The Wingnut
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Thought I'd share this since I've had to deal with it on several occasions now.
I've got a dead ringer for Bogie's trenchcoat from Casablanca, it's one of the nicer pieces of my wardrobe, one of those great killer deals you know you won't see the likes again for a long time...I literally stole this one off of the rack.
Imagine my dismay when after its first public outing I came home and pulled it off, looked it over and found a big smear of grease on one of the sleeves! I decided I'd probably leaned against the door latch of my friend Johnny's Buick, which is always impeccably maintained and well-lubed.
My mind started grinding at the problem of getting the stain out, and all the discussions we've had about naptha on the Lounge with regard to cleaning hats hit me.
Zippo lighter fluid is very high in naptha content, and I carry a Zippo often, which requires a lot of fuel. So, naturally I had a large bottle under the kitchen sink. I grabbed the bottle and a small fingernail brush, and went to work. I soaked the area around the stain, and gently started making short strokes across the fabric, with the thread bias in the twill(65 / 35 cotton - poly...yeah, sue me. You can't tell, even to the touch.). The stain literally lifted right out and the lighter fluid vanished within minutes.
I later had to do some work on my beloved little runabout Datsun Z, and jumped in to test my handiwork with my coveralls still on. I must have had a good amount of grease on my coveralls, because after I'd cleaned up, put my gas station jacket back on and done some driving, I discovered grease on the back of my jacket, likely transferred from the Z's seat.
I remembered the trenchcoat and the almost magical disappearance of the grease...I balked, wondering if the trench was a fluke and if I'd make the gas station jacket worse. It went in the closet, stain and all.
Fast forward a few months, I've got new sneakers, the weather's warming up a touch, and I'm ready to go back to the old t-shirt, jeans, and gas station jacket ensemble. Okay, time to bite the bullet and try the lighter fluid again.
Again, all I did was apply the fluid straight out of the bottle onto the stain and surrounding area and brush it lightly with a fingernail brush, with the bias of the thread in the wool gabardine. I found several other spots in the process and treated them as well. This was minutes before I had to run out the door to work. I ran out with the jacket on my back, the lighter fluid drying and nearly gone.
There's not a trace of the stains. No color fade, either.
I'm not sure what other fabrics or dye types this might work on, but it works amazingly well on cotton twill and wool gab. Sartorially minded gearheads, rejoice!
I've got a dead ringer for Bogie's trenchcoat from Casablanca, it's one of the nicer pieces of my wardrobe, one of those great killer deals you know you won't see the likes again for a long time...I literally stole this one off of the rack.
Imagine my dismay when after its first public outing I came home and pulled it off, looked it over and found a big smear of grease on one of the sleeves! I decided I'd probably leaned against the door latch of my friend Johnny's Buick, which is always impeccably maintained and well-lubed.
My mind started grinding at the problem of getting the stain out, and all the discussions we've had about naptha on the Lounge with regard to cleaning hats hit me.
Zippo lighter fluid is very high in naptha content, and I carry a Zippo often, which requires a lot of fuel. So, naturally I had a large bottle under the kitchen sink. I grabbed the bottle and a small fingernail brush, and went to work. I soaked the area around the stain, and gently started making short strokes across the fabric, with the thread bias in the twill(65 / 35 cotton - poly...yeah, sue me. You can't tell, even to the touch.). The stain literally lifted right out and the lighter fluid vanished within minutes.
I later had to do some work on my beloved little runabout Datsun Z, and jumped in to test my handiwork with my coveralls still on. I must have had a good amount of grease on my coveralls, because after I'd cleaned up, put my gas station jacket back on and done some driving, I discovered grease on the back of my jacket, likely transferred from the Z's seat.
I remembered the trenchcoat and the almost magical disappearance of the grease...I balked, wondering if the trench was a fluke and if I'd make the gas station jacket worse. It went in the closet, stain and all.
Fast forward a few months, I've got new sneakers, the weather's warming up a touch, and I'm ready to go back to the old t-shirt, jeans, and gas station jacket ensemble. Okay, time to bite the bullet and try the lighter fluid again.
Again, all I did was apply the fluid straight out of the bottle onto the stain and surrounding area and brush it lightly with a fingernail brush, with the bias of the thread in the wool gabardine. I found several other spots in the process and treated them as well. This was minutes before I had to run out the door to work. I ran out with the jacket on my back, the lighter fluid drying and nearly gone.
There's not a trace of the stains. No color fade, either.
I'm not sure what other fabrics or dye types this might work on, but it works amazingly well on cotton twill and wool gab. Sartorially minded gearheads, rejoice!
