Wax jeans?

[Beautiful Stranger]

i thought i'd already made a thread about this, but couln't find any, so..

How can i wax jeans ? is it possible to do yourself? where do i get 'wax'?

These are the jeans , they're darker irl.

 

[Rightguard]

You could try using snow board wax like this http://supertalk.superfuture.com/showthread.php?t=33115&highlight=wax+jeans or do what this guy did(very dangerous!!!) http://supertalk.superfuture.com/showthread.php?t=14740&highlight=waxing

 

[Beautiful Stranger]

hmmm.. maybe i should just keep like that

 

[gius]

ooh i never knew the shiny effect was made with wax seems interesting
and in the forum link, it says they also use oil ?
never heard of this before

thanks rightguard
and stranger for the thread

 

[Beautiful Stranger]

i wanna try with snowboard-wax, but the lady at the sportsstore lol said it was too early..

 

[oceanharlot]

I remember there was a thread about this... they used linseed oil and some other stuff to do it. .. cant find it now.

 

[Feline]

My 'other half' waxed a denim jacket with some wax he bought from a hiking/camping shop. It is designed for re-waxing 'Barbour' type jackets and it worked very well. I#m sure it would work just as well on jeans.

 

[gius]

Feline what's the name of the wax? I wonder if it's a synthetic wax.. Maybe this kind won't be flammable

 

[Alejandro]

oooh im interested on this

but where to buy beeswax and the other kind of oils...

 

[educo]

ooh i never knew the shiny effect was made with wax seems interesting
and in the forum link, it says they also use oil ?
never heard of this before

thanks rightguard
and stranger for the thread

A wax finish is called a "cire" (pronounced "seer"). This is a wax glaze that is applied very thin to the fabric and heat pressed with a roller so the fabric absorbs it more. So with the heat press the glaze thins out and therefore becomes more absorbed in the fabric.

Hope that helps. I do this all day at work.

 

[gius]

You do it all day ?
It sounds like 'calendering'
I thought that was done by giant machines with metal rollers

Do you happen to know if it's real wax? like beeswax
I found some other people to ask about this at another forum
They were saying it can't be flammable because that would mean if you light a candle, the candle would also light up on fire
And they've been using waxed cotton in the industry for a while now... for waterproofing jackets and for macrame, knotting, those kind of crafts; so it should be safe

I really just want to try it
but I don't want to run the risk of killing myself

Any suggestions, educo?
I'd love to know if you're doing it by hand!

 

[educo]

You do it all day ?
It sounds like 'calendering'
I thought that was done by giant machines with metal rollers

Do you happen to know if it's real wax? like beeswax
I found some other people to ask about this at another forum
They were saying it can't be flammable because that would mean if you light a candle, the candle would also light up on fire
And they've been using waxed cotton in the industry for a while now... for waterproofing jackets and for macrame, knotting, those kind of crafts; so it should be safe

I really just want to try it
but I don't want to run the risk of killing myself

Any suggestions, educo?
I'd love to know if you're doing it by hand!

Correction, I don't wax fabric all day, I'm the fabric analyst at my job. It's a wax resin, I'm not quite sure exactly what kind of wax is used considering there is high quality French wax and I deal with mills in Asia so I'm assuming the quality is different. I will ask for you though.

Wax isn't flammable, it melts under heat, so in the calendering (which is a good call on your part) such a thin coat is applied and on top of that the pressure rolled on pushes it even further so the risk in my opinion is minimal. It is recommended that wax finished clothing is dry-cleaned.

I honestly do not recommend doing it your self. First and foremost, the wax being used is without question industrial grade, which means, you can't find it. Secondly, to do it on an already made garment (as the originator is intending to do) will yield less than impressive results, because you need to stretch the fabric taut to brush the wax on, make sure the wax is going on evenly, make sure the wax stays in a liquid form (which means constant heat), and roll extreme pressure on it to absorb even more (and since denim is essentially a twill fabric, an even application is even more important) it's easier just to buy wax coated fabric at the fabric store. It's hard to stretch something that has been made, and worn already (which means it has stretched out unevenly to conform to your body) and not mess up due to uneven application, low grade wax, and the lack of a monster roller to make sure the wax gets absorbed by the fabric.
Also, oil or some high gloss component has to be added because wax doesn't dry shiny, it dries matte.

I have not seen this in action at a fabric mill, but my assumption is that the roller is filled with wax, heated up enough so the wax melts, then it rolls over the fabric pushing the wax through small holes that makes up the mold of the roller.

If you really want to try I would suggest something similar to silkscreen, where the wax is pushed through with the strength of your arms. But you have to work FAST simply because wax dries up as soon it comes in contact with a surface cooler than the heating instrument the wax was melted in. Or get your friend to pour the wax, while you follow your friend with the squeegee RIGHT AWAY. Cover you arms with long length gloves to protect yourself from splashes. If you want a shiny look on top of that, then I would recommend getting a glossy medium ( acrylic, or something along those lines) and repeat the process again.

Also, it's a high maintenance fabric because you can't wash it because over time, it washes off. Look at the fake "latex" fabric, it has the cire finish so over time of washing the wax finish will rub off.

I have used wax when I took a fabric painting class but it was used more as a block for fabric dye than an actual finish.

 

[gius]

Thanks for all the info, educo
What you say at the end, sounds like batik

Anyway it seems like an intensive process...
I don't know if I'd really need to do all this work, and as you said, wax doesn't really give a shine.
This brings me to my research that I've been doing for the past month actually
I've been testing different ways of creating shine for fabric (by hand)

I've used several 'chemicals', like this gloss medium you've mentioned
Among making a sparkle, it also adds stiffness
I've also tried acrylic latex, PVA (white glue)...
It's all based on the connection between glues, resin, gums, varnish, etc.
They all have a similar idea: liquid form turns solid/stiff (and also shiny)
And all of them can be used in similar ways, like PVA glue can be used as a varnish for papier-mache, and so on.

In China, there is a group called Miao and they use egg-white to add shine to their cotton cloth --my instructor brought in a piece, it's wonderful! It's so stiff and shiny ..feels just like paper
Here's an idea of what it looks like-->

marlamallett

I tried this myself... My first test was not good because I didn't burnish the cloth after applying the egg. Two classmates did a research project on the Miao and created the same kind of cloth, and dyeing it with indigo. It looks so awesome... quite like leather
So this is one way to do it

And the PVA worked as well
but the shine is different. It's not smooth like the egg-- it's more 'sparkle' (it comes in dots)... but the shine is even
I used Liquitex gloss medium and the shine is similar to the PVA, but it is uneven. I'm guessing I just need to add more layers

 

[gius]

It's a wax resin, I'm not quite sure exactly what kind of wax is used considering there is high quality French wax and I deal with mills in Asia so I'm assuming the quality is different. I will ask for you though.

I'm still interested in hearing whatever you have to say for this part^ though