This is my formula for cloth wax treatment and as far as I can ascertain it is a traditional version using a standard mix with adjustments to improve the overall lasting qualities.
Now I have seen a number of formulas that use normal Linseed oil and boiled Linseed oil, this is not a good idea to do at all because Linseed oil is a drying oil and over time will make the cloth go hard and in doing so cause cloth crease lines to become places of heavy ware to the point of breaking the threads. In some cases, Cotton cloth treated with Linseed oil does have the capacity to spontaneously burst in to flame in the right conditions.
The mix is 6 parts paraffin wax. 2 parts Bees wax use white to reduce the colouring effect. 1 part Liquid Paraffin (Now this is not kerosene it is a highly refined mineral oil used for medical purposes and cosmetics. purchase it at a drug store). Now the last ingredient is Petroleum Jelly from ˝ to 1 part. This is added to stop the cloth from becoming hard in cold weather (Ok I do know that you folks have much colder weather than we have on this side of the pond. But I do feel that it us Brits compensation for living in a damp Maritime climate) The Petroleum Jelly also slows the wax from drying out so reducing the number of times you need to refresh the wax, but the amount added is a trial and error thing to get exactly what you want.
