To Naphta or Not?

[TallCrownDave]

Hey guys, newish member here...lurk and read more then I post.

I just picked up a nice grey Dobbs from a fellow lounger. Nice lid. I like it.

It is in good shape overall, but I am debating giving it a Naphta bath just to get rid of 50 years of old felt smell.. .... It isn't bad and not terribly dirty but it can probably use a bath.

I am hesitant, though. I have read the Naphta thread and it seems benign enough. Do I go for it or leave it be? Without starting a whole new naphtha thread, how do you guys feel about cleaning your hats that way.

Maybe a better question is what do most of you do with new (old) lids, upon acquisition aside from wearing them?

Dave

 

[gtdean48]

Naptha for stains only not for just funny smells. Too invasive for that. IMHO

 

[randooch]

Save that process as a last resort.

Put the hat in a tightly sealed 5-gallon bucket with crumpled newspaper all around it. Leave it in there for a couple of days. Pull it out, set it in the sunshine for a few hours, and you'll be amazed how much better it smells.

Also, read the threads on odor-removal. Lots of methods and testimonials therein.

Welcome, by the way!

 

[TallCrownDave]

Thanks, guys... It is not disgusting by any means and I dont mean to imply anything by my comments. I love the hat.

I have heard that newspaper does wonders.

Dave

 

[LoveMyHats2]

Hello. I have a hat (my wife's actually) that was in a display window for about 50 some odd years, and had that old smell to it. So, I have a cardboard box it could sit down in, put a small measuring cup of vanilla bean freshly ground coffee grounds in the center of the box, sat the hat over the cup, closed the top of the box and carefully placed a large plastic garbage bag over the box and closed it up, left it over night and the old smell was gone, and the vanilla bean coffee smell was great for a few weeks, gone now, and so is all the other "smells"...

 

[Undertow]

Yeah, like the others said, I'd try other methods first. The price of a Naphtha bath is enough that you can't just run out and do it for next to nothing. There are plenty of health concerns one might have as well, and it's typically unnecessary except in situations where a hat is quite soiled.