Washing Patch Material

[BP Addict]

Does anyone know why they recommend washing the sizing out of fabric before using it for Patch Material?

I’ve bought some Pillow Ticking Patches from Thompson Center Lubed with Bore Butter. They’re very stiff. I suspect the fabric wasn’t washed first. When you place one on the Muzzle and press the ball in, it literally POPS back out! I haven’t miked one, so I don’t know whether there’s an actual difference in thickness. They do feel tighter going down the barrel.

I'm not sure how they affect accuracy. That'll be another experiment for sure. Good thing I have an inquisitive mind.

Thanks!

Walt

 

[Freedom]

A hot water wash&dry cycle seems to soften the material, as well as tighten the weave. I feel like I achieved an easier to load, and a more durable patch.

 

[TDM]

Agree with @freedom475

 

[SDSmlf]

Does anyone know why they recommend washing the sizing out of fabric before using it for Patch Material?

I have been told a few hot water wash cycles will help remove the sizing from new fabric. The sizing has an impact on how well fabric will absorb liquids (think patch lube) and the feel or stiffness of the fabric. It may just be out of habit or maybe superstition, but when I get new patch material I toss it in the washer (no more than 2 or 3 yards at a time) and wash it a couple times in hot water (if you insist, laundry detergent on the first cycle only, and no fabric softener), then dry.

Try with and without washing and let us know what works better for you.

 

[ETipp]

On the last batch of .015 ticking I received I forgot to wash it prior to cutting some patches. Lubed the patches with TOTW Mink oil and so far they load just fine and accuracy is no issue.

 

[Rifleman1776]

I wash new ticking in plain water. It gets nice and soft with just that. Others will say not necessary.

 

[BP Addict]

I wash new ticking in plain water. It gets nice and soft with just that. Others will say not necessary.

Others say what's not necessary?

Thanks!

Walt

 

[Flint62Smoothie]

The sizing has an impact on how well fabric will absorb liquids (think patch lube) and the feel or stiffness of the fabric.

True … now if sizing wasn’t present in some fabric, then that may be why others are saying ‘don’t wash it or just rinse it’, etc.

But for consistency … why take the chance?

I myself wash it twice, alone or by itself or with other patch material, with no detergent and in cold water. Then I hang it to air dry. Whatever … it works for me!

 

[Kansas Jake]

I wash mine because the sizing tastes bad when using spit patch. Of course after laying in the shooting box or bag it doesn’t taste so great either. Really. I wash for reasons mentioned by others.

 

[necchi]

@BP Addict , I wash-n-dry, once, with no drier sheet.
Sizing and to a point drier sheets help fabric repel water. If your using a water based lube it doesn't absorb well/evenly as nicley with sizing present.

For those stiff patches you have, nuke'm for a few seconds or other wise get'm warm and they should be better for a day or so.

 

[waksupi]

Make some shirts, wear them, then shoot them. By the time they are worn enough to discard, they are definitive starch free. Plus, it plays to the buckskinner cheap gene quite well!

 

[longcruise]

I wash them twice in hot water and dry them on a hot cycle to tighten the weave. Also to get rid of any insecticide treatment.

Also have Also wondered if the sizing might be abrasive.

 

[SDSmlf]

Also have Also wondered if the sizing might be abrasive.

The fabric mill folks in NC tell me sizing adds abrasion resistance and reduces it’s ability to absorb moisture. I don’t know if that means fabric with sizing is more abrasive, but with a good patch lube coating the fabric it may not matter. Whether fabric with sizing absorbs lubricant easily is another topic. As I previously posted, I just wash the material and take the sizing, an oil based product, out of the equation. And if one doesn’t care for the taste of sizing when they use a spit patch, washing eliminates another issue. Shouldn’t be a problem doing unless one doesn’t have the means to wash fabric or clothing.

 

[nkbj]

You're getting into something I've wondered about, of why mills go to the express of adding sizing when seamstresses and quilters do of course wash it out. As for pillows made out of ticking, who would want a scrunchy pillow?

 

[Flint62Smoothie]

You're getting into something I've wondered about, of why mills go to the express [Sic: 'expense' meant?] of adding sizing ...

It processes throught their various machinery better and more importantly, faster! It makes it more uniform, it won't bunch up and cause a jam which can take time to fix, as well as possibly break machine parts.

 

[SOLANCO]

I often see patches of specific thicknesses. If you are not buying ready made patches with the thickness listed, how do you know the thickness of a fabric?
There is a dry goods store nearby with a huge variety of fabrics (Many Mennonites make their own clothing.). But I do not recall ever seeing specific thicknesses on the fabric descriptions. Once in a while I buy a yard of 100% cotton diaper flannel, wash it, and cut it up into cleaning cloths for eyeglasses and other optics. Wonder if it would make patches.

 

[springfield art]

Does anyone know why they recommend washing the sizing out of fabric before using it for Patch Material?

I’ve bought some Pillow Ticking Patches from Thompson Center Lubed with Bore Butter. They’re very stiff. I suspect the fabric wasn’t washed first. When you place one on the Muzzle and press the ball in, it literally POPS back out! I haven’t miked one, so I don’t know whether there’s an actual difference in thickness. They do feel tighter going down the barrel.

I'm not sure how they affect accuracy. That'll be another experiment for sure. Good thing I have an inquisitive mind.

Thanks!

Walt

I always thought it was so the lube could soak in better, and the cloth just 'feels' softer, more 'workable'.

 

[Grenadier1758]

I often see patches of specific thicknesses. If you are not buying ready made patches with the thickness listed, how do you know the thickness of a fabric?
There is a dry goods store nearby with a huge variety of fabrics (Many Mennonites make their own clothing.). But I do not recall ever seeing specific thicknesses on the fabric descriptions. Once in a while I buy a yard of 100% cotton diaper flannel, wash it, and cut it up into cleaning cloths for eyeglasses and other optics. Wonder if it would make patches.

Diaper flannel will work fine as a cleaning patch, but it doesn't have a strong weave to prevent gas blow by when used as a shooting patch. It will work after a fashion, but accuracy on target will suffer.

The fabric store won't know the thickness of the materials. You need to take your vernier calipers or a micrometer to the fabric store and measure the thickness in the store. Bear in mind that the fabric in the store has sizing which will affect the thickness measurement. Washing is required to remove the sizing. Drying in a hot dryer will tighten the weave of cotton drill, pillow ticking, mattress ticking, denim and canvas to make the fabric more robust when used as a shooting patch. Canvas will have a weight associated with it indicating the approximate thickness. Cotton drill cloth (my favorite is the #40 utility cloth at JoAnn's Fabrics) will eventually be 0.017 or 0.018" in thickness. Pillow ticking will be anywhere from 0.013 to 0.015. Mattress ticking will be from about 0.018 to 0.020. Denim will be all over the thickness scale and may not always be 100% cotton. Canvas will range from 0.020 to 0.024. Always check to be sure that you are buying 100% cotton fabric. If you are buying linen, be sure that it is 100% flax linen or a linen cotton blend. Modern linen doesn't always have the tight weave that was used.

 

[nkbj]

The reactions from the ladies running fabric stores are sometimes pretty funny.

 

[Buckskinquin]

Hello! Anybody in there McFee! The writer bought prelubed patches! Not pillow ticking by the yard. If he takes this advice and washes them, most of the patches will be flushed down the drain during the spin and rinse cycle. The few that survive will be little wads of fabric.