How to make waterproof matches

When going on a hiking trip or a long fishing trip with an overnight stay for several days, you need to prepare for bad weather and protect your matches from getting wet. Of course, you can store them in special sealed boxes, but plastic containers split into two in a backpack. I offer a simple method that allows you to make the matches themselves waterproof and light them even after swimming in the river.

Materials:

• epoxy resin
  
• matches;
  
• Zapon varnish.

Sealing matches

This method of protecting matches from getting wet is as simple as it gets. To do this you will need a two-component epoxy adhesive. From it you only need to take resin without a hardener. In my case, I used the product in ALTECO 3 TON QUICK tubes, but the others will be no worse. It is enough to squeeze out a small drop of resin onto the head of the match.

You need to rub the epoxy over the head of the match with your finger. There should be little resin, since during a hike a thick layer will interfere with the contact of sulfur and chirkash. You will have to rub for a long time to remove it.

After making several matches, you should check the ignition, since it is possible that the epoxy glue used is not suitable.If everything catches fire after a preliminary dip in water, then you can make a sufficient supply of matches for the trip.



Epoxy provides a more reliable sealing of the match head than candle paraffin, which is also used to impregnate the heads. This method is also simple. You just need to first melt the candle and dip the matches into it.

Grater protection

However, epoxy or wax is not enough to light matches when you get wet on a hike. The weak link is chirkash. The cardboard on the matchbox gets wet. To prevent this from happening, it also needs to be protected. This is made even easier. It is enough to simply immerse a cut-out chirkash or a whole empty box in Tsapon varnish for an hour so that the paper is saturated. After this, it is taken out and dried. In the future, even if such a box is drowned, he will still be able to light a match coated with epoxy. Just to be safe, you don’t need to soak the box in Tsapona twice, because then a thick layer of varnish will completely cover the chirkash.
Matches protected with epoxy resin can be placed directly into a box soaked in varnish. In this form, they are more familiar and convenient to use. Upgrading matches using this method is not difficult, but in wet weather, if you have dry kindling, you can warm up by the fire.