Cleaning and Whitening a 50+ year old Panama Hat

[Allenworsham]

While going through a bunch of old stuff in her garage a few weeks ago, my sister came across a hat box stuff with 5 hats in it that belonged to my Grandfather who passed away in 1959. We figure that these hats were made in the 1940's to early 1950's so they are around 50-60 years old. The box got some surface water damage so the the hats are all musty smelling, but no bugs or rot. 3 of the 5 hats in the box are salvageable. 2 are felt fedoras and are in good shape and just a need a good cleaning and re-blocking as well as new ribbon on 1 of them. I dropped those off to a local shop that is going to do the work for me. The other hat is a Panama that is in good condition overall but has a few minor stains and needs to be cleaned, re-blocked and re-form the snap brim as it was all bent out of shape form being stuffed in the box 50+ years. The ribbon was also toast so I will have to get a new one for it. The only major problem with the Panama is that it has yellowed considerably from the sun and age as it was worn quite a bit by my Grandfather. I could just put on a new ribbon over the white stipe around the hat and call it good, but I would really like to see if it can be whitened up. The guy at the local hat shop said he could not do that in his shop but could refer me to a hat restorer that could do it but it would be very pricey. So I left the 2 felt fedoras with him and took the Panama home and started checking out the internet for some solutions.

So I came across a few articles about using clear liquid laundry soap to clean the Panama and watered down peroxide or using "Wood Bleach" from Home Depot to whiten it, but I am not too keen on doing it without more credible information. So is there a way to safely whiten up the yellowed straw on the hat as well as clean up the few dirty spots on it at home? The hat has a lot of sentimental value to me and I don't want to mess it up.

Thanks.

 

[alanfgag]

I would suggest talking with Optimo Hats in Chicago. They have the experience you want.

 

[LeBois46]

I would suggest talking with Optimo Hats in Chicago. They have the experience you want.

+1

 

[cookie]

I would suggest talking with Optimo Hats in Chicago. They have the experience you want.

This.

 

[tropicalbob]

How about some pics of the panama? I've often liked the look of aged Panamas as the aging gives them some distinction, and also the yellowing can look quite nice. I'd be afraid, by cleaning it, of wiping away the character. Just a thought.

 

[Allenworsham]

Well, considering that I already have 2 of the felt fedoras of my Grandfather in the shop for re-blocking and such, putting out another $150+ to have the Panama sent into Optimo Hats in Chicago is not an option. So after brushing off the the Panama I did a gentle wash in warm water with a little bit of clear liquid detergent and rubbed by hand and then used a toothbrush very gently on the stained areas. After a rinsing and patting down with a clean white towel, it turned out pretty well. I put in a hat stretcher to keep it from shrinking and then set it up to dry. The hat looks much better with the dirt gone, but the coloring is still darkened from the sun as can be seen with the ribbon removed. The ribbon was not salvageable so I had to toss it. So here is the Panama after it dried and it looks pretty good. I will take it into the hat shop later this week and get it re-blocked and get the snap brim back in order along with a new ribbon wide enough to cover up the white stripe.

Also here is the hat box that all of my Grandfathers 5 hats were stuff into. It it looks like it has 1920's New York City buildings on it and is probably from the 1940's I think. The box was pretty much falling apart and had some water damage on the lid as well as some old tape holding the bottom of the box and the insert of the lid together. The only way that I could salvage the box was to use some construction adhesive on the inside of the box and lid to hold the pieces together. My wife has the hat box along with my Grandfathers Skimmer/Boater hat on it on display in the family room on the shelf. The Skimmer/Boater hat was the top hat of the 5 hats in the hat box and took the brunt of the water damage that came through the top of the hat box. The hat is pretty much toast but looks cool on display.

 

[Seb Lucas]

What I read in a 1930's household encyclopedia is to gently wipe the hat with a light coat of fresh lemon juice. It cleans and bleaches the leather.

 

[RJR]

The panama looks good.