Fedora Cleaning...Help?

[Ginseng]

My daughter was trying on my Biltmore Florence and she grabbed it at the top of the crown with foody fingers. Now I've got some oily stains up there and they're visible. Can you guys recommend a method or a service provider who can help me get this fur felt fedora cleaned up? Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Fed in a Fedora]

Baby powder sprinkled over most materials will draw out most oils. Let it set there for a good while and brush the powder out in a day or two. You may need to do this a time or three- depending upon the amount and type of grease.

Fed

 

[gtdean48]

Get some talcum powder & cover the stains liberally. Work the powder into the felt & let it sit for a few hours.
Brush off. The talc should bond with the stains & lift them out.

Too funny = was typing same thing at same time!

 

[Ginseng]

Thank you, gentlemen! I will give this a try. BTW, I believe what we have in the house is Johnson & Johnson cornstarch baby power. Will that work identically to true mineral talc?

 

[gtdean48]

Thank you, gentlemen! I will give this a try. BTW, I believe what we have in the house is Johnson & Johnson cornstarch baby power. Will that work identically to true mineral talc?

It should & give your lid a nice aroma too....

 

[viclip]

Pure talcum powder is far easier to remove than corn starch & I think it does a better job per se. Also realize that baby powder may contain ingredients which may be oily in as much as the product is intended to be applied to sensitive skin; for that reason it's not used for example to lubricate rubber items (oil/grease attack rubber).

 

[Ginseng]

So no Gold Bond Medicated Powder then? But seriously, I'll take a look for pure talcum powder at the drug store.
Cheers!

 

[SurfGent]

At wal mart they sell a nice horse hair brush in the shoe polish section for 3 $ compared to a 15-20$ for a "hat brush".

 

[viclip]

For some reason talcum powder isn't terribly easy to source around town.

In addition to druggists, talcum powder may be found at billiards supply shops (dry hands & lubricate cue sticks), skin diving shops (lubricate rubber suits), speed shops (lubricate spark plug wires while installing into their boots), & last but not least at pen shops which offer fountain pen restoration services (lubricate rubber bladders/diaphragms).

I've never seen pure talcum powder offered on-line by any of the hat sites. It would be a real convenience to their customers if they carried some in convenient packages, a little goes a long way.

 

[buler]

If you check the ingredients on baby powder, many are just talc and parfum.

B

 

[viclip]

For some reason talcum powder isn't terribly easy to source around town.

In addition to druggists, talcum powder may be found at billiards supply shops (dry hands & lubricate cue sticks), skin diving shops (lubricate rubber suits), speed shops (lubricate spark plug wires while installing into their boots), & last but not least at pen shops which offer fountain pen restoration services (lubricate rubber bladders/diaphragms).

I've never seen pure talcum powder offered on-line by any of the hat sites. It would be a real convenience to their customers if they carried some in convenient packages, a little goes a long way.

I forgot to mention bicycle repair shops. Powdered talc is used to lubricate inner tubes. Likely tire installation shops would have some kicking around, also lawn equipment shops, to the extent that they still work with tires using inner tubes.

 

[Ginseng]

Well gents, two rounds of rose scented talcum powder did the trick. Half a day on the repeat. The stain is gone, the talc brushed out nicely, and I've got my hat back.

Kudos to all for the brilliant suggestion!

 

[RJR]

Good information.

 

[viclip]

All's well that ends well.

The beauty of talcum powder indeed is how nicely it brushes out after doing its thing. I've tried pure corn starch as well, discovering that one really has to work at getting rid of that stuff!