Need help with a stain

[Chuck14911]

I purchased a beautiful Stetson Rancher 5x hat. The felt is in great condition except for 4 or 5 stains on the top of the brim in back of the hat. I have tried all of the dry stain removal remedies to no avail. I have included photo of the hat and the stains. The seller did not know what the stains were made by. Help!

 

[belfastboy]

I purchased a beautiful Stetson Rancher 5x hat. The felt is in great condition except for 4 or 5 stains on the top of the brim in back of the hat. I have tried all of the dry stain removal remedies to no avail. I have included photo of the hat and the stains. The seller did not know what the stains were made by. Help!

Can you 'feel' the stain? Or, is it a darker liquid stain? The difficulty with stains is, depending on the type, they have to be flushed out of the hat. If you attempt a spot clean you will likely end up making it worse as you end up chasing the stain around the hat, perhaps diluting it. But in the dilution you spread it, making the stained area larger. Also, if it is a used hat it is likely a bit dirty all over the hat. So any spot cleaning you do, will clean that one spot and then it will be a lighter shade that the rest of the hat.
If the stained spots are 'crusty' you could try scraping it with a new Xacto blade. Scraping carefully so you don't slice the felt. Then an 800 grit sandpaper to smooth it out. You may be able to lighten the stained area. But as vintage hat restorer, I would say you may just need to live with it......or send it out for a full cleaning. And even sending it out is not a guaranteed fix as we don't know what the stain is made from.

 

[RickP]

I purchased a beautiful Stetson Rancher 5x hat. The felt is in great condition except for 4 or 5 stains on the top of the brim in back of the hat. I have tried all of the dry stain removal remedies to no avail. I have included photo of the hat and the stains. The seller did not know what the stains were made by. Help!

My first thought would be to gently blot with a gauze pad dampened with everclear or naptha... Be sure to blot... dont rub or you might spread the stain. If it seems to work continue a bit at a time. Blot and let it dry between sessions.. dont soak the felt.

If that makes progress, you might try one of the foaming hat cleaner sprays. Spray and gently work the whole brim with a washcloth... Doing the whole brim evenly will avoid making a discolored patch in one clean spot let it dry and brush with a horsehair or boars hair brush.

Worst case it might require a complete immersion with Everclear or naptha..... Some spots just get stubborn... Good luck