Cleaning Straw Hats

[RJR]

I recently got an old Penny's Panama that had definitely seen better days, very dirty and the sweat was pretty much gone. I found this thread with @moehawk's tip about cleaning straw with oxalic acid. I found the oxalic acid at a paint store (the big box stores didn't have it) and set to work. I usually forget to take before pics but did this time.
View attachment 122377 View attachment 122377 View attachment 122378 These are the before, with the pug removed. I don't have pics of cleaning the pug but the big surprise was that the pleats in the pug were not stitched, just ironed. As soon as I started washing it in a weak solution of Woolite it turned into just a wide strip of cloth. Fortunately I was able to use the fading to line it all up to be reironed. It's not perfect but pretty close to the original.
View attachment 122380 This is the brand of oxalic acid I found. I sure any paint store would have it. I used a tablespoon in a pint of water and tested it on an unpainted piece of pine. The solution didn't bubble up so I was good to go. I probably could have made it a little stronger but this worked. I used a toothbrush to brush the mixture on in small circles starting at the brim. This took 15 minutes or so and I didn't see any sign of the straw swelling from absorbing too much liquid. I then used a sponge and clean water to wipe the mixture off. There is no way to tell if you have removed it all so be thorough.
After drying overnight this is what it looked like.
View attachment 122381 View attachment 122382 View attachment 122383 After some steam and ironing the brim to get the wrinkles out, putting in a new vented sweat from @bond and replacing the pug, this is the end result. View attachment 122384 View attachment 122385 View attachment 122386

Nice job!

 

[Bill Hughes]

I recently got an old Penny's Panama that had definitely seen better days, very dirty and the sweat was pretty much gone. I found this thread with @moehawk's tip about cleaning straw with oxalic acid. I found the oxalic acid at a paint store (the big box stores didn't have it) and set to work. I usually forget to take before pics but did this time.
View attachment 122377 View attachment 122377 View attachment 122378 These are the before, with the pug removed. I don't have pics of cleaning the pug but the big surprise was that the pleats in the pug were not stitched, just ironed. As soon as I started washing it in a weak solution of Woolite it turned into just a wide strip of cloth. Fortunately I was able to use the fading to line it all up to be reironed. It's not perfect but pretty close to the original.
View attachment 122380 This is the brand of oxalic acid I found. I sure any paint store would have it. I used a tablespoon in a pint of water and tested it on an unpainted piece of pine. The solution didn't bubble up so I was good to go. I probably could have made it a little stronger but this worked. I used a toothbrush to brush the mixture on in small circles starting at the brim. This took 15 minutes or so and I didn't see any sign of the straw swelling from absorbing too much liquid. I then used a sponge and clean water to wipe the mixture off. There is no way to tell if you have removed it all so be thorough.
After drying overnight this is what it looked like.
View attachment 122381 View attachment 122382 View attachment 122383 After some steam and ironing the brim to get the wrinkles out, putting in a new vented sweat from @bond and replacing the pug, this is the end result. View attachment 122384 View attachment 122385 View attachment 122386

That’s outstanding. Makes me want to try some cleaning.

 

[Tukwila]

I recently got an old Penny's Panama that had definitely seen better days, very dirty and the sweat was pretty much gone. I found this thread with @moehawk's tip about cleaning straw with oxalic acid. I found the oxalic acid at a paint store (the big box stores didn't have it) and set to work. I usually forget to take before pics but did this time.

Wonderful work, Richard!

 

[hatsRme]

I recently got an old Penny's Panama that had definitely seen better days, very dirty and the sweat was pretty much gone. I found this thread with @moehawk's tip about cleaning straw with oxalic acid. I found the oxalic acid at a paint store (the big box stores didn't have it) and set to work. I usually forget to take before pics but did this time.
View attachment 122377 View attachment 122377 View attachment 122378 These are the before, with the pug removed. I don't have pics of cleaning the pug but the big surprise was that the pleats in the pug were not stitched, just ironed. As soon as I started washing it in a weak solution of Woolite it turned into just a wide strip of cloth. Fortunately I was able to use the fading to line it all up to be reironed. It's not perfect but pretty close to the original.
View attachment 122380 This is the brand of oxalic acid I found. I sure any paint store would have it. I used a tablespoon in a pint of water and tested it on an unpainted piece of pine. The solution didn't bubble up so I was good to go. I probably could have made it a little stronger but this worked. I used a toothbrush to brush the mixture on in small circles starting at the brim. This took 15 minutes or so and I didn't see any sign of the straw swelling from absorbing too much liquid. I then used a sponge and clean water to wipe the mixture off. There is no way to tell if you have removed it all so be thorough.
After drying overnight this is what it looked like.
View attachment 122381 View attachment 122382 View attachment 122383 After some steam and ironing the brim to get the wrinkles out, putting in a new vented sweat from @bond and replacing the pug, this is the end result. View attachment 122384 View attachment 122385 View attachment 122386

EXCELLENT results, and thank you for posting this, Rich!!

 

[Richard Morgan]

EXCELLENT results, and thank you for posting this, Rich!!

Thanks Charlie and everyone else. Being part of the lounge has taught me so much about hats that I thought I should share some of it with everyone. I also want everyone to know that folks like me are mining those old posts and applying the wisdom that's contained in them.

 

[seres]

I recently got an old Penny's Panama that had definitely seen better days, very dirty and the sweat was pretty much gone....

Well done! Thanks for posting this!

 

[steur]

I recently got an old Penny's Panama that had definitely seen better days, very dirty and the sweat was pretty much gone. I found this thread with @moehawk's tip about cleaning straw with oxalic acid. I found the oxalic acid at a paint store (the big box stores didn't have it) and set to work. I usually forget to take before pics but did this time.
View attachment 122377 View attachment 122377 View attachment 122378 These are the before, with the pug removed. I don't have pics of cleaning the pug but the big surprise was that the pleats in the pug were not stitched, just ironed. As soon as I started washing it in a weak solution of Woolite it turned into just a wide strip of cloth. Fortunately I was able to use the fading to line it all up to be reironed. It's not perfect but pretty close to the original.
View attachment 122380 This is the brand of oxalic acid I found. I sure any paint store would have it. I used a tablespoon in a pint of water and tested it on an unpainted piece of pine. The solution didn't bubble up so I was good to go. I probably could have made it a little stronger but this worked. I used a toothbrush to brush the mixture on in small circles starting at the brim. This took 15 minutes or so and I didn't see any sign of the straw swelling from absorbing too much liquid. I then used a sponge and clean water to wipe the mixture off. There is no way to tell if you have removed it all so be thorough.
After drying overnight this is what it looked like.
View attachment 122381 View attachment 122382 View attachment 122383 After some steam and ironing the brim to get the wrinkles out, putting in a new vented sweat from @bond and replacing the pug, this is the end result. View attachment 122384 View attachment 122385 View attachment 122386

Wow, fantastic result! Never would have thought of that.

 

[Redfokker]

I recently got an old Penny's Panama that had definitely seen better days, very dirty and the sweat was pretty much gone. I found this thread with @moehawk's tip about cleaning straw with oxalic acid. I found the oxalic acid at a paint store (the big box stores didn't have it) and set to work. I usually forget to take before pics but did this time.
View attachment 122377 View attachment 122377 View attachment 122378 These are the before, with the pug removed. I don't have pics of cleaning the pug but the big surprise was that the pleats in the pug were not stitched, just ironed. As soon as I started washing it in a weak solution of Woolite it turned into just a wide strip of cloth. Fortunately I was able to use the fading to line it all up to be reironed. It's not perfect but pretty close to the original.
View attachment 122380 This is the brand of oxalic acid I found. I sure any paint store would have it. I used a tablespoon in a pint of water and tested it on an unpainted piece of pine. The solution didn't bubble up so I was good to go. I probably could have made it a little stronger but this worked. I used a toothbrush to brush the mixture on in small circles starting at the brim. This took 15 minutes or so and I didn't see any sign of the straw swelling from absorbing too much liquid. I then used a sponge and clean water to wipe the mixture off. There is no way to tell if you have removed it all so be thorough.
After drying overnight this is what it looked like.
View attachment 122381 View attachment 122382 View attachment 122383 After some steam and ironing the brim to get the wrinkles out, putting in a new vented sweat from @bond and replacing the pug, this is the end result. View attachment 122384 View attachment 122385 View attachment 122386

Thanks for this Richard. Filing it away for future projects.

 

[AbridgedPause]

Hey guys, seems like all of these tips about cleaning straw hats are for un-coated straw. Does anyone have tips on how to clean coated straws, such as Resistol's Vinylcote straw line? It's normal straw but it's coated in a waterproofing "vinyl" type of solution. One of the used hats I got has a strong smoke smell that I'd like to wash off but I don't want to strip off the Vinylcote finish. Any tips?

 

[hatsRme]

Hey guys, seems like all of these tips about cleaning straw hats are for un-coated straw. Does anyone have tips on how to clean coated straws, such as Resistol's Vinylcote straw line? It's normal straw but it's coated in a waterproofing "vinyl" type of solution. One of the used hats I got has a strong smoke smell that I'd like to wash off but I don't want to strip off the Vinylcote finish. Any tips?

You should find a tip or two here, and there may be other threads. It’s a common problem, easily addressed.

 

[Michael Sayers]

I was looking at baby wipes to clean my Panama hat. They all seem to have things in them that I am afraid will adversely affect my hat. Any help on finding the right baby wipes for my straw hat would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Kerry65]

We sell high quality imported Ecuadorian Panama hats. Replacing one of these can be expensive. We recommend water first. If that does not work, a little mild (dish) soap and water. We recommend staying away from wipes that contain alcohol as it dries the straw. I use wood bleach on wood projects with great success, but I would only used wood bleach (oxalic acid) on a Panama as a last resort before throwing the hat away.

 

[Bill Hughes]

I was looking at baby wipes to clean my Panama hat. They all seem to have things in them that I am afraid will adversely affect my hat. Any help on finding the right baby wipes for my straw hat would be greatly appreciated.

This is ok for light general cleaning.