Searing and Waxing

ARMY TM 10-1670-279-23&P AIR FORCE T.O. 13C5-27-2 NAVY NAVAIR 13-1-28 2-19. Searing and Waxing. This task covers: a. Searing b. Waxing Tools: Personnel Required: Pot, Melting, Item 13, Appendix B 43E(10) Parachute Rigger Knife; Hot Metal, Item 5, Appendix B Equipment Condition: Materials/Parts: Unpacked Beeswax, Item 2, Appendix D Wax, Paraffin, Item 32, Appendix D CAUTION Cotton tape, webbing, or cord will not be seared. NOTE Fabric materials such as cord, tape, and webbing that are cut for use in the maintenance of parachutes will normally be heat-seared or dipped in a melted wax mixture, as applicable, to prevent the material from fraying or unraveling. However, in some instances the preparation of the material may not be necessary and will be specified accordingly. a. Searing. The cut ends of nylon tape, webbing, and cord lengths may be prepared by heat-searing which is performed by pressing the raw end of the material against a hot metal surface (knife) until the nylon has melted sufficiently. Avoid forming a sharp edge or lumped effect on the melted end. b. Waxing. The fraying or unraveling of cotton or nylon tape, webbing, and cord length ends may be prevented by dipping 112 inch of the raw end of the material into a thoroughly melted mixture of half beeswax and half paraffin in an electric melting pot. The wax temperature should be substantial enough to ensure the wax completely penetrates the material rather than just coating the exterior fabric. 2-56