My three-buck Portis

[tonyb]

So I happened upon an estate sale today where I purchased for $3 each a couple of what must be Cuencas (one of which is probably not beyond salvation and the other is worth what it cost me if only because it has a nice old sweatband which I'll likely put in the good one) and a moth-eaten Portis that I almost didn't buy. I passed on a Dobbs with a hole in the crown (now I kinda wish I hadn't, seeing how I could have salvaged its sweatband and ribbon) but the Portis's bug damage is limited to tracks that aren't all that deep nor in particularly conspicuous spots. It was dusty and dirty and misshapen, like it had spent a coupla-three decades stuffed away in an open box out in the garage. It even had those wispy little bits of webs on it here and there.
Brought it home and gave it a vigorous brushing followed by a thorough going-over with the white rubber hat sponge. Pushed it into some kind of shape and dropped it on my noggin. Dang, not bad. After the brush and sponge, you'd almost have to have those moth tracks pointed out to you before you'd notice 'em.
Now it's soaking in naphtha out back. Hope that takes out that little bit of discoloration on the ribbon band and edge binding, but I doubt it will.
At the very least it'll make a quite serviceable foul-weather hat. I like its color and proportions -- 2 3/8s-inch brim, a straight-sided 5 1/2-inch crown (open), 1-inch medium gray ribbon against a light gray body. Once I've cleaned it as much as I can, a bit of steam and massaging ought to leave it in reasonably "straight" shape. It may be a beater, but it's a stylin' beater. It'll share hazardous duty with my faded Disney.
Which reminds me: I also scored a Disney hat box. Set me back a buck.

 

[Matt Deckard]

Always nice to have a few good vintage hats with which you can mix and match with outfits.

 

[Snrbfshn]

tonyb...

What sort of container do you soak your hats in, and for how long? Do you filter the naptha for reuse, and if so, how?

 

[tonyb]

What sort of container do you soak your hats in, and for how long? Do you filter the naptha for reuse, and if so, how?

A big ol' Pyrex bowl.
At least a coupla-three hours.
Yes -- I put a cone-shaped coffee filter in a metal funnel. I ladle the naphtha out of the bowl and into the funnel with a ceramic cup. It's kind of tedious, and I always spill at least a little and leave the last little bit in the bottom of the bowl to evaporate, but at around 10 bucks a gallon saving most of it for reuse is worth the trouble.
The funk from the hat settles to the bottom, so once the remaining solvent has evaporated the bowl can be wiped clean with a rag.
That residue is usually quite close in color to the hat's felt. I suppose that's attributable to some of the dye washing out, or that very small bits of felt separates from the rest, kind of like fabric lint does. For whatever it's worth, this seems to happen more with older, dirtier hats, so I'm guessing that some of that dye goes "dead" over time or that the felt deteriorates.

 

[Dr Trinidad]

Pardon me if this is a stupid question, but I am still learning here. You completly submurge the hat in naphtha and then when you remove it you just let it evaporate dry. This doesnt harm the hat or leave it funky smelling? Sorry just wanting to learn.

 

[tonyb]

Yup, you let the entire hat soak. And yup, you let it air dry. Honest to goodness professional renovators usually take 'em apart -- remove the sweatbands and liners and ribbons -- and let just the felt bodies soak in solvent. I understand that they often use a product made just for this purpose. Stoddard's, right?
But naphtha does indeed work. And no, it leaves no evidence once it has completely evaporated. No residue, no odor. At least none that I can detect. The naphtha does no apparent damage to the leather or the ribbon or the liner.
There are a few old threads here where this is discussed at length. The gist of them is that yeah, you can use the stuff, but be extra careful. Naphtha is toxic and highly flammable.