Painting Straw Hats

[Dash Riprock]

I'm wanting to Paint a Straw Cowboy Hat, so does anybody have any technical information for doing this so it comes out looking good and the paint stays on and remains durable?

Like do I need to use any primer?
What kind of spray paint should I use?
Is there a sealer that should go on after painting?

The reason I'm wanting to paint a straw cowboy hat is because when I buy black straw hats they all seem to have a sheen on them that makes them shiny looking.

I'd like to have a straw hat that is flat black or at least close to flat black.

So, I bought a natural color straw hat for about $80 off of Etsy for this project so in case things don't work out at least I'm not out a lot of money

Any advice on how to get a high quality, long lasting finish would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Dash Riprock]

Surprising nobody on here is involved in changing colors of straw hats

 

[jeffgarf]

Surprising nobody on here is involved in changing colors of straw hats

I tried this years ago and I think it worked pretty well on a dark hat, in fact.

 

[Dash Riprock]

OK, thanks for the video!

In the description this provides these details

liquitex acrylic spray paint
acrylic matte varnish
small paint brush

1. First of all ensure the hat is clean free from dust and remove unwanted trims

2. spray the straw hat with several light coats and let It dry in between
I did 3 layers

3. using a paint brush apply the acrylic matte varnish to protect the color of the hat, this is optional but if you don't wanna respray many times then its good not to skip this step

4. using a small paint brush ,paint the imperfections

 

[Dash Riprock]

Thought I'd document on the forum what supplies I'm using and what the results were in case any others were interested in painting their straw hat

I ordered Carbon Black "Opaque" liquitex acrylic spray paint
to paint the Natural color Resistol Gambler Hat black that I bought for this project

the choice of transparent versus opaque paints will depend on the technique used and the effect required. If luminosity and clear, bright colours are desired, transparent pigments will perform better. If a flatter, more matt or chalkier finish is wanted, opaque pigments will give more density and body.

source - https://www.artistsandillustrators.co.uk/how-to/art-theory/a-guide-to-transparent-and-opaque-paints

 

[Dash Riprock]

I ordered Liquitex Professional Soluvar Matte Varnish, 295g (10.4-oz), Aerosol Spray
to paint the Natural color Resistol Gambler Hat black... this varnish spray is supposed
to protect the black acrylic finish

Key Features

Mineral spirit-based varnish adds a matte sheen, protects and resists dirt retention
Increases brightness and color saturation and dries clear to a flexible, non-tacky, hard surface
Improves surface durability - ideal when shipping or exhibiting
Resists discoloration - yellowing and fogging - caused by humidity, heat and UV
Allows for easy cleaning without fear of damaging the acrylic paint film

Why do I need to varnish my acrylic work?

Varnishing acrylic works protects against damage, dirt, UV light, unifies sheen, and enhances color. Liquitex offers Basics and Professional varnishes.

source - https://www.liquitex.com/products/professional-soluvar-matte-varnish

 

[Dash Riprock]

So, I bought a natural color straw hat for about $80 off of Etsy for this project so in case things don't work out at least I'm not out a lot of money

That hat turned out to be cheap junk, so I went ahead and bought a Resistol

I already have this hat and wear it currently and it's a great hat. They only offer this hat in Natural color and do not offer it in black

Resistol 10X Straw | 3 1/8" Telescope Crown | 3 1/4" Brim | Leather Sweatband
$180.00
https://resistol.com/products/gambler-rsgmbr-253281?variant=32153608093829

Stetson offers the Royal Flush 10X Straw Cowboy Hat in BLACK but they have not had my size (7 3/4) available for several months now and I'm tired of waiting on having a nice black straw hat that fits right ... so I'm going to paint the Resistol hat and see how it works out.

I actually have the Stetson Royal Flush in 7 5/8 and it's a little too tight and the finish on the hat is kinda shiny and I'd rather have matte black

 

[davidvalles94]

I'm wanting to Paint a Straw Cowboy Hat, so does anybody have any technical information for doing this so it comes out looking good and the paint stays on and remains durable?

Like do I need to use any primer?
What kind of spray paint should I use?
Is there a sealer that should go on after painting?

The reason I'm wanting to paint a straw cowboy hat is because when I buy black straw hats they all seem to have a sheen on them that makes them shiny looking.

I'd like to have a straw hat that is flat black or at least close to flat black.

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So, I bought a natural color straw hat for about $80 off of Etsy for this project so in case things don't work out at least I'm not out a lot of money

Any advice on how to get a high quality, long lasting finish would be appreciated. Thanks.

Instead of spray paint, have you considered using a high-quality straw hat dye or even a heavy-duty fabric dye like Rit? Paint tends to sit on top of the fibers and can crack or peel as the straw flexes. If you use a black dye, it will soak into the natural straw, giving you that flat, deep black look without the 'sheen' or the risk of chipping. You can still use a matte straw stiffener afterward to keep the shape without adding any gloss.

 

[Dash Riprock]

Instead of spray paint, have you considered using a high-quality straw hat dye or even a heavy-duty fabric dye like Rit? Paint tends to sit on top of the fibers and can crack or peel as the straw flexes. If you use a black dye, it will soak into the natural straw, giving you that flat, deep black look without the 'sheen' or the risk of chipping. You can still use a matte straw stiffener afterward to keep the shape without adding any gloss.

Does the dye come in a spray can so it can be applied evenly through several light coats?

And the hat I'm going to use most likely has had some sort of sealant or similar substance sprayed on to it by the manufacturer so isn't that going to effect any attempts to get dye so soak in to the fibers?

The purpose of using Varnish after pairing the hat is to prevent crack or peel as the straw flexes

At this point I'd probably want to stick with painting the hat since this is what most people are doing and it seems to be working out good for them.

If I saw a video where someone used dye and provided all the details about how to go that route and how it worked out I might consider it on a different project. The hat I bought for this project was $200 so I don't see me doing this a lot.

 

[belfastboy]

Instead of spray paint, have you considered using a high-quality straw hat dye or even a heavy-duty fabric dye like Rit? Paint tends to sit on top of the fibers and can crack or peel as the straw flexes. If you use a black dye, it will soak into the natural straw, giving you that flat, deep black look without the 'sheen' or the risk of chipping. You can still use a matte straw stiffener afterward to keep the shape without adding any gloss.

I doubt dye would work. Most western straws are shantung or toyo which is a paper based straw with a plasticized coating.

 

[Dash Riprock]

with a plasticized coating

Yep, I heard when they make straw hats they put some sort of coating on them

Which makes me wonder if I should lightly do some sanding on the hat before trying to paint it to help get a little of that coating off so the paint can stick better,

So far none of the videos of people painting straw hats have said anything about sanding to make the surface a little rough so the paint sticks better

 

[belfastboy]

Yep, I heard when they make straw hats they put some sort of coating on them

Which makes me wonder if I should lightly do some sanding on the hat before trying to paint it to help get a little of that coating off so the paint can stick better,

So far none of the videos of people painting straw hats have said anything about sanding to make the surface a little rough so the paint sticks better

Be cautious...the straw is paper. It is the coating that holds it together. Without the coating the straw will likely turn to mush in the rain. It is not toquillo straw as in a Panama...it is cheap rice paper straw.

 

[Dash Riprock]

Without the coating the straw will likely turn to mush in the rain.

Of course the paint and varnish would be going on to the hat.

I was just wondering if a little light sanding might help the paint stick better

 

[belfastboy]

Of course the paint and varnish would be going on to the hat.

I was just wondering if a little light sanding might help the paint stick better

The risk in sanding is you compromise the original integrity. The question: will the varnish restore the original integrity? Let us know how it works out.

 

[Dash Riprock]

Well, I don't know if sanding would actually mess up the integrity of the hat. And if sanding I was thinking of just lightly sanding just to help the paint stick better I was not thinking of sanding it heavily

You mention it would if it go wet, so it sounds like as long as the hat does not get wet between sanding it and applying the paint and varnish it would be OK.

Paint and varnish should seal it up right?

I don't know that I would want to sand on it or not before painting it.

My question was would sanding help the paint stick better, or would the paint stick good enough without sanding considering varnish is going to be applied on top of the paint.