Cleaning Coffee Stains - Help!!

[PhilS]

I was in the elevator today and took off my hat. The elevator was packed and the person next to me had an open latte which she spilled on my brand new vintage Stratoliner. What do I do? I sprinkled water on it and otherwise have left it alone. What should I do? The stain is pretty small but I can't see anything else right now.

 

[tonyb]

First of all, don't do anything to make it worse. I, too, might be a bit distressed if it were my vintage Stratoliner that got attacked by a latte, but I'd still advise you to relax and have faith that your friends here will help you make that stain disappear.

Where on the hat is the stain? How large is it? Do you have a hatter's sponge? I suggest we try the least drastic measures first.

 

[RBH]

If you did not dip it in coleman fuel to clean it... I would suggest that.
Dont know about a coffee stain but the camp fuel is great for an overall cleaning.

My vintage Stratoliner had a large stain on the front... which was one reason I got it for under a 100$ almost 2 years ago.
I did the camp fuel dip and the hat came clean and the 'oily' looking stain all but disappeared. Today the stain is unnoticeable.

 

[scotrace]

You killed her of course?

 

[Feraud]

You killed her of course?

The first order of business!

 

[Miss Neecerie]

You killed her of course?

He isnt asking about -blood- stain removal.....

 

[Rick Blaine]

If you did not dip it in coleman fuel to clean it... I would suggest that.
Dont know about a coffee stain but the camp fuel is great for an overall cleaning.

My vintage Stratoliner had a large stain on the front... which was one reason I got it for under a 100$ almost 2 years ago.
I did the camp fuel dip and the hat came clean and the 'oily' looking stain all but disappeared. Today the stain is unnoticeable.

Copy that. Get a plastic rubbermaid container, a gallon or two of white gas, some lexol and go to town.

 

[David Conwill]

I don't want to rub salt in your wounds, but I thought ettiquite said that if the elevator was crowded, you kept your hat on?

Good luck with this. Coffee stains are a nasty business.

-Dave

 

[PhilS]

Well, This Does Make it Worse.

I don't want to rub salt in your wounds, but I thought ettiquite said that if the elevator was crowded, you kept your hat on?

I most certainly did not know this. Whatever the rule, I'll be doggoned if I ever take my hat off in a crowd again.

 

[Feraud]

I don't want to rub salt in your wounds, but I thought ettiquite said that if the elevator was crowded, you kept your hat on?

To be accurate it is crowed elevators and open lattes is when the hat is kept on.

How large is the stain? Maybe you can spot clean it with Naptha.

 

[mtechthang]

Well, maybe . .

What do I do? I sprinkled water on it and otherwise have left it alone. What should I do? The stain is pretty small but I can't see anything else right now.

PhilS
I agree with the notion of do no harm (sorry, Hippocrates!). Before proceeding to the gas or other measures, perhaps a note to one of the resident fedora makers/repair specialists on the list would be in order. I would fear a little, depending on where the stain is, that you may cause some extra "worries" for the beloved fedora. Also, coffee has a nasty habit of spreading on cloth. Perhaps those wiser than I can comment on the likelihood of that on felt? (Pretty please!) Good luck with it.

BTW- the "it is the only thing I see" will lessen with time anyway. Having banged a guitar or two in my day, I've had some experience with that phenomenon!

 

[carldelo]

This takes me back

When I was in college, I took the Amtrak cross country NYC to Seattle and back at Christmas. At one point, I was napping with my gray Cavanagh (yes, with eponymous edge) on the seat beside me. I woke up to find the teardrop crown a little tiny swimming pool, full of coffee that had dripped from a not-properly-sealed Thermos on the overhead luggage rack. As I recall, after freaking out, I went to the bathroom, poured the coffee off the hat and used wet and dry paper towels alternately to wet the felt, then pull the coffee stain out by dabbing with dry towels. The guy who owned the Thermos felt really bad and gave me $20 to have the hat cleaned, but I never did it and amazingly the stain was not noticeable afterwards. Maybe this worked because the coffee hadn't dried yet, or the felt was extremely high quality. You could give it a try, I guess just don't get it so wet that the stain migrates farther out into the unstained felt. If it doesn't work you could proceed to other solvents. Good luck.

 

[DanielJones]

In my repetition of "what do I do?"

I was just reading up recently on cleaning stains in a copy of Scientific Hat Making I just got & one of the cleaning methods is a 5% solution of Hydrogen Peroxide dabbed into the stain. Then thoroughly rinsed with clean water. If you haven't tried the naptha method yet you might give that a try. It's the recommended method in this book, and it dates back to 1919, for removing coffee stains. You also want to rub the area with a soft tooth or nail brush.

Let me know how it turns out.

Cheers!

Dan

 

[mtechthang]

Great story!! (And hint!!)

I woke up to find the teardrop crown a little tiny swimming pool, full of coffee that had dripped from a not-properly-sealed Thermos on the overhead luggage rack. [ ] I went to the bathroom, poured the coffee off the hat and used wet and dry paper towels alternately to wet the felt, then pull the coffee stain out by dabbing with dry towels. The guy who owned the Thermos felt really bad and gave me $20 to have the hat cleaned [].

Cardelo- Great story and hint!!! :eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap

But I would also add that it is likely the water and damping works for coffee without additional "flavorings". The introduction of fats, sugar, etc in many of todays coffee drinks would make the cleaning more tricky, I suspect. Partly because the fats could remain in the felt and attract dirt, etc. But still a very good emergency "treatment" as the cool water would not likely "set" the stain further- application of "cleaners" beyond a solvent would complicate the later cleaning if it were necessary.

 

[John in Covina]

Latte vs coffee.

The water will probably remove a lot of the coffee stain but the fats and oils part of the latte (milk) may remain in which case careful spot cleaning with naptha may take that part out.

 

[carldelo]

Mtechthang, good point about additives to coffee - I don't think anyone had a Thermos full of latte back in the seventies. The hydrogen peroxide method sounds like the best approach short of a naptha bath.

 

[Viper Man]

I was in the elevator today and took off my hat. The elevator was packed and the person next to me had an open latte which she spilled on my brand new vintage Stratoliner. What do I do? I sprinkled water on it and otherwise have left it alone. What should I do? The stain is pretty small but I can't see anything else right now.

This is why I never remove my hat. EVER. Etiquette be damned.