Making oil cloth without linseed oil

I’m making oil cloth for my triple layer winter window curtains today. The base layer, next to the window will be a homemade oil cloth which with earn me a few badge bit points in textiles :PEP Transform 1 of yard fabric into oilcloth.

I don’t want to use linseed oil as I’ve read bad things about boiled linseed. Can I use another oil - peanut, olive, coconut, tung? Coconut would be my prefferd option but searching the web is fruitless as the system is gamed for selling ads not giving me the information I want.

Have you used anything other than linseed oil to make oil cloth? I have read that traditionally other oils were used but can’t find any examples. I’m guessing sailors would have used fish or whale oil.

Maybe I’m over thinking this. The Badge Bit links to “How to make oil cloth” tutorial - so if I follow it, then I’m meeting the requirements?

I don't know anything about oil cloth but I buy pure raw linseed oil on Amazon.

Making oil cloth takes advantage of linseed's ability to harden and oxidize quickly.  
I don't know any other natural oil that can do this as well as linseed.  

I'm curious to know more about your concerns with boiled linseed.  There are lots of different types that go by that name, some have some concerning additives, others are just pure oil.  

Perhaps an alternative is to use food-grade unboiled linseed, or as the grocery stores here call it "flax seed oil"?

r ranson wrote:
I'm curious to know more about your concerns with boiled linseed.  There are lots of different types that go by that name, some have some concerning additives, others are just pure oil.  

Perhaps an alternative is to use food-grade unboiled linseed, or as the grocery stores here call it "flax seed oil"?

Took me a while to find . . .

When I was doing the nest badge Oil Kitchen Woods I did some background reading and came across this https://richsoil.com/wooden-spoon-care.jsp

I’ll use the boiled stuff for this project and food grade flax oil if I need it on kitchen projects.

Thank you both

I was wondering about using beeswax?  I looked at the BB and it said oil/wax.

Anne Miller wrote:I was wondering about using beeswax?  I looked at the BB and it said oil/wax.

Historically, an oilcloth is usually non-food safe.  Like raincoats, tarps, or bags.

A wax cloth is something like we use on food.  The problem with wax is that it is difficult to impregnate the cloth and make a firm bond with the fibres.  So where it bends it wears out quickly and loses the advantage (waterproofness mostly) of the wax.  The food wax cloths are easy to pop in the oven for a min or two to redistribute the wax.  

Also, because it doesn't bond with the fibres like an oxidized oil, it can melt if exposed to heat (like being left in the sun).  

You can also order raw linseed oil in bulk from a place like Jedwards and use orange essential oil (you can also get that at the same place) to 'boil' or thin and mix that up.  You never actually boil anything.  It might be less noxious.  Although EOs are fairly potent and you still want to have good ventilation.  I discovered this 'recipe' when I wanted to oil my floors and I didn't want turpentine or mineral spirits in my house.  We added the same oil to beeswax and carnauba wax to make polish for other wooden things in the house.  

Also, I think it smells a whole lot nicer.  I'm thinking to make some oilcloth with mine for goat and sheep shells and maybe some paniers for the goats when we're hiking. :)

Orange oil is cracker jack at getting coffee pots and mugs clean from stains, and also excellent at getting wooden countertops clean.  All you need is a little bit and a good scrub brush.

Nissa Gadbois wrote:  I discovered this 'recipe' when I wanted to oil my floors and I didn't want turpentine or mineral spirits in my house.

Can I ask why Turpentine is something that you avoided? Was it the fumes in comparison to the Orange Oil? No judgement, I've just been on a weird turpentine knowledge binge ever sense I learned that it is 'natural'.

This is long after the previous posts. As a chemist, I thought I'd throw in my 2c worth.

First, what is now called "boiled" linseed oil is not boiled. Metallo-organic compounds (e.g. containing cobalt or zirconium; older was "Japan" dryer) are
added which greatly accelerate the oxidation/curing/polymerization of linseed oil. It is unsaturated, that is has double bonds; this is what allows it to cure.
Now, if you want a natural, food-grade alternative, you can actually boil RAW linseed oil. DO NOT DO THIS WITH "BOILED" LINSEED OIL. LIKELY YOU WILL
HAVE A FIRE!! Remember, rags that have been soaked with it will spontaneously combust; heating it will accelerate that.

Second, turpentine is distilled from pine sap. Now, as far as its safety is concerned, be concerned. It isn't distilled from petroleum, but it is still quite toxic if
ingested. Inhaling it short-term can cause e.g. headaches. Long-term, or repeated, can cause allergy/sensitization, so PLEASE act accordingly. Mineral spirits
have an advantage, less likely to cause sensitization. The flash point is slightly higher (5F): no open flames with either, unless you're using as lighter fluid to
start your bbq.

I made oilcloth by melting beeswax onto a cloth in the oven at 200-ish, maybe 250 degrees? This environment allowed the wax to soak thoroughly into the structure of the fabric, allowing it to be both flexible and water resistant. I also rubbed clay dust into it to seal the pores.

Unfortunately, after some time I used it to cover my bike, and in the morning found that rodents had gotten into it and chewed it… I don’t know why when I put it there and nowhere else. It may have been the rats.

Good that mineral oil was mentioned.
I've seen videos about a guy using mineral oil and beeswax to coat cloth and make it waterproof, while still being flexible.

I neglected when I commented the other day to address something in the original question: Can I use another oil - peanut, olive, coconut, tung?
Of those, the only one that polymerizes, making it a permanent, as opposed to temporary, waterproofing, is tung. I've not compared the cure
times, but what I got in a quick search seems to indicate that raw tung might well be slower than linseed. There's a polymerized variety which
cures quicker, but that likely would have the same downsides as "boiled" linseed oil.

Mineral oil (e.g. baby) comes from petroleum (the "mineral"). I wouldn't think, again because it doesn't polymerize, that it would be a good
long-term waterproofer.

I haven't yet used it, but a commercial product that seems very useful, and relatively cheap, is Nikwax Cotton Proof. I was told by them that
for my 20 oz/yd (yes, too heavy, lol) canvas, to use the same application rate as lighter material. So 1 L diluted and sprayed can easily treat
my 450 sf... 50 ml will treat 30 sf (3 m^2), so a liter is good for 600 sf. At $42/L, + $10 shipping (free shipping over $50), a bargain in my book.
A key to success, regardless of the treatment, is ensuring your canvas is clean. Mine is new; as a precaution of any processing residues, I plan
to wash with very dilute dish soap. With Nikwax, or other water-based treatment, you want the canvas damp, definitely not bone dry. On the
contrary, with the oil/solvent (e.g. classic wax/linseed oil/mineral spirits) type, the drier the better.