Washing a waxed jacket?

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Washing a waxed jacket?
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yummersetter

Joined: 26 Jan 2008
Posts: 3241
Location: Somerset

Posted: Fri Jan 01, 10 9:24 pm Post subject:

thanks - but I must just check first that it's a real Barbour or generic! It only recently slipped.

It came from one of the Sherborne charity shops, like most of my wax jackets. That is a classic Barbour Town. And I've never washed one, just wiped off the worst of the dogspit and mud and reproofed the dry looking patches, the wax overwhelms every smell. I like a good solid patina on a wax jacket. The pockets are usually the first casualty on mine, keys, fossils and dog leads soon wear a hole in them and drop down into the lining.

judith

Joined: 16 Dec 2004
Posts: 22789
Location: Montgomeryshire

Posted: Sat Jan 02, 10 12:45 am Post subject:
It isn't cheap having repairs done - I had to have my cuffs replaced a few years ago. They did a grand job, but it cost something like £45 to have it done. Cheap compared to the cost of replacing the coat, and I expect many more years of service from it, but there was a sharp intake of breath at the time.

BelindaC

Joined: 09 Feb 2007
Posts: 464
Location: Hertfordshire

Posted: Sat Jan 02, 10 6:25 pm Post subject:

I have a 20-year-old Barbour. You can send any Barbour back to the Barbour people to be repaired/reproofed (they'll do patches, mend slits etc as well as reproofing) but the state of the coast after 20 years meant that a new one would actually have been cheaper than the combined cost of a great many small repairs. I just put a bit of wax on occasionally, or not as the mood takes me. It's still lovely and warm in really cold weather.

Mutton

Joined: 09 May 2009
Posts: 1508

Posted: Tue Jan 05, 10 8:50 pm Post subject:

We have SCATS Barbour copies. What we've found is that the waterproofing wears off over several years and they start to leak.
Then we wash them with ordinary clothes powder at 40C, and when dry, re-proof them. We used to use a water based green coloured wax liquid we bought from the local shoe menders (it was meant for coats not shoes

) But we found we were spending best part of £10 per coat on coats that cost £10 each in the sale.
Now we use a bit of Ducks Back silicone liquid (I think that is the name, its out in a shed and I'm not going out to look

) Anyway, bought in a DIY place and it does brick, stone, fabric etc. The trick being to get it spread out nicely over the coat, not so much it soaks through to the lining, little enough at a time it doesn't run off the edges. That does fine. (Note to self, need to re-proof the clean coats again.....)

Bugs

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 10744

Posted: Thu Jan 07, 10 7:10 pm Post subject:
Thanks for that Mutton - on reflection, it will still be a useful coat even if I somehow ruin its waterproofness, so I think I will try progressive treatments - giving it a sponge down will help to start off with anyway, and once I get the worst of the dusty smell off it I can try perfuming it a bit.

Gervase

Joined: 17 Nov 2004
Posts: 8655

Posted: Thu Jan 07, 10 7:23 pm Post subject:

I've found with Barbours that putting them in a bath of cold water and giving them a going over with a scrubbing brush works wonders (you'll be amazed at how filthy the water gets). Take it outside, hose it down and let it dry, then reproof with the wax you get in the tins - stand the tin in a pan of hot water for half an hour beforehand, rub it in well with an old dishcloth wrapped around your fingers and use a hair-dryer to make sure it sinks in evenly. It'll never be quite as pristine as a new Barbour, but who wants that?
If it's simply smelling, hanging it up outside in the wind and sun for a day or so will go a long way to curing that - it managed to get rid of the smell of a hob ferret that, for some weeks, had guaranteed me a lot of personal space on the Underground.

butlerman

Joined: 06 Oct 2012
Posts: 3

Posted: Sat Oct 06, 12 12:14 pm Post subject: Re-proofing Wax Jacket

A wax jacket can be washed in cold water, but not with detergent. The problem doing it yourself is the applying a fresh coat of wax and ensuring it is water-proof, which can be a very tedious proceedure.

After a time these jackets can be become very smelly, many get fogotten for years in dark damp garages. If cleaned properly they look as good as new. I run a business that specialises in the cleaning of wax and leathers https://www.butlerz.co.uk/Wax_Jacket_Cleaning.htm and we see a lot waxed garments which have been retrieved from a garage or cellar at which point the customer thinks they are beyond redemption. A wax jacket will last for years if it is regularly cleaned and re-waxed. Rather like servicing your annually, it costs a bit but keeps the car running for years.

juliagoolia367

Joined: 04 Jan 2013
Posts: 1

Posted: Fri Jan 04, 13 1:55 pm Post subject:
Maybe someone could help me? … It’s not so much the smell of the Barbour it’s the marks its putting on my car seats that’s bothering me! Anybody else had this problem? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! thank you!

Bebo

Joined: 21 May 2007
Posts: 12590
Location: East Sussex

Posted: Fri Jan 04, 13 2:01 pm Post subject:
The marks are probably down to the wax on it rather than it being dirty. Not much you can do about that other than chucking an old blanket over the seat.

Mithril

Joined: 22 Jul 2011
Posts: 1755
Location: wessex

Posted: Fri Jan 04, 13 3:58 pm Post subject: Re: Re-proofing Wax Jacket

butlerman wrote:

A wax jacket can be washed in cold water, but not with detergent.

I wish I'd known this - I've been replacing them every 15 - 20 years.

One of them would have gone on a lot longer but the smell of ferret just got too much, even for me

Mind you I'm not sure cold water would have cut it.

Scotiadave

Joined: 18 Jan 2013
Posts: 1

Posted: Fri Jan 18, 13 11:36 am Post subject:

Does anyone know whether Barbours can get so dried out so far that they won’t absorb the wax dressing any more?

I was delighted to find a chocolate-brown Barbour Bedale in my favourite charity shop for £15. Structurally it’s in good nick, no holes or signs of excessive wear, even has the Barbour badge still pinned on the collar, hurrah! Problem is it doesn’t have that waxy feel, and it just smells of that special sweetish charity-shop odour you don’t seem to get anywhere else. Also, it weighs about 8oz less than my venerable navy one. And finally, it’s got very dark, black patches around the hand-warmer pocket areas on both sides

So, do I invest £10 of my hard-earned, plus some time in a warm room giving it the hot wax treatment with the Barbour Thornproof, or am I likely to end up with a sodden, dripping oily thing because it’s lost it’s absorbent properties?

My goodness I’ve rambled on, thanks for any advice!

Nick

Joined: 02 Nov 2004
Posts: 34535
Location: Hereford

Posted: Fri Jan 18, 13 12:00 pm Post subject:
No idea. But, try a small patch, and you'll find out soon enough. Seems unlikely that it'll become wax proof, tho.

gleefulgoat

Joined: 14 Feb 2013
Posts: 17

Posted: Tue Feb 19, 13 6:38 pm Post subject: Re: Re-proofing Wax Jacket
We used to use our old ones for re roofing the chicken and duck sheds when they had their day

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46169
Location: yes

Posted: Tue Feb 19, 13 10:11 pm Post subject:
wash and rewax is a time greedy but easy job a quick spray of nutradol will fix most smells

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