MOTH bites ...

[Baron Kurtz]

Is it possible to remedy moth bites in the felt of a fedora? (ie. make it look like the moth bites were never there) I have one with several bites (none through the felt) and a couple of places where a larva has clearly crawled along the felt, eating as it went ... I would like to fix it up, preferably at the lowest cost possible - so, at home ... by myself!

cheers,
bk

 

[MattC]

Ask James Powers

The answer is basicly no, but there are ways to minimize some superficial bites. I have a cream colored Mallory C riddled with surface moth bites. I started wearing it when I realized the only one who noticed was me. But for serious divots, there are a few things you can do, but no real fixes. James Powers has good advice

 

[havershaw]

Could a light sanding work?

 

[Cruiser]

I seem to recall a post from Duane at The Fedora Store, who has some process for covering up moth bites from adjacent area of the hat. I looked for it briefly, but it didn't jump out. However, you can just PM him directly. Good luck.

 

[thefedorastore]

I have had great success with many hats. I steam the affected area to make the felt workable, then I take a needle or pin point and gently pull felt (hairs) up out of the whole. (Continuous steaming while working the felt is required). If that does not provide sufficient, I then pull toward the whole lightly from the surrounding area. In most cases I am able to conceal the whole. I then apply a bit of a spray felt stiffener (you can use hair spray) to the divot area, and gently touch the area with my finger making it blend and even with the rest of the felt. My repairs have held up well on a few hats, but it has not been tested in rough or wet conditions. I also strongly recommend a thorough cleaning of the hat before this process.

Disclaimer: There may be other opinions and even recommendations against this process from anyone who thinks otherwise. That's fine, just sharing what works for me.

Duane

 

[tonyb]

Don't I recall once reading here something about harvesting little tufts of felt from the underside of the hat's crown to use as filler for moth divots? It involved a single-edged razor blade and a certain amount of alchemy, if memory serves.
Learning if that actually works isn't for my immediate benefit, seeing how the only moth damage to any of my hats is on the rear underside of one lid's brim that is so inconspicuous you'd have to have it pointed out before you'd ever notice it. But it's a '30s-vintage (judging from the original $5 price tag that still resides under the sweatband) dark blue Stetson Special which, aside from those itty-bitty, shallow pits, is in quite good condition: unfaded, untapered, nice felt and liner and sweat and ribbon and edge binding. So I won't be doing any divot repair on it, unless I hear there's a surefire method that won't damage it in any way.
Now, if I had a moth-damaged beater ...

 

[tonyb]

And ...

You'd think there has to be a way, and we're just waiting for someone to perfect it. After all, how long was laminated safety glass around before Novus came up with a way to repair it?