Sealing Leather Jacks, Mugs or Bottles

[TigerPal]

I've been thinking of trying my hand at making some leather mugs and bottles. There has been a good bit of discussion over use of beeswax and/or brewer's pitch to seal such things. Has anyone ever tried using Carnauba wax? I've read a good bit on-line how it is used in a number of different food products such as candy, even medicine tablets and that it is also a component of some leather treatments. A couple of articles indicate that a mixture of 1 part Carnauba wax to 5 parts of beeswax raises the melting point of the mixture to about 180 to 185 degrees Fahrenheit (around 82 to 84 C). This is also said to make a harder coating than plain beeswax. Sounds like this might be a more interesting coating than either plain beeswax, or brewers pitch, or the hard-to-find "food grade" poly varnish. I would be quite interested in learning of anyone's experiences with Carnauba.

[Mrs Barry Hicks]

as for sealing the mugs and bottles, you want the lining to be flexible. It will crack otherwise and leak over time. Leather is flexible and so is brewers pitch. I mix mine around 2parts brewers to 1part bees wax.

Now to harden the actual mug it might work really well. I'd say give it a try and see what happens.