Waterproof Materials

Waterproof Materials are any substances used to prevent infiltration of water or (inaccurately) other liquids. Typical waterproofing materials, all having commercial uses, are tar, oils, rubber, asbestos, asphalt, oil paints, aluminum hydroxide, metallic soaps, waxes, paraffin, resin, varnish, and cellophane.

Tar is used for caulking wooden boats and for waterproofing ropes, roofs, tarpaulins, and roads. Asbestos is likewise used for roofs, and asphalt has similar uses for roads. Asphalt varnishes are also used for protecting iron from weathering. Oils are used both as film in protecting machinery from water vapor and in impregnating fab¬rica, as raincoat cloth, instrument cases, and oiled shoes. Oils are also the solvent in most paints and bind the particles of pigment into a thin, resistant layer. Rubber may be used in sheet form as a cover, but it is usually vulcanized to a fabric, which gives the rubber durability, or it is deposited by electro-chemical means into the pores of the fabric. Any water-insoluble substance may be used in place of rubber, in such connection, providing it can be conveniently precipitated. Such substances are aluminium hydroxide, metallic soaps, waxe», paraffin, resin, asphalt, tar, and varnish. To make fabrics impervious to water and at the same time to allow for ventilation, recourse is had to waterproofing the yarn and then weaving the fabric out of this yarn. An important addition to the family of waterproof materials is cellophane, a cellulose product from which umbrellas, wrappings and raincoats are made.
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