What is oil cloth

[bhutton]

Tried searching for this in the context of , (bacon etc wrapped in oil cloth and carried several days in the haversack on campaign), but I can't identify what exactly this oil cloth would be. Please pardon my ignorance and if anyone can enlighten me it would be appreciated.

Bob Hutton

[Hank Trent]

Re: What is oil cloth

It was cloth coated with linseed oil (and sometimes other things like driers or pigments) to make it waterproof, used for everything from raingear to floor covers to tablecloths, and in this case of course for preventing the grease of the bacon from leaching through the cloth and getting over everything.

Instructions for making it appear in Miss Beecher's Housekeeper and Healthkeeper, 1874.

To procure a kitchen oil-cloth as cheaply as possible, buy cheap tow cloth [cotton was also used, as was silk for finer clothing]... Then have it stretched, and nailed to the south side of the barn, and with a brush cover it with a coat of thin rye paste. When this is dry, put on a coat of yellow paint [other colors were used too] and let it dry for a fortnight. It is safest to first try the paint, and see if it dries well, as some paint never will dry. Then put on a second coat, and, at the end of another fortnight, a third coat. Then let it hang two months, and it will last, uninjured, for many years.

http://books.google.com/books?pg=PA3...=0&output=html

Hank Trent
hanktrent@voyager.net

[Curt Schmidt]

Re: What is oil cloth

Hallo!

"Oiled cloth," IMHO, would be a better descriptor.
As Herr Hank has shared, it is basically oil based (linseed oil) painted cloth.
(There are various "recipes" for it, but they typically involved linseed oil, sometimes turpentine, and for greater water-resistance sometimes beeswax.)

Curt

[Chad Wrinn]

Re: What is oil cloth

http://www.geocities.com/union_guard/oilcloth_and_painted_accoutermen.htm

Here is a website that list all of the recipes and gives good descriptions

[Boy of '61]

Re: What is oil cloth

How would you go about refurbishing oil cloth. I have an old haversack that the oil cloth has dried out and is cracking. I had heard of wiping down the oil cloth with boiled linseed oil. Has anybody tried this or have any ideas?

Thanks

[Dan Munson]

Andy, I have "re-furbished" both haversacks and knapsacks. You could simply apply a coat of linseed oil and wait for it to dry. The oil would (in theory) get into the paint cracks and help seal the drill or canvas beneath. But why not simply repaint the haversack (or knapsack)? I believe someone has already posted in this thread recipes for mixing the paint in period fashion (I haven't actually looked at those links). If those links don't lead to period paint recipes, I can furnish some. A somewhat faster, albeit not 100% "authentic" solution would be to obtain a pint of flat (matte) black oil-based paint from a hardware store. Then go to an artist's supply store and get a small bottle/can of actual linseed oil (not the "boiled" variety, which has most of the native gums removed) and a small bottle of what is called "Japan drier." Pour as much of you paint as you think will be needed for the haversack project into a separate container. Thin it slightly with a couple of tablespoons (TBSP's) of the linseed oil. Add a small splash of the Japan drier. Mix well. Paint. Then plan on waiting a week or so (at least) for the haversack to "dry" out. The linseed oil and the drier will combine to cause your formerly flat (matte) paint to dry with a slightly glossy sheen, which appears to be about right, at least per the sources I've seen/read.

By the way, "dry" is a relative term here. The oil in the original articles did not always cure very quickly and, as reported in the CRRC, there were instances of haversacks and knapsacks leaving black smudges on the clothing of their owners. I recently made up a "painted" cloth as a secondary/optional ground sheet for certain events. The paint cured for a month before I ever used it....and it still picked up dirt, twigs, leaves, etc., after being laid on the ground (everything except the dust brushed fairly easily, however). Also, if you use linseed oil paint on the haversack (and most definitely if you decide to use the "boiled" variety), always use a haversack liner, or at least some good ration bags, lest your food pick up ingredients you really do not want to ingest.

[Chad Wrinn]

Re: What is oil cloth

I have found the best way to apply linseed-oil is to lightly sponge it onto the fabric. This way it does not take a month to dry. The more linseed-oil you put on the fabric the longer it takes to dry.

[Curt Schmidt]

Re: What is oil cloth

Hallo!

Linseed oil does not dry by evaporation, it dries by polymerization. And that can take days, weeks, or even months at times depending upon conditions and volume present.

Regarding "cracking." If the "paint" is cracked, yes it can be repainted.
However, odern boiled linseed oil typically has petro-chemicals and metals added to it. When combined with its acidic nature, it often makes the underlying cloth brittle, and it cracks through or tears.

Curt

[Dan Munson]

Re: What is oil cloth

I don't doubt that Curt is correct about the nasty additives in the modern boiled linseed oil product. That's sort of why I (taking a cue from others, like the CRRC) advise not using that particular oil anywhere near a haversack.

I specifically used straight linseed oil to avoid any such problems as Curt mentions when re-painting. Then again, it's possible the "japan drier" could have some deleterious effect, too. All I can say, after having repainted my knapsack about a month and a half ago, is that she is still looking smart and sassy. She has been in the field a couple of times and has done well.

...and hasn't left any smudges, that I can tell. :)

The art supply store I visited carried both "linseed oil" and "boiled linseed oil" on the same shelf and by the same supplier. Different colors (the "linseed oil" was much more yellowish than the "boiled). I suppose I am assuming (somewhat) on that basis, that the "linseed oil" is either the raw product or something close to it.

[bazoo]

Re: What is oil cloth

Hello
I've made a civilian haversack about 10 years ago , it 's always sticky.
I've made it with linseed oil I 've boiled ( that's smell old fish in your kitchen for a lot of weeks).
When you boiled your oil, it become siccative and could polymérise without metalic siccative.
On my bread bag I 've put about 10 coats so there was a sticky yellow soft coat like on the gum blanket.... but yellow( less then cowboys yellow sliquers).
I've put nothing else than homeboiled linseed oil

I'm looking from floor oilcloth and table oilcloth patterns circa the ACW do you know where I can find it?

Thanks a lot
Luc Géraudie

[Mcouioui]

Re: What is oil cloth

It's your wife who was happy of that I think, my Bazoo!? :) :) :)
I have one "Gum blanket" made ten years ago also with this technique by Cherokee, I do not know the smell in the kitchen, but the "Gum blanket" had stink during more than year before that stops stinking... :(