When Naphtha DOESN'T Work

[Marc Chevalier]

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Folks, thanks to your very helpful posts, I went ahead and soaked a dirty old fedora overnight in several gallons of Naphtha. Worked like a charm. Took the cleaned hat out and put another dirty one in. Again, worked great. Finally, took that one out and put in a not so dirty, light grey fedora. (All three fedoras are made of vintage beaver felt.) Left this hat in for 12 hours, took it out to dry, and ... it didn't come out clean. So, I soaked it again for another 12 hours. Again, it didn't get clean.

My question is, how many soakings is Naphtha good for, before it needs to be replaced? Considering how much the stuff costs (and what a hassle it is to dispose of it responsibly), I'd hoped it would work on more than two hats.

Thanks in advance for any input!

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[tonyb]

I've taken the advice of the more learned among us and use one batch of naptha for light-colored hats and another for the darker ones. And I strain the stuff through a coffee filter in a funnel after each use. Losing some to evaporation and spillage is inevitable.
For whatever it's worth: Darker hats, brown ones in particular, seem to leave more visible residue in the bottom of my hat-dunking bowl. It could be that my brown hats were dirtier than the light ones (which seems plausible, seeing how they're less prone to showing dirt and for that reason may have gone without ever being cleaned), but it seems every bit as likely that a bit of the old "dead" dye comes out in the wash and, because it's a darker color, it plainly shows in the naptha.
What color were those first two hats you cleaned?
I couldn't tell you if naptha loses its effectiveness with use, but I've seen no evidence of it.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Lower40, thank you very very much!!! Gosh, I couldn't have asked for a better, more thorough explanation.

I'll take your advice and go to my local drycleaner with the hat.

Once again, thanks very much. I'm surprised (and kind of disappointed?) that we didn't receive this information from any of the other hatters around here.

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[tonyb]

I'm curious to know, then, what sort of solvent(s) our professional hatters here use. Other than warnings about its health and safety hazards, I've yet to hear anyone advise against using the naptha you can buy in the paint department at the home-improvement warehouse store. It has worked quite well for me, and for others, too. But if there's something better, I'd like to get my hands on some.
Steve? Art? John?

 

[Fedora]

Marc, I fear that this is an occassion where a little bit of information can become dangerous. You need a belly washer or similar washing or dry cleaner machine like Optimo uses to use this cleaner compound. You also need distillation or some type of new fangled filtration equipment that I have not run up on yet to really use this stuff properly. If you had several gallons the wiser use would have been to cleaned several light colored hats at once and then any dark ones next.

While this may be true about Optimo having one of these washers, hatters got by without them for a long time. You just soak the hat overnight in preferably a warm batch of naptha. Use one container( a covered 5 gallon plastic bucket from Lowes works well) for the dark colors and one for the light colors. If the hat is heavily soiled, the next day scrub the stubborn areas with a stiff bristled brush, dipping the brush into the naptha. This cleaner works great for salt stains and hair oil or hair dressing that in the old days tended to get into the felt. Wear long gloves as naptha will chemically burn the tender skin on the arms. Do this outside, away from sparks or flames. I know this has been posted here on the site prior, but thought this would be a good time to repeat it. Nice try Lao Che!!!!!! Fedora

 

[Fedora]

To answer the question, I use mine until it all evaporates. I just let the sediment settle to the bottom and then siphon the clear fluid off. Using a coffee filter is an excellent idea as you would have less waste. Too bad denatured alcohol does not settle out. Fedora

 

[PutALidOnIt]

Ignorant, but willing to learn

I have seen some of the threads on cleaning, but are you guys saying that you can dip the entir hat, leather, liner and all, into a vat, and the "tender parts" aren't harmed? I wouldn't trust a local dry cleaner in my neck of the woods to disassemble a vintage fedora...[huh]

 

[tonyb]

So is the naptha you use, Fedora Steve, indeed the same stuff I get at the hardware store? You know, the VM&P (Vanish Makers' & Painters') Naptha?

 

[The Wingnut]

Responsible disposal? Well, don't dump it...

Imagine how long that'll keep ya warm in the winter! Nyuknyuknyuk...

Give a man a match, he'll be warm for an hour. Light him on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life!

 

[SHARPETOYS]

Lower40...

So is the naptha you use, Fedora Steve, indeed the same stuff I get at the hardware store? You know, the VM&P (Vanish Makers' & Painters') Naptha?

The idiot who was the know it all is now banned once again... I know Steve buys his stuff at Lowe's and the product works just fine...

Sharpey

 

[tonyb]

So I see, Sharpetoys. My history here isn't what yours is, although I have had some email exchanges with folks who have warned me against that certain character. I saw no point in getting into a pi**ing match with the guy, but in this thread it seemed to even a know-nothing like me that he went to great lengths to say very little. I mean really, he copies and pastes some lengthy passage from Wikipedia but can't tell us just what the proper "cleaner compound" is?
For all I know, there may well be a hat-cleaning solvent superior to the hardware-store-variety naptha. But this "expert" can't, or won't, just tell us what it's called? It seems as though he would deliberately steer people in the wrong direction.

 

[thefedorastore]

The idiot who was the know it all is now banned once again...

Sharpey

I have two questions, but suppose only one will be answered. Is coleman fuel basically the same thing as the hardware store type that everyone is using? And.... how is it that one can be banned for posting here? I think it would be helpful to see the rules.

UPDATE: Oops, didn't know who it was. Sorry for bringing it up.

 

[Visigoth]

Well, one way to get banned is to be the same guy who was banned before, using a different name.

And I can't imagine any board NOT banning The Swindler. He's a snakepit of pompous lies. Hell, I'd ban him for his prose style alone...

 

[tonyb]

I don't know what the criteria are for getting oneself bounced from this joint, but they appear to be about the same as would get a person 86'ed from a friendly bar. You know, picking fights, habitually finding fault with others, being a jerk who drives away the more pleasant clientele.
I appreciate this resource. I've visited other forums devoted to other interests of mine. The ones that aren't moderated eventually descend into territory I have no interest in venturing. They get dominated by a small number of people with entirely too much anger and time on their hands, carrying on old grudges and generally frustrating everyone else.
Every now and then I find myself having to bite my tongue at what one person or another posts here, and I imagine that others aren't always pleased with my posts. But sometimes getting along means clamming up and eating a little s**t, all the while reminding yourself that pathologically abusive people victimize themselves more than anyone else. And others just have their bad moments, so you gotta cut 'em some slack in the hopes they'll do the same for you someday.
I had been a regular hat-wearer for something like 30 years before I came upon the FL. I've learned more about hats here in six months than I did in those preceding three decades. No doubt about it. To wit: I'll never buy another new Borsalino, unless their quality improves dramatically (an Art Fawcett custom is a far superior value, and if it weren't for this joint I would have never made his acquaintance); vintage hats can be real bargains, and treasure-worthy things; old-hat collecting is addictive, but, as addictions go, it's a relatively harmless and satisfying one; and, to get back on topic, an amateur collector can indeed clean his own hats, and do a passable job of it, using readily available tools and materials. And, if you're truly adventurous and resourceful, you can do your own more extensive renovations, as Brad in Utah has, by acquiring the proper block and really getting carried away. Heck, you can even turn a too-small vintage hat into something that fits, if you have a mind to and are willing to learn from others' experience. A relative newcomer here, Fortino37, posted a great tutorial on replacing a ribbon and bow. Even if you never plan on doing any of that stuff yourself, it's good to know how it's done. At the very least, this place makes a hat-wearer a more savvy consumer.
Oh, and I've scored a couple of great old lids through the FL classifieds, and I recently sold four old stingy brims to a fellow Lounger.
If keeping all of that going means bouncing a pr**k every now and then, I say bounce away.

 

[Pilgrim]

Let's also note that the lengthy passage from Wikipedia contributed nothing of substance to the discussion - and as an academic I ask all to please note that Wikipedia, while a convenient resource for many things, is NOT nearly as authoritative as such references as Merriam-Webster or research-based publications.

Wikipedia is a resource that can be edited by people who mis-inform you just as easily as those who actually know what they're talking about. I accept it as a citation in papers ONLY when the definition or citation is neither critical to the paper nor the topic of great controversy. It's just not dependably accurate enough for really important topics. There are many topics about which it's close, but not quite on target.

 

[SHARPETOYS]

Coleman Fuel

A question was asked on Coleman fuel. As I understand it from a old hatters book, back in old days hatters used white gas which is what Coleman fuel is today.

 

[tonyb]

Let's also note that the lengthy passage from Wikipedia contributed nothing of substance to the discussion - and as an academic I ask all to please note that Wikipedia, while a convenient resource for many things, is NOT nearly as authoritative as such references as Merriam-Webster or research-based publications.

Wikipedia is a resource that can be edited by people who mis-inform you just as easily as those who actually know what they're talking about. I accept it as a citation in papers ONLY when the definition or citation is neither critical to the paper nor the topic of great controversy. It's just not dependably accurate enough for really important topics. There are many topics about which it's close, but not quite on target.

Amen, Pilgrim.

 

[MK]

.

Well, one way to get banned is to be the same guy who was banned before, using a different name.

And I can't imagine any board NOT banning The Swindler. He's a snakepit of pompous lies. Hell, I'd ban him for his prose style alone...

Agreed on all points.

 

[mthatter]

erased by mt

 

[SHARPETOYS]

Some are sicker than others...

Well, one way to get banned is to be the same guy who was banned before, using a different name.

And I can't imagine any board NOT banning The Swindler. He's a snakepit of pompous lies. Hell, I'd ban him for his prose style alone...

Visigoth.

"Gladhatter"...Charlie Swindall,

I really think he learned or he thinks he learned about hatting while he was in Prison for trying To Bribe A Public Official. He brags about being Bi Polar and then he admits he takes no meds.

Last weekend he joined The Indy Lounge and tried to use the name Fedora. Why, so he could hurt Steve Delk and his hat business with the Indy folks...

He was banned a short time later. He goes on lounges and calls women names and then posts it was all in fun. Three weeks ago he was banned from The Raven. So three straight weeks he is banned somewhere.. Sad but true he will try to come back here.:rage: