How often should one reproof their Barbour waxed items? The conventional wisdom is every year. Surprisingly, a new Barbour may sometimes need it after just a few months.
Many people prefer to send their jackets back to the Barbour repair facility in Milford, New Hampshire where they can get a professional job at a very reasonable price.
And others do it themselves, although that precludes the added benefit of their heated tables that also gets out any ground in dirt. (However, as it is not uncommon to wait until the last minute, the Barbour facility always gets inundated this time of year.)
The process is fairly forgiving.
Without regular reproofing they obviously are not as waterproof, but also can take on an old military fatigue jacket look, especially in the Sage. The Navy, however, can still look good for dry weather wear.
Many prefer the bare-handed approach and take care not to get the wax too hot. Use a new sponge; old sponges tend to crumble a bit and leave behind little pieces. Place the can of wax in a pan of just boiled water and wait a few minutes for it to soften, which it does from the bottom up.
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| Go heavy on the seams and then wipe them again after letting them hang for a couple of days. Take a hairdryer to the jacket after waxing to even out the wax, working in the wax with one hand while holding the dryer with the other, and paying special attention to the seams |
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| Any bits of wax that get on the corduroy collars are easily wiped off. |
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| Wax over any tears or worn out spots. |
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| Bedale in Sage - One of the Neediest |
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| With the Bedales tuck in the knit cuffs.... |
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| ... and zip them up before starting. |
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| The Giant Bellows Pockets of the Border Jacket |
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| This is how it looks when one should have waited a little longer for the wax to melt. Now it just has to be worked in more. This is where the hair dryer can be most useful. |
They will be a bit tacky (as in sticky) but not for long.
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| A (1984) Gamefair that had gone a handful of years without reproofing - Before (on left) and After (on right) |
Hourly
ReplyDeleteDaily
ReplyDeleteWeekly
ReplyDeleteMonthly
ReplyDeleteNever
ReplyDeleteOnly when Yale beats Harvard
ReplyDeleteOr Harvard beats Yale 29-29
ReplyDeleteYou just had to bring that up, didn't you?
DeleteI’d draw a line under that!
DeleteEvery summer on a table outside in the hot Texas sun. It imperative that the jacket is hot to soak up the wax. You need to double up on shoulder seams. It is 3 day process . Been known to hang jacket in a Black l1992 240 Wagon & bake. I cannot see the application of doing inside. No hair dryer.
ReplyDeleteIf I wore my Barbour for purposes of, say, tending sheep in the field or riding to hounds during a downpour, I would reproof as needed to stay dry. As I wear mine, instead, only to walk the short distance from my car to my office, I have never reproofed. I like the dry-aged look of the blue Beaufort in any case. Here's a tip of the waxed bucket hat to those who undertake this apparently rigorous endeavor.
ReplyDeleteOver waxing is a bad move imho . I rewax after 7 years of domestic use , if even then .. It's a garment that's not really for drenching weather . That's Gortex world .
ReplyDeleteMy olive Gamefair is waxed when and where it needs it, usually every two years. As N Pet says, it is not good to over wax as it can seep through to the cotton tartan lining. A top quality ventile shooting jacket, e.g. a Grenfell, is better for heavy rain in the autumn.
ReplyDeleteHaha! I ironically just finished with a Bedale, a Border, and a Sapper. Hands are even still a little tacky. One of my comforting late summer routines.
ReplyDeleteI'm far more adept at writing a check and sending my jackets off to Barbour for this work than I would be at doing it myself. Last time I did this, I even had them shorten the sleeves on my old "Guillemot" jacket. Now it looks like new AND fits perfectly.
ReplyDeleteThe best part of sending/taking them to Milford is that you can have them repair any little rips or tears or worn bits, and you can also have them add nice leather trim to the cuffs, pocket edges, and bottom edge of coat. Plus. Outlet.
ReplyDeleteEvery year, it’s the same story. Early August, I think about it. Mid-August, I plan to send them off to Barbour. Come September, I decide it’s too late.
ReplyDeleteI spend a day or two rationalizing that self-waxing is character-building. Then, late one night, I finally summon the gumption to take on the project myself.
When I’m finished, they look good as new.
And therein lies the rub: I weep for the lost patina.