[jyl]

This board seems to know a little bit about a lot of things, so here goes.

I have an Orvis field jacket - olive green cotton, leather shoulder/elbows, vaguely military look - that would be a nice jacket except that it hasn't any more water resistance than a common cotton T-shirt. The weave of the cotton shell is quite tight, but being cotton it still sucks up raindrops.

Is there a way I can wax or oil this cotton to make it water repellent if not actually water proof? Online, I've found many vendors of "oilskin" and "waxed cotton" outerwear (typically from Australia), and some waxes/oils meant to restore the water resistance of oilskin garments. But I can't find any info on turning common cotton into oilskin/waxed cotton.

Any ideas? Should I just get a jar of those waxes/oils and try my luck? My wife got me this jacket, so there's some advantage to not ruining it - but it's not very useful as is.