Soooooo… its been an eternity since I wrote anything on this blog and I thought documenting my new spare-time DIY project – fixing my Barbour – would be a good way of resurrecting it; as well as giving me the impetus to fully realise the project (which I fear will be no small feat!) without the glaring eyes of the Internet judging me for giving-up.
I’ve had my Barbour Border for what feels like an age. It began life as the dominant alfa-coat in my outerwear wardrobe, but over the years, as wear and tear (and neglect) have set in, it has become marginalised to gardening, DIY, manual labour and other messy activities. And not through designated choice, it just became that jacket.
Since I’ve had the Border it has never been reproofed or repaired, which may account for its very dishevelled state. Anyway lets not point fingers or get into the blame game and just get right to the facts:
- Fact A: its fucked.
- Fact B: I’m going to fix it.
Firstly lets look at the jacket, as you can see from the inserted picture it’s a filthy, dirty, grubby old man of a jacket; it’s muddy, it’s ripped, it’s frayed, it’s lost some its labels, its lining is disintegrating, but more importantly, I still love it and I want to save it. I want to shave off at least ten years and make it look as good as new as it can.
Here’s a list of some of the jobs that need to be undertaken during this project to enliven this tired old Barbour:
- One: a thorough clean
- Two: mend major rips and tears
- Three: see to smaller repairs and lining tears
- Four: strengthen weaknesses zips, buttons, pocket corners etc…
- Five: reproof with ‘Thornproof Wax Dressing’
I’ve undertaken some research into repairing and reproofing old and knackered wax jackets and I think I will employ a number of techniques to hep me achieve a decent finish. I’ve been trying to purchase an old ‘Barbour Thornproof Repair Kit’ (which they’ve stopped making) for the materials and thread, which I will use on minor repairs and strengthening. I will patch up the bigger rips and tears with fabric on the inside and use ‘Stormsure’ glue to secure and make waterproof.
Anyway, first things first, I need to give it a good clean before I work out exactly what needs fixing and in what order. A few more photos below just to emphasise how muddy, torn and tattered the jacket really is… Wish me luck.
-
- Ripped Sleeve & Frayed Pocket
-
- Destroyed Handwarmer Pocket
-
- Rips & Tears Everywhere
Thoughts, Therefore... 