STEP BY STEP NAPTHA BATH

[Hurricane Jack]

I've never checked my Coleman fuel for a worm, though.

Those are proprietary worms.

 

[nickwellings]

I read in the 1920 document Instructions in Hat Cleaning and Renovation (Hatters Supply House, Chicago here https://archive.org/details/instructionsinha00hatt) that an alternative to a gasoline or naphtha bath is to "use Castile soap" after giving the hat a dunking in hot water (page six on the document)

I could not see if anyone on FL has tried this? Most searches for the soap on here are for cosmetic use

I'm thinking that bathing a hat in hot water isn't such a good idea. I note that this milliner/hatter did bathe hers in Woolite http://hatstruck.blogspot.com/2010/12/recycled-millinery-materials-fur-felt.html?m=1 (additional, check out the lured finish, which is how I found her page. Simply wow)

The reason I'm exploring this is because I have a fur felt hat restoration underway. A $3 cost rescue, the felt was smacked around and squashed, no liner, no leather or any sweat, no outside ribbon. I live in United Kingdom and can't easily buy litres of Naphtha. Gasoline perhaps I could, but I live in an apartment and wouldn't know how to dispose of it after. I'm looking for alternatives. Castile soap much cheaper than gas/"petrol" too.

Any thoughts?

 

[Frunobulax]

I read in the 1920 document Instructions in Hat Cleaning and Renovation (Hatters Supply House, Chicago here https://archive.org/details/instructionsinha00hatt) that an alternative to a gasoline or naphtha bath is to "use Castile soap" after giving the hat a dunking in hot water (page six on the document)

I could not see if anyone on FL has tried this? Most searches for the soap on here are for cosmetic use

I'm thinking that bathing a hat in hot water isn't such a good idea. I note that this milliner/hatter did bathe hers in Woolite http://hatstruck.blogspot.com/2010/12/recycled-millinery-materials-fur-felt.html?m=1 (additional, check out the lured finish, which is how I found her page. Simply wow)

The reason I'm exploring this is because I have a fur felt hat restoration underway. A $3 cost rescue, the felt was smacked around and squashed, no liner, no leather or any sweat, no outside ribbon. I live in United Kingdom and can't easily buy litres of Naphtha. Gasoline perhaps I could, but I live in an apartment and wouldn't know how to dispose of it after. I'm looking for alternatives. Castile soap much cheaper than gas/"petrol" too.

Any thoughts?

The main reason to stay away from water-based products is the leather sweat. If it's just a piece of felt that needs rebuilt, it should be OK. I've never used Castile soap, but I 've used Woolite.

 

[jlee562]

I mean, according to the bottle Dr. Bronners will clean anything. I'd be interested in your results if you try the castile soap.

 

[nickwellings]

The main reason to stay away from water-based products is the leather sweat. If it's just a piece of felt that needs rebuilt, it should be OK. I've never used Castile soap, but I 've used Woolite.

That's encouraging! I have pink Woolite and that bare fur felt hat, no leather. Dunk and try, then rinse?

Jlee, I'm tempted by Woolite: after all, technology's moved on, right? (?)

 

[belfastboy]

I read in the 1920 document Instructions in Hat Cleaning and Renovation (Hatters Supply House, Chicago here https://archive.org/details/instructionsinha00hatt) that an alternative to a gasoline or naphtha bath is to "use Castile soap" after giving the hat a dunking in hot water (page six on the document)

I could not see if anyone on FL has tried this? Most searches for the soap on here are for cosmetic use

I'm thinking that bathing a hat in hot water isn't such a good idea. I note that this milliner/hatter did bathe hers in Woolite http://hatstruck.blogspot.com/2010/12/recycled-millinery-materials-fur-felt.html?m=1 (additional, check out the lured finish, which is how I found her page. Simply wow)

The reason I'm exploring this is because I have a fur felt hat restoration underway. A $3 cost rescue, the felt was smacked around and squashed, no liner, no leather or any sweat, no outside ribbon. I live in United Kingdom and can't easily buy litres of Naphtha. Gasoline perhaps I could, but I live in an apartment and wouldn't know how to dispose of it after. I'm looking for alternatives. Castile soap much cheaper than gas/"petrol" too.

Any thoughts?

It has to be naptha or white gas....which I understand is ultra pure gasoline, pure, no additives or contaminants. I use it all the time in my garage with the door open....no open flame or pilot light about.
It is reusable and I just use a funnel to put it back in the metal can it came in. The brand I use is ubiquitous...Colemans camp stove fuel. The fumes are not that obnoxious or noxious....if you have a balcony then do it there. I use Castille soap (Dr Bonners) which is readily available here for household use, shampoo, bathing hell you can even use it to brush your teeth as it is neutral in taste (I don't though). The advantage with castille thatI can see is it rinses out very easily and as a pure product doesn't tend to leave a residue. I think it is safe bet to try it. But I doubt it will do as thorough a job disolving the built up hair oil/grease and overall crud of a well used hat.

I have only used hot water on a fur felt hat once when I dyed it. The hat did shrink a fair bit but I blocked it to size right after removing it from the dye bath. The interesting thing is that it seemed as though the heat reignited the felting process and the felt became thicker/much more dense on an already thick western weight felt. I lost brim width in the shrinkage/refelting but it didn't matter as the brim was so damn big to start with.

 

[belfastboy]

I read in the 1920 document Instructions in Hat Cleaning and Renovation (Hatters Supply House, Chicago here https://archive.org/details/instructionsinha00hatt) that an alternative to a gasoline or naphtha bath is to "use Castile soap" after giving the hat a dunking in hot water (page six on the document)

I could not see if anyone on FL has tried this? Most searches for the soap on here are for cosmetic use

I'm thinking that bathing a hat in hot water isn't such a good idea. I note that this milliner/hatter did bathe hers in Woolite http://hatstruck.blogspot.com/2010/12/recycled-millinery-materials-fur-felt.html?m=1 (additional, check out the lured finish, which is how I found her page. Simply wow)

The reason I'm exploring this is because I have a fur felt hat restoration underway. A $3 cost rescue, the felt was smacked around and squashed, no liner, no leather or any sweat, no outside ribbon. I live in United Kingdom and can't easily buy litres of Naphtha. Gasoline perhaps I could, but I live in an apartment and wouldn't know how to dispose of it after. I'm looking for alternatives. Castile soap much cheaper than gas/"petrol" too.

Any thoughts?

Oh, and if you use naptha ....I wear elbow length rubber gloves.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

I read in the 1920 document Instructions in Hat Cleaning and Renovation (Hatters Supply House, Chicago here https://archive.org/details/instructionsinha00hatt) that an alternative to a gasoline or naphtha bath is to "use Castile soap" after giving the hat a dunking in hot water (page six on the document)

I could not see if anyone on FL has tried this? Most searches for the soap on here are for cosmetic use

I'm thinking that bathing a hat in hot water isn't such a good idea. I note that this milliner/hatter did bathe hers in Woolite http://hatstruck.blogspot.com/2010/12/recycled-millinery-materials-fur-felt.html?m=1 (additional, check out the lured finish, which is how I found her page. Simply wow)

The reason I'm exploring this is because I have a fur felt hat restoration underway. A $3 cost rescue, the felt was smacked around and squashed, no liner, no leather or any sweat, no outside ribbon. I live in United Kingdom and can't easily buy litres of Naphtha. Gasoline perhaps I could, but I live in an apartment and wouldn't know how to dispose of it after. I'm looking for alternatives. Castile soap much cheaper than gas/"petrol" too.

Any thoughts?

@belfastboy said it, but it bears repeating: naptha/white gas/Coleman fuel is NOT the same as gasoline. Gasoline is a solvent, but it has so many additives it will leave residue on and in the felt. I would never consider using normal gasoline on felt...unless it’s a Nick Fouquet hat.

 

[AbbaDatDeHat]

@belfastboy said it, but it bears repeating: naptha/white gas/Coleman fuel is NOT the same as gasoline. Gasoline is a solvent, but it has so many additives it will leave residue on and in the felt. I would never consider using normal gasoline on felt...unless it’s a Nick Fouquet hat.

Lol
And in that case save the match!!
B

 

[belfastboy]

@belfastboy said it, but it bears repeating: naptha/white gas/Coleman fuel is NOT the same as gasoline. Gasoline is a solvent, but it has so many additives it will leave residue on and in the felt. I would never consider using normal gasoline on felt...unless it’s a Nick Fouquet hat.

I was thinking maybe that is why Fouquet provides a matchstick in the ribbon work???

 

[nickwellings]

Thanks for the help, all! Hat got dunked and left for 30mins - 1 hr a few times. Woolite (cold water) then woolite lukewarm water a few times. After bucket three, the water was 8/10 clear. Good enough for me. Rinsed by dunking in cold water and a touch of shower hose nozzle. No ill effects, no shrinkage. Left it to dry on a towel. May need a light reblock. Feels a lot softer of course (even a bit lighter).

When it came out of the rinse I left it drip dry in my hands for a minute or so (it's definitely NOT like a wool garment where water gets retained in gallons - after about 1 minute the dripping had stopped and the only water in it was the water in it. No need to feel I could "wring it" - not that I would!).

Gave it a very light brush with a soft brush in direction of nap. Gave it light occasional brushes as it dried. The outside was mainly dry in 6 hours, inside overnight.

Having hand washed many things in my time in buckets, I didn't think that absolutely no water would go through the felt - often agitation helps the wash, dirt comes out of fibre layers. I kinda forgot this was NOT going to be the case with a felt. As I read on here once, you could indeed whack your hat in a barrel of water and water a horse from it - in extremis. Distressing to shove the hat in the water and watch the brim go wavy (I needed a bigger bucket) but, like I say absolutely no ill effects observed.

It wasn't deeply dirty, I wanted to see how it would respond, in case I ever had a REALLY bad, stained felt. I did smack some lighter fluid on the front brim a few days before dunking. This made that area look a little darker. Post-woolite, it still looks the same. Live and learn.

Also, before dunking I pounced the hat a bit with wet-and-dry paper to about 400. I did it cos the felt looked very "bobbly". Didn't do the brim as much. Post-woolite, the brim looks better, fibres nicely settled on brushing, looks fine. Body looks a bit bare by comparison. Live and learn (again - and that's part of the fun right?) - wash first, then decide to go irreversibly mechanical destructive.

(Coleman gas is about $13 a litre here: that's an expensive bath for a hat, I'd need 3-4 bottles?) I'll keep this woolite in mind if I ever need to do it again.

Next, I have a tiny bottle fractionated coconut oil on the way - I'll try a spot of luring, nothing to lose with this felt. I don't even know if it needs it (it's not beaver) but I'll see what happens. (Never done luring before.)

 

[belfastboy]

Thanks for the help, all! Hat got dunked and left for 30mins - 1 hr a few times. Woolite (cold water) then woolite lukewarm water a few times. After bucket three, the water was 8/10 clear. Good enough for me. Rinsed by dunking in cold water and a touch of shower hose nozzle. No ill effects, no shrinkage. Left it to dry on a towel. May need a light reblock. Feels a lot softer of course (even a bit lighter).

When it came out of the rinse I left it drip dry in my hands for a minute or so (it's definitely NOT like a wool garment where water gets retained in gallons - after about 1 minute the dripping had stopped and the only water in it was the water in it. No need to feel I could "wring it" - not that I would!).

Gave it a very light brush with a soft brush in direction of nap. Gave it light occasional brushes as it dried. The outside was mainly dry in 6 hours, inside overnight.

Having hand washed many things in my time in buckets, I didn't think that absolutely no water would go through the felt - often agitation helps the wash, dirt comes out of fibre layers. I kinda forgot this was NOT going to be the case with a felt. As I read on here once, you could indeed whack your hat in a barrel of water and water a horse from it - in extremis. Distressing to shove the hat in the water and watch the brim go wavy (I needed a bigger bucket) but, like I say absolutely no ill effects observed.

It wasn't deeply dirty, I wanted to see how it would respond, in case I ever had a REALLY bad, stained felt. I did smack some lighter fluid on the front brim a few days before dunking. This made that area look a little darker. Post-woolite, it still looks the same. Live and learn.

Also, before dunking I pounced the hat a bit with wet-and-dry paper to about 400. I did it cos the felt looked very "bobbly". Didn't do the brim as much. Post-woolite, the brim looks better, fibres nicely settled on brushing, looks fine. Body looks a bit bare by comparison. Live and learn (again - and that's part of the fun right?) - wash first, then decide to go irreversibly mechanical destructive.

(Coleman gas is about $13 a litre here: that's an expensive bath for a hat, I'd need 3-4 bottles?) I'll keep this woolite in mind if I ever need to do it again.

Next, I have a tiny bottle fractionated coconut oil on the way - I'll try a spot of luring, nothing to lose with this felt. I don't even know if it needs it (it's not beaver) but I'll see what happens. (Never done luring before.)

400 grit is very coarse to pounce a hat...even a fur felt. Next time start with 800 and if necessary step down to a 600 but use a very light hand. I use the white plastic abrasive pads to finish a hat and that might work on a wool to coax the fibres in the same direction without removing much, if any, of the fibre. You did well using only a slight difference in water temp. It is not the hot or cold water in itself that causes shrinkage in wool. It is the temp differential....moving from hot to cold will shrink wool.

 

[nickwellings]

Thanks for the grit help. I had a stash of paper from when I used to paint guitars, but frustratingly not here with me. I was being fairly light so took off a few hairs, bit of dust. I'll know next time!

 

[nickwellings]

PS, can you show me a link or photo of the white abrasive pad please? I'm not familiar with it. The only white sponges I know are what we call "magic sponges", very finely abrasive melamine sponge.

 

[belfastboy]

PS, can you show me a link or photo of the white abrasive pad please? I'm not familiar with it. The only white sponges I know are what we call "magic sponges", very finely abrasive melamine sponge.

I purchased mine on Amazon ...they call them.."non-abrasive white pads". No soap or cleaner embedded just a thin white pad. Similar to the orange hat sponges only cheaper.

 

[nickwellings]

Thank you, I'm intrigued by the concept of something non abrasive being used to polish something/finish something.

Final point about this hat: I realised that the area where the band had been is lighter than the rest of the hat (as one might expect). I further thought that if Woolite had done a very good job, the felt would get closer to the under-ribbon colour. That didn't happen.

Photo here:
https://ibb.co/0JWKw5R

My next try will probably be a bit of aloe Vera gel/wiping on a hidden area, see if that helps. Like I say, I have nothing to lose.

Unless you guys think it'll never get back to its original colour!

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Thank you, I'm intrigued by the concept of something non abrasive being used to polish something/finish something.

Final point about this hat: I realised that the area where the band had been is lighter than the rest of the hat (as one might expect). I further thought that if Woolite had done a very good job, the felt would get closer to the under-ribbon colour. That didn't happen.

Photo here:
https://ibb.co/0JWKw5R

My next try will probably be a bit of aloe Vera gel/wiping on a hidden area, see if that helps. Like I say, I have nothing to lose.

Unless you guys think it'll never get back to its original colour!

Soiling can come out some times, sun bleaching is another matter...not much to be done except hopefully cover the different shaded areas with ribbon etc.

Many of us, myself included, have hats where the felt changes color partway up the crown. This was often caused by prolonged stacking of hats. I’ve never seen anyone successfully address the discoloration. If the felt is thick enough and the staining is superficial perhaps it could be pounced out, but I’ve not attempted it. I can’t see fixing It by adding an oil/luring. I suspect that the the felt will get darker, but the differences in shade will remain.

Keep us informed on how it turns out.

Brent

 

[Lean'n'mean]

Final point about this hat: I realised that the area where the band had been is lighter than the rest of the hat (as one might expect). I further thought that if Woolite had done a very good job, the felt would get closer to the under-ribbon colour. That didn't happen.

Photo here:
https://ibb.co/0JWKw5R

My next try will probably be a bit of aloe Vera gel/wiping on a hidden area, see if that helps. Like I say, I have nothing to lose.

Unless you guys think it'll never get back to its original colour!

There's nothing you can do to even the color but if it really bothers you, you could turn the hat inside out.

 

[nickwellings]

Thanks Brent, Lean.

Not bothered about the colour contrast - ribbon will hide it. I do wonder what the heck you'd ever call the colour it is now - or was. Dirty sand, I'd say. Not the nicest shade, but it is what it is.

 

[belfastboy]

Thank you, I'm intrigued by the concept of something non abrasive being used to polish something/finish something.

Final point about this hat: I realised that the area where the band had been is lighter than the rest of the hat (as one might expect). I further thought that if Woolite had done a very good job, the felt would get closer to the under-ribbon colour. That didn't happen.

Photo here:
https://ibb.co/0JWKw5R

My next try will probably be a bit of aloe Vera gel/wiping on a hidden area, see if that helps. Like I say, I have nothing to lose.

Unless you guys think it'll never get back to its original colour!

I have a light coloured felt hat that I gave a naptha bath too but steaming it left residual water marks that lead me to believe the naptha did not get out all the dirt. So rather than re bathe it I tried the white pads on the water marks and it removed them without taking much, if any, of the felt.