The Conversion Corral

[T Jones]

Just finished this one. This is the scratch finish project that I was working on. It has a smooth and deep colored finish to it. On this project I gave it a center dent with a tall and straight sided full crown. It's a Resistol Stagecoach....

On the head

 

[Woodtroll]

Buddy, I'm flattered by the shout out. If you enjoy doing conversions, stick with it and keep up the good work.

Thanks for the encouragement, sir. I've done a lot of shaping of brims, etc. in the past but never attempted an overhaul. I made quite a few mistakes, and there are definitely some rough edges on the hat figuratively, but I really did learn a lot and have a new appreciation for folks who do this kind of thing regularly or build hats from scratch!

Really nice job on your latest scratch-finish conversion, too! I always enjoy seeing how your projects turn out.

 

[T Jones]

Thanks for the encouragement, sir. I've done a lot of shaping of brims, etc. in the past but never attempted an overhaul. I made quite a few mistakes, and there are definitely some rough edges on the hat figuratively, but I really did learn a lot and have a new appreciation for folks who do this kind of thing regularly or build hats from scratch!

Really nice job on your latest scratch-finish conversion, too! I always enjoy seeing how your projects turn out.

You're welcome buddy. It looks good to me.... and thank you.

 

[T Jones]

I did some more work on this Stagecoach. I had it set aside to experiment on when the occasion would arise. This is one where the brown dye washed out after a few reblockings leaving the brim splotchy and drab looking. I experimented with luring sometime ago on some old discarded felt that I had and after reading through an old hat restoration book that I have I thought I'd try it out on this Stagecoach to see if I could bring the felt back to life. This is one that I reworked a few weeks ago into a Longhair finish. Anyway, the luring couldn't have turned out better. The splotching on the brim is barely noticeable, except under certain lighting. The luring accentuates the longhair finish with a nice sheen. Additionally, bond sent me some ribbons with bows that he took off of old hats. I found a vintage 1 1/2 black ribbon and the bow in the mix that worked out perfect for this hat. The hat is brown but has a grayish undertone. I love the original bow on this one. It's not elaborate but it's simple and clean with an old style look. I didn't try to rework it....

Under this light you can see the splotchiness on the back side of the brim where the dye washed out after a few previous reblockings. Also, notice that bow. Kinda adds a vintage look to the hat. The crown has a rich and nice luster to it.

I took some pictures of me wearing the hat but I couldn't get them to come out right because of my cheap phone camera and the lighting. Here's me wearing the hat a couple of weeks ago before I did any conditioning to the felt and changed out the ribbon to the black one that's on it now. It gives a good perspective on the crown height and shape. It's a nice and tall straight crown...

Here's a side view of the hat from this morning. The poor lighting and the cheapie phone camera doesn't give a good rendition of the color and luster...

 

[humanshoes]

I did some more work on this Stagecoach. I had it set aside to experiment on when the occasion would arise. This is one where the brown dye washed out after a few reblockings leaving the brim splotchy and drab looking. I experimented with luring sometime ago on some old discarded felt that I had and after reading through an old hat restoration book that I have I thought I'd try it out on this Stagecoach to see if I could bring the felt back to life. This is one that I reworked a few weeks ago into a Longhair finish. Anyway, the luring couldn't have turned out better. The splotching on the brim is barely noticeable, except under certain lighting. The luring accentuates the longhair finish with a nice sheen. Additionally, bond sent me some ribbons with bows that he took off of old hats. I found a vintage 1 1/2 black ribbon and the bow in the mix that worked out perfect for this hat. The hat is brown but has a grayish undertone. I love the original bow on this one. It's not elaborate but it's simple and clean with an old style look. I didn't try to rework it....

Under this light you can see the splotchiness on the back side of the brim where the dye washed out after a few previous reblockings. Also, notice that bow. Kinda adds a vintage look to the hat. The crown has a rich and nice luster to it.

I took some pictures of me wearing the hat but I couldn't get them to come out right because of my cheap phone camera and the lighting. Here's me wearing the hat a couple of weeks ago before I did any conditioning to the felt and changed out the ribbon to the black one that's on it now. It gives a good perspective on the crown height and shape. It's a nice and tall straight crown...

Here's a side view of the hat from this morning. The poor lighting and the cheapie phone camera doesn't give a good rendition of the color and luster...

Nice job on that one T. Luring is not for the faint of heart, but the results can be astounding.

 

[Winston Carter]

Amish to Giddy Up !! Original Hat. 5.5" Open Crown.

After a little work (actually fun).

 

[T Jones]

Nice job on that one T. Luring is not for the faint of heart, but the results can be astounding.

Thank you, Rick. Definitely right on with the luring. The hat seemed to be a good candidate for a bit of luring conditioning. The dye had washed out from a few previous reblockings and left behind a splotchy faded look. The luring reconditioned the felt and gave it more luster. The splotching isn't anywhere near as noticeable as it was before, except for in the pictures for some reason. If I could get hold of some powdered hatters dye to match my hat I'd try to lure that into the brim to even out the color. Like you said, the results can be astounding.

 

[humanshoes]

Please let me know if you ever find a source for powdered hat dye. I believe many commercial hat makers still use it to even out their colors so it should be around somewhere. Maybe.

 

[T Jones]

Please let me know if you ever find a source for powdered hat dye. I believe many commercial hat makers still use it to even out their colors so it should be around somewhere. Maybe.

I believe it's still around. The guy that I get my sweats from uses it, if I remember him telling me correctly. I'll call him here in a bit and find out for sure and let you know. I'd like to get some of it, myself.

 

[T Jones]

Just updating a few pics of my lured hat project under better lighting...

On the head

 

[Winston Carter]

Please let me know if you ever find a source for powdered hat dye. I believe many commercial hat makers still use it to even out their colors so it should be around somewhere. Maybe.

Here is an acid dye powder you mix with vinegar.
https://www.jacquardproducts.com/acid-dye.html

 

[humanshoes]

Just updating a few pics of my lured hat project under better lighting...

On the head

Yep, looks like the luring evened out the color nicely. Great job!

 

[humanshoes]

Here is an acid dye powder you mix with vinegar.
https://www.jacquardproducts.com/acid-dye.html

Thanks for that WC. I'm excited to dye a few hat bodies to see if I can come up with a color similar to the vintage blue/gray hats that I have in my collection.

 

[T Jones]

Yep, looks like the luring evened out the color nicely. Great job!

Thank you, Rick!

 

[T Jones]

Thanks for that WC. I'm excited to dye a few hat bodies to see if I can come up with a color similar to the vintage blue/gray hats that I have in my collection.

I think the powdered dye that I was talking about was just for evening out color where the original dyeing process wasn't applied so smoothly in spots rather than for dyeing the whole hat.

 

[hatophile]

Just updating a few pics of my lured hat project under better lighting...

On the head

That's stunning!

 

[Desert dog]

Just updating a few pics of my lured hat project under better lighting...

On the head

What an amazing job! You have created a superb finish, and a beautiful hat!

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Here is an acid dye powder you mix with vinegar.
https://www.jacquardproducts.com/acid-dye.html

There are several threads on dyeing felt. My own attempt is documented here:

https://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/dyeing-a-hat.21682/

I’d try again using one of the acid dyes if/when I find the right candidate.

I think that Rick was looking for a powder that is applied as a powder, but I’m really not sure.

Acid dye in a pressure cooker is on my list of experiments to try. Used felts/hats have areas of uneven wear and oil deposits (you can’t get them all out) that affect the dye and it’s hard to avoid splotchy results.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[T Jones]

What an amazing job! You have created a superb finish, and a beautiful hat!

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

Thank you, buddy! I appreciate that.

 

[T Jones]

That's stunning!

Thank you, Perry!