LINER WITH PLASTIC, NAPHTHA CLEANING RESULTS (pictures)

[Magus]

I would imagine that after a naphtha "Bath" a very light application of Lexol to the sweatband would suffice. Lexol can be found at shoe repair shops as well as tacks shops as it's used on saddles and other tack.

Yes Lexol would work... but be careful to line behind the band with something to prevent it from staining the hat. Also...if you simply wear the hat a few times the oil from your skin tends to work wonders on the leather.

M

 

[J. M. Stovall]

I would imagine that after a naphtha "Bath" a very light application of Lexol to the sweatband would suffice. Lexol can be found at shoe repair shops as well as tacks shops as it's used on saddles and other tack.

You can also buy Lexol at Pep Boys. I bought the cleaner and preservative there, people use it for their leather seats.

 

[GentlemanFarmer]

Lexol

I forgot about that. You're right. I've also seen Lexol at the carwash, for seats. Magus was also correct about very judicious in it's application.

 

[Fedora]

A bit off topic, but related too. Recently I took an A-2 jacket to the cleaners. The prior owner had stored it around cigarette smokers, or something. It wreaked of old smoke, the sort of smell one smelled in taxis in the early 1970's. Years of tobacco smoke. The clearners took the smell away, but the jacket wreaked of Naphtha. I could not leave it inside. I placed it outside, and it took almost a week before the solvent smell went away. One of the side effects was the solvent mottled the color perfectly. It now looks very old and well worn, and smells great once I treated it with a special made leather conditioner that actually smells like new leather. I placed a call the old guy who ran the cleaners and he said they always used naptha as a cleaning solvent for leather, and once upon a time, for hats. Fedora