How to best Clean a Vintage Wool or Fur

[Jake Sullivan]

Greetings my friends.
I would like to ask for your experience in hat cleaning at home. I was wondering the best way to clean a very dusty and soiled wool and felt fedora? What cleaners should I use anbd should I hand wash it and what preparation should I use?

Sorry to be so "green" but I thought I would ask the pro's, I am beginning my hat search for vintages in the thrift and resale stores. any help is appreciated, I am lookin for leather banded lids if that helps.

regards Jake

 

[photobyalan]

Jake,

I've tried several methods and the best by far is Naphtha from the local hardware store. You'll need enough to dunk the hat in, so buy a gallon. The naphta needs to run through the felt to take the soil out. Don't worry about the ribbon or sweatband, they'll be fine. Naphtha also won't remove the block from the hat, although you may need some steam to touch it up once the naphtha has evaporated completely. You can run the used naphtha through a coffee filter and save it for future use.

 

[Lorne]

Cleaning a hat

Hello,

I've used woolite with good results. I "paint" it on with a 1 1/2 trim brush, and rinse it out under the tap. I would test it on a less visible section of your hat first. I had an old Stevens where the dye had broken down for some reason, and the dye ran when I cleaned it leaving the hat faded. That did not happen with my Adam, or the custom job I just got.


Lorne

 

[Jake Sullivan]

You guys alway impress me. cheers

:cheers1: I am fortunate to find the lounge, you guys make it easy to work with vintage lids which saves a lot of confusion and error. I have made some ebay purchases lately I will try to post pics when they arrive, see my other thread and feel free to input on the quality of my purchase. I value your opinions since I am still learning.

I will try both methods and let you know how it works.

regards Jake