Vintage Hat Restoration costs

[Pater Familias]

Won a vintage Open Road Stetson on ebay awhile back. It had some stains and general dirtyness to it and it smelled (like damn stinky pancake syrup of all things). The seller wasn't quite as upfront as I'd have appreciated.

I tried the 4 days sealed in with crumpled newspapers and it didn't do anything for the smell. So yesterday I did the naptha bath for several hours. It helped with the dirtyness but some minor stains didn't budge and now the leather sweatband needs replacing even after Lexoling it before and after the naptha.

How much does it cost (avg) to have the sweatband replaced?

And also maybe the liner replaced and reblocked at the same time?

I swear it shrunk a little after the naptha bath.

I thought when I won it I got it for a good price based some on some auctions I watched, and there were quite a few bidders. However, now I'm concerned about putting more money into it.

Who are some recommended repair shops? I know about Art Fawcett, but wondered about other reputable folks maybe closer to Georgia.

Thanks.

 

[gtdean48]

I've used Optimo, Shorty's in OKC & Catalena Hats for renovations/restorations. Optimo is the most expensive. They seem to do about the same process. There are some others listed here as well.
http://shortyshattery.com/
http://www.catalenahats.com/
http://www.optimohats.com/

 

[Rick Blaine]

A couple come to mind

Clean-a-hat is in Mississippi. I have never used them, but need to. His prices look good too. I have had mixed results w/ refurbs at Optimo. Not bad, I blame myself for not being specific enough when I dropped off the hat. I'd be interested as to your experience with another. And Mjr. Moore at Buckaroo Hatters near Memphis. I dunno if he does cleaning or repairs. Hope this helps!

 

[Pater Familias]

Ever tried sewing in a new band and liner yourself? I'd be willing to try if I knew what exactly I needed to do it.

 

[gtdean48]

Ever tried sewing in a new band and liner yourself? I'd be willing to try if I knew what exactly I needed to do it.

For that work, I do send my hats to Major Moore at Buckaroo Hatters, especially new sweatbands & ribbon work. The Major does a lot of western custom work like Art does fedora custom work. I'm sure they both can do renovation work but aren't set up for it like Optimo & Catalena. I've used Shorty's for a couple of western refurbs because I bought my first custom hat from her & go to OKC annually.

 

[frussell]

I haven't found Optimo to be any more expensive than other places that I've had renovations done, including some of the above. Many places have lower starting prices, then seem to go up once they've examined all the work they will have to do on your hat. Optimo's listed prices stay the same. Plus, I really like the quality of their replacement sweats. Nice and wide, and very comfortable leather. Sounds like you're in for about $100 worth of work, between the upsizing and new sweat and liner. Like someone said above, be very specific about what you want, and Optimo would be my choice. Frank

 

[carldelo]

I dropped two hats for some refurb work at Worth & Worth in NYC on Saturday.
One is getting a new ribbon and brim binding for $45
The other is getting stretched two sizes, a new sweatband and a reblock to open crown for $55.
A friend dropped a hat for a clean, block, stretch one size, new sweat and liner for $80.
Others have had good luck with their work, so I'm hopeful and will post a review when they come back in a week or 10 days.

 

[scottyrocks]

Ever tried sewing in a new band and liner yourself? I'd be willing to try if I knew what exactly I needed to do it.

I had decided a while back to try to do all of this myself. Bought a block, a stitch-awl, and upholstery thread. Got quite a bit of guidance right here, a lot of from Brad Bowers, especially for the sweat replacement. Its time consuming, but very graitifying, to completely restore a hat.