Do you guys REALLY use naptha?

[Pilgrim]

After some of the discussions here, I've been checking sources for hat cleaners - and naptha appears to demand substantial care in handling. I refer to the safety info on the sheet here.

It appears to be stuff that you should only use when wearing protective hand coverings, and a NIOSH approved respirator for organic solvent vapors. (Of course, you'll see these warnings in relation to just about any petroleum-based solvent, but this is mighty darn volatile stuff.)

Now, over my 55 years I've managed to handle with bare hands just about any solvent that you can name - carbon tet, leaded and unleaded gasoline, mineral spirits, kerosene, rubbing and denatured alcohol, and certainly some I can't remember now. But we're a lot smarter now than we used to be about the cumulative effects of this stuff, and it just pays to be safe with it. And my brain cells may be declining fast enough without my adding more solvent exposure to the equation.

Furthermore, I can't locate any local source - it appears to be difficult to acquire. It's not in any local hardware or building stores.

So is it really practical to even buy this stuff, much less use it? Or is there another good alternative? I've used denatured alcohol for spot-cleaning and it usually work on on dark hats, but it leaves visible spots on lighter colored hats.

 

[Tudor]

Furthermore, I can't locate any local source - it appears to be difficult to acquire. It's not in any local hardware or building stores.

So is it really practical to even buy this stuff, much less use it? Or is there another good alternative? I've used denatured alcohol for spot-cleaning and it usually work on on dark hats, but it leaves visible spots on lighter colored hats.

I am no expert so I do not have an alternative for you but I have seen Naptha at Lowe's and Home Depot here in New Mexico.

One more thing... I have been told that Denatured Alcohol is a solvent for shelac (a stiffening agent that has been used to help hats hold their shape). You could end up with a few spots that refuse to stay put. On-the-other-hand, I have a stiff old Stetson that could stand to be a little more supple. I wonder if it might help soaking the whole hat.
Dennis

 

[Damon Falzone]

Lighter fluid contains naphta, which is what I use on hats.

 

[Andykev]

Get it at the paint store.

Yes, I use Naptha. It is a carsonigenic solvent. Use it only in well ventilated places. It is great at cleaning felt hats, and clothing. Like dry cleaning. Use gloves, and don't breath the fumes. No open flames. And, it dries without imparting an odor to the hat.

 

[tonyb]

Yes, I use Naptha. It is a carsonigenic solvent. Use it only in well ventilated places. It is great at cleaning felt hats, and clothing. Like dry cleaning. Use gloves, and don't breath the fumes. No open flames. And, it dries without imparting an odor to the hat.

Yup. Use it out of doors in pleasant weather, with lotsa fresh air and no ignition sources, and all should be fine. Naptha is available in the paint department at the home-improvement warehouse stores for something like 10 bucks per gallon. The cans are marked "VM&P (varnish makers' and painters') Naptha." Thanks to the advice I've gained here, I've gotten many, many uses from a gallon can of the stuff. Get one gallon for dark hats and another for light ones. Once you've removed a hat from the solvent, put a coffee filter in a steel funnel and the funnel into the naptha can's opening. Use a cup to pour the used naptha through the filtered funnel back into the can.
Really, it works great. It dissolves the funk from the hat without doing any apparent damage to any of its parts. I've also cleaned ties in it with equally good results. And, as Andykev noted, once it has evaporated, it leaves no odor behind.

 

[Flyboy]

Naptha can also be bought at most groceries. Head for the smoking section and pick up a can of Zippo fuel; that's naptha.

 

[GA Wildlifer]

Coleman Fuel?

I just read that coleman fuel is naptha http://members.iinet.net.au/~mbuckler/fuel/index.shtml. Has anyone use this "white gas" to clean hats?

 

[mthatter]

erased by mt

 

[Marc Chevalier]

And no fires around your nicely cleaned hat, either!

Seriously, doesn't all this cleaning make your hats pretty flammable?

 

[mthatter]

erased by mt

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Whew ... a pipesmoker thanks you.

 

[RedPop4]

Naptha on ties? Thank you for that. I have a tie right now that needs cleaning.
It's great for cleaning old furniture.

You guys put the entire hat into the naptha? Or just a wet cloth applied to the hat?

 

[SHARPETOYS]

Soak the whole hat...:eusa_clap

 

[Marc Chevalier]

And if we want to remove just one or two spots on the felt ... can we just rub naptha into the spots, then brush them out?

 

[Pilgrim]

Good question, Marc - I'd like to know too!

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Ladies and gentlemen -- Sharpetoys has left the building.

 

[Johnnysan]

Avoid this...

And if we want to remove just one or two spots on the felt ... can we just rub naptha into the spots, then brush them out?

I tried to do this with a very nice Cavanagh only to botch the job. The areas that were cleaned with the naptha were visibly lighter than the rest of the hat. I moved onto the rest of the brim which left me with a two-tone hat. The cleaned brim was now visibly lighter than the crown. I gave up and sent it off for a professional job, but sadly, the two-tone effect is still visible. Here's the proof:

If I could have a "do over", the whole hat would go in the tank!

 

[Pilgrim]

Hmmm. Does a naptha bath require removing liner, sweatband and ribbon?

 

[Johnnysan]

I've seen posts going both ways...some dunk the whole hat, some strip out the lining and sweat and remove the ribbon, dunk it and then reassemble the whole thing. All seem to agree that naptha does the job whichever method you choose. Not sure if this is a matter of personal preference and convenience or if there are solid reasons to choose one method over the other. [huh]

 

[John in Covina]

Furthermore, I can't locate any local source - it appears to be difficult to acquire. It's not in any local hardware or building stores..

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Naptha usually turns up at places that handle PAINTS, so the paint store, hardware stores or the Home and Garden Centers. Also an art supply store or maybe a printers supply place perhaps.

Sincerely,