How to clean a found vintage hat???

[Tony from Tulsa]

Hey guys,
Forgive me if there is a thread on this somewhere, I couldn't find one. I just bought a cool, gray stingy brim felt fedora from ebay. It's obviously very old, but has lots of life left in it. Problem is, it SMELLS very old, ha ha! Can you get these dry cleaned? My plan was to dry clean it, then slightly re-shape it and it will be awesome once again. Anybody have suggestions?

 

[Dinerman]

Steam it and put it in the sun for a day or two. Should remove all smells.

 

[T Rick]

If a real serious cleaning is desired, check out the post from Short Balding Guy in the Stratoliner Society Thread (post #630).

 

[HatsEnough]

I just wonder.... does the search function just stink, or do too many people not bother to use it? I mean, I know I have trouble using it. Seems to take far too long to find things. Bu I do eventually find things using the search. I also just go to Google, type in the item and then add "Fedora Lounge" after it.

 

[Tomasso]

You can always send it to a hatter for cleaning.

 

[dhermann1]

Search function stinks.

 

[Rick Blaine]

Better living thru chemistry!

White Gas aka Coleman Camp Stove Fuel. It always works...*'cept when it does not! :eusa_doh:

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[Tomasso]

I also just go to Google, type in the item and then add "Fedora Lounge" after it.

Google has a toolbar option that allows you to search only on the current website. You simply type in the search terms.... hit the button...and voilà

 

[T Rick]

White Gas aka Coleman Camp Stove Fuel. It always works...*'cept when it does not! :eusa_doh:

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Ouch! Rick, could you please elaborate on this (or link to a post where you did)? It looks like something we should be aware of! Hate to ruin a hat while trying to fix it up.

 

[Tony from Tulsa]

Again, please FORGIVE ME if this has been asked before, as I'm sure it has. I do, in fact, often have trouble finding an exact topic I'm interested in, but given enough time I'll usually find it. Trouble is, I don't have that much free time lately. Just thought I'd throw out the quick question. Thanks to all for the help. I'll try a flamethrower.

 

[Rick Blaine]

Ouch! Rick, could you please elaborate on this (or link to a post where you did)? It looks like something we should be aware of! Hate to ruin a hat while trying to fix it up.

The entire sorry story

 

[Mr Vim]

I have cleaned a few hats with successful results. I put a kettle on until it steams, then take a hat cleaning sponge (which you can buy at any country store that sells hats) I carefully hold the sponge over the steam and the lightly (DO NOT SCRUB) the hat along the grain of the fur felt. The sponge will take away most dirt and dust. For really ground in stains or what not, I agree with the others and say send it to a hatter.

 

[Shangas]

A traditional hat-brush like this...

...is good for removing pretty heavy levels of dust, but from what I've read, if that doesn't work, steam-cleaning or wiping it down firmly with a sponge can help.

My local hatter told me that it's not possible to have hats dry-cleaned anymore. In the past it was possible to send your hat to the local dry-cleaner's to have them give it the once-over, but apparently, the process they use isn't particularly beneficial for health (something to do with the chemicals involved I understand) and as a consequence, you can't do that anymore.

 

[The Wiser Hatter]

Not all hatters do cleaning as this is a whole other area of hat care that most are not equiped to handle.
Here is my tale on an issue I had with a Mallory of mine.
Why-Would-You-Wear-A-Dirty-Hat

 

[Tomasso]

Not all hatters do cleaning as this is a whole other area of hat care that most are not equiped to handle.
Here is my tale on an issue I had with a Mallory of mine.
Why-Would-You-Wear-A-Dirty-Hat

As you can see the spots are now gone.

Drew even put a feather in my hat band.

So now I can wear my Mallory 15 again and it looks like a brand new hat.

.

I'm still seeing the stains, albeit much lighter.[huh]

 

[The Wiser Hatter]

There are no stains visable on the hat any more. The Hat needed a good cleaning and is a much darker brown color now than before the cleaning. I now have it in cased in plastic hanging bag which keeps on the drips and other various varmits.