STEP BY STEP NAPTHA BATH

[John in Covina]

Just heed all warnings of this stuff being highly flammable and the fumes being bad for your health. B

Not the best time for a cigar.

 

[Mystic]

Just heed all warnings of this stuff being highly flammable and the fumes being bad for your health.

B

Thanks, Gotchya....gloves, plenty of air and like John said......put the cigar out.....

 

[zetwal]

T Rick, with regard to post 107, what happened to your hat? Did it clean up as you had hoped?

 

[Stanley Doble]

An Air Force veteran told me in the sixties they used to hang their wool dress uniforms in the fuel Bowsers (fuel trucks) for free dry cleaning!

 

[Landman]

I was curious if you did this naptha bath to a new Stetson Open Road would it soften the felt? I prefer the softer felt of the old Stetsons and was trying to find a way to remove the stiffener put in the newer hats. Thanks for your help.

 

[SteveAS]

I was curious if you did this naptha bath to a new Stetson Open Road would it soften the felt? I prefer the softer felt of the old Stetsons and was trying to find a way to remove the stiffener put in the newer hats. Thanks for your help.

No, in my experience, naptha doesn't affect the stiffness of a hat.

 

[zetwal]

I prefer the softer felt of the old Stetsons and was trying to find a way to remove the stiffener put in the newer hats. Thanks for your help.

I think that denatured alcohol may work. But please do continue your research before trying it. You may have to strip down the hat to the felt body before soaking, etc.

Either way, do a Lounge search on denatured alcohol and see what comes up.

 

[John in Covina]

I think that denatured alcohol may work. But please do continue your research before trying it. You may have to strip down the hat to the felt body before soaking, etc. Either way, do a Lounge search on denatured alcohol and see what comes up.

The traditional stiffener is shellac which is disolved by alcohol. Art had written about soaking a hat to get it out he used some form of alcohol. I think that it takes a small amount to soften the shellac but a large amount to rinse it out.

 

[Rodkins]

I think that denatured alcohol may work. But please do continue your research before trying it. You may have to strip down the hat to the felt body before soaking, etc.

Either way, do a Lounge search on denatured alcohol and see what comes up.

I have sprayed a stiff felt hat with denatured alcohol in the past and it seem to soften it up some.

 

[gtdean48]

I have sprayed a stiff felt hat with denatured alcohol in the past and it seem to soften it up some.

Did you dilute it any? I have a Resistol western conversion that I'd like to soften the brim up a might. TIA

 

[Landman]

Thanks for your replies. I have read about spraying on a mixture of distilled water with denatured alcohol to loosen the stiffener but I thought this may be an easier way to loosen the felt over the entire hat.

There are actually several different varieties of Naptha (lighter fluid, camp stove fuel, etc.). One is VM & P Naptha. This is Varnish Makers & Painters Naptha. It is made to be used as a paint thinner. If the hat stiffener is shellac I would think this would work but I'm afraid it might have adverse effects on the paint embossed sweatbands. I was hoping somebody might have some experience with it but I guess there is no way to know for sure without trying. If I decide to try it I will certainly report the results.

 

[randooch]

I think that denatured alcohol may work. But please do continue your research before trying it. You may have to strip down the hat to the felt body before soaking, etc.

Either way, do a Lounge search on denatured alcohol and see what comes up.

I tried to soften a fairly stiff unlined western with denatured alcohol recently. I turned the sweat out, then used a spray bottle to saturate the felt, let it dry, and repeated the process. Sadly, it made absolutely no difference.

 

[zetwal]

I tried to soften a fairly stiff unlined western with denatured alcohol recently. I turned the sweat out, then used a spray bottle to saturate the felt, let it dry, and repeated the process. Sadly, it made absolutely no difference.

I'm not surprised that spraying and drying didn't have any effect. I would actually expect that you would need to wash out the stiffener by soaking the hat for a period of time in the correct solvent.

It also occurs to me that more than one compound may be used to stiffen westerns. If such is the case, the same solvent may not work in all instances.

 

[jkingrph]

Thanks for your replies. I have read about spraying on a mixture of distilled water with denatured alcohol to loosen the stiffener but I thought this may be an easier way to loosen the felt over the entire hat.

There are actually several different varieties of Naptha (lighter fluid, camp stove fuel, etc.). One is VM & P Naptha. This is Varnish Makers & Painters Naptha. It is made to be used as a paint thinner. If the hat stiffener is shellac I would think this would work but I'm afraid it might have adverse effects on the paint embossed sweatbands. I was hoping somebody might have some experience with it but I guess there is no way to know for sure without trying. If I decide to try it I will certainly report the results.

Nope! The wrong solvent for shellac. For shellac you need alcohol, petroleum based solvents do not work.

 

[Landman]

Nope! The wrong solvent for shellac. For shellac you need alcohol, petroleum based solvents do not work.

Thanks.

 

[randooch]

I'm not surprised that spraying and drying didn't have any effect. I would actually expect that you would need to wash out the stiffener by soaking the hat for a period of time in the correct solvent.

That's the conclusion I came to, Z. Unfortunately, that would require a lot more alcohol than I was willing to spring for (one quart = $7). The old sloshing-in-a-bucket method would probably work, but then I suppose the liquid could not be reused; if it were, the dissolved shellac might be deposited into the next hat!

 

[Doc Mark]

Wear gloves, eye protection, and respirator mask. Do it in a very well ventilated area. No flame source anywhere nearby. My 2 cents.

B

Greetings, All,

This is a VERY important point, Folks, as Naptha, like Coleman Fuel, has a flash point of about -40° below zero!! That means that even a spark, or teeny-tiny flame, anywhere nearby, will cause it to ignite immediately!!!! As one who has a collection of vintage camping stoves, dating back to 1866 (got around 600 of those little critters, and I swear that they must produce offspring, as more keep showing up, regularly!!!), I have learned not to refuel one stove, when another one is still burning merrily 20 feet away!! How do I know this? Don't ask!! Just use your imagination, and I'm certain you can recreate the "flashing experience" I survived!! YIKES!! Don't ever use Naptha, or any such fuel, inside your home, or even in your open garage, but rather outside in an open and protected area. And, for goodness sake, don't smoke, or let anyone else who is smoking, stand near you! Word to the wise on this, Gentlefolk, as this is something that can burn you horribly, burn down your home, and cause you more grief than you can ever imagine, IF something goes wrong when using these fuels!!

Now, having said all that, I use Coleman fuel, in stoves and lanterns, some dating back to the earliest stoves Coleman every made, and in others that actually predate those appliances, often and since my "wake up call", have never had even a small problem with it. That means around 40 years of using such fuels safely, after my first mistake.....! Go for it, but be careful when and where. Take care, and God Bless!

Every Good Wish,
Doc

 

[Rabbit]

...Naptha, like Coleman Fuel, has a flash point of about -40° below zero!! That means that even a spark, or teeny-tiny flame, anywhere nearby, will cause it to ignite immediately!!!!

The main point is that the vapour is nearly as easily inflammable as the liquid form.

This, combined with the low flashpoint and the high volatility, is why safety measures are called for when handling the stuff. It's mandatory to keep the hat bath in a closed container while the Naphta is working on the felt.

If it weren't for the high volatility and the vapour's extremely easy ignitability, it wouldn't be half as bad.

 

[Doc Mark]

Hey, Rabbit,

Absolutely spot on the money, Sir, and well stated!! My own problem, which happened many, many years ago, was a vapour ignition, from 20 feet away!! Thank God it did not ignite the can of fuel I was using to refill that second stove!! Suffice it to say, it got my attention, and I've been careful to the point of paranoia when handling volatile fuels ever since, with no problems. Thanks for adding that very important clarification, Rabbit! Take care, and God Bless!

Every Good Wish,
Doc

 

[fashion frank]

I'll second Tony's remarks about soap and water clean up. I've found that a good bath does wonders for a felt hat. I've had great success with Dawn dishwashing liquid dissolved in a sink full of tepid water. I immerse the hat completely with the intent of getting it thoroughly soaked through. Then I use a chip brush (little 2" throwaway china bristle paint brush) to scrub the dirtier places until the stains are gone. After that, all that is needed is a thorough rinsing and drying. Two caveats: 1) Don't agitate the hat too much as you might re-activate the felting process. This will cause shrinking that is devilishly difficult to rectify. 2) There will be some shrinkage from the water but, even if you don't have a block, this can be easily overcome by simply re-bashing the hat and wearing it periodically while it is wet. It will stretch back out to fit. Also, if you re-bash the hat while it is wet, it will hold the crease better.

Something else that might be worth noting. My guess is that neither naptha nor water are universal solutions to a dirty hat. Certain grease stains don't react to water and even a good detergent but will dissolve in naptha. Other, water based stains, may not react to naptha but will in a water bath. For a really grimy hat, you may have to use both to get the best results.

Here's a before and after of an Open Road:

Before:

After:

When I opened the crown, there were two dark lines of dirt running from back to front where the ridges of the cattleman's crease were. They almost looked like racing stripes on the fedora version! A little Dawn and water and they're gone.

Hello all, after completely reading thru this thread as to how to do it , I pretty much understand it all, but I had a question and this poster's post raised two questions and I am hoping you can help me out .

I have been seeing alot of hats like this poster's on free bay and I was thinking of trying to : (1) clean some hats that I got at a deal on e bay due to my head size with this method of cleaning and (2) I was wondering if this poster , after the cleaning, did he transform this hat by hand or had a block to do it with as he dosen't state and I was thinking of trying to do the same thing ,tranform and shape it by hand .

Any thoughts here would be great , as I don't want to buy a hat try to do what he did ,then worse ,have to take it to a hatter and lay out more cash to have it reblocked.

All the Best , Fashion Frank