friction.

With sizing, the strength ”” abrasion resistance ”” of the yarn will improve and the hairiness of yarn will decrease. The degree of improvement of strength depends on adhesion force between fiber and size, size penetration as well as encapsulation of yarn. Different types of water soluble polymers called textile sizing agents/chemicals such as modified starch, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), acrylates are used to protect the yarn. Also wax is added to reduce the abrasiveness of the warp yarns. The type of yarn material (e.g. cotton, polyester, linen), the thickness of the yarn, type of weaving machinery will determine the sizing recipe.

The sizing liquor is applied on warp yarn with a warp sizing machine. After the weaving process the fabric is desized (washed).

Sizing may be done by hand, or in a sizing machine.

You may have changed my mind....but I think we need more research.

 

[Dewey]

Well, I can sure TASTE the difference between washed and unwashed pillow ticking when I use a spit patch - I'd rather desize/destarch/dewhatever the fabric in my washing machine instead of my mouth, LOL !!!

The cloth also seems to take my lube (olive oil/beeswax or mink oil) better after washing, too.

 

[coloradoclyde]

From everything I have read it doesn't seem to matter if they use starch or a product like Dupont Elvanol to size the cloth. They all seem to remove the sizing afterwards and even have special machines and processes to remove it.

I highly doubt that factory cut shooting patches are additionally washed.

Of course, after doing some research I think I am going to start washing because I do use spit lube often. :grin: