Aargh! Salad Dressing on my Johnnyphi!

Hoss & da Posse · Nov 21, 2008

I wore my hat to a business function last night and during the evening must have splashed some oily salad dressing on the brim and ribbon of my grey Adam Majestic (it was on the table, not my head...even I don't eat that voraciously). I dabbed at the spots with a dry towel and absorbed some of it off the hat, but there are still oily spots in several locations. After searching the archives, it appears Naptha is the miracle cleaner but I thought I'd ask first if anyone has experience cleaning oil-based stains from a hat...Thanks, Hoss

Rev Tom · Nov 21, 2008

I did the same thing to my Akubra Banjo about a year ago - still have not gotten the stain out. I would like some suggestions also.

airspirit · Nov 21, 2008

Water won't take it out. The only way is to break down the oils themselves. Cleaners like naphtha don't make the oils disappear, but rather break them into something water soluble that you can flush out.

While I've never done this with felt hats, on my wool navy peacoat I'd dab on small amounts of shout gel, let it sit for a bit, then use a rag with cold water to dab it out, repeating as necessary. If you go this route (or any cleaner), I'd test the tinyest area for colorfastness, probably right outside the sweatband on the bottom. Let it sit a few then dab it out. If good, then go nuts on the stains with SMALL amounts of cleaner. It is critical to do this as soon as possible, because fats rot and when they do they can and will damage the surrounding fibers leaving a permanent stain.

Unfortunately, the year old stains might have ruined your hat, but depending on the color of it it may be salvageable.

Rachael · Nov 21, 2008

I have gotten fat-based stains (fish and chips grease) out of silk using Huggies brand baby wipes. Again, daub don't rub and check for color fastness first. I would also put a lint-free cloth behind the stain to absorb excess moisture being pushed through. But those things work!

Mahagonny Bill · Nov 21, 2008

Corn Starch?

I have heard that if you put corn starch on the stain and let it dry, you can brush off the starch after a few days and it will remove the oil. Now, I have never tried this and I think you have to put the corn starch on while the stain is still fresh, but it's worth a shot.

airspirit · Nov 21, 2008

Corn starch will pull out some of the surface oils and may make it visibly go away if you're lucky. It will not pull out all of it though, and you'll still have oil rotting in your felt regardless of the initial results which could cause problems down the road.

suitedcboy · Nov 21, 2008

I have used corn starch with great success on light hats.
The last stain was automotive rear end lube which is a heavy oil, splashed onto a 100X silver belly western.
I used baby powder and dusted and re-applied two times and I can't see where it was stained now.

HarpPlayerGene · Nov 21, 2008

Aww, Hoss, that's lousy.

The cornstarch thing is a new one on me. I have a copy of a turn-of-the-century hat refurbishing book and it only discusses "gas baths" (translate Naptha nowadays) for cleaning.

Also, the flushing with water bit would concern me on a hat as pristine as a JohnnyPhi. Not poo pooing it as an idea, and I'm a fan of water for reshaping but, again, it's not mentioned in the traditional methods for handling this sort of issue so I would be leery. It has the potential to shrink the felt or the sweat.

What the Naptha does is to break up the oil or dirt, grab onto it and actually lift it out as it so quickly evaporates. For soaked in oil spots, it may take a time or two of applying Naptha dabbing and letting it evaporate again. Y'know that real oily Neosporine ointment? The stuff that's like runny Vaseline? I got a blob of that on an almost white hat. Got it out again with this method, a clean toothbrush and patience.

NOW HERE'S THE REAL TROUBLE:
1) When I've done spot cleaning with this method on light hats it sometimes left a ring around the cleaned area. Had to keep doing the process to mitigate that. I've read that bathing the entire hat in the Naptha is the only way to avoid this effect.

2) The felt is one thing. I'd rather have to deal with a stain there. The ribbon is another kettle entirely. That can be nigh impossible to rectify, even for Optimo (who, by the way, may be the best choice for a pro cleaning).

I feel for ya' man.

I've learned for myself the hard way on this too. For me, linguini is the natural enemy of my hats and shirts.

G'luck.

Hoss & da Posse · Nov 22, 2008

Well...I can tell you Tide sticks didn't do the trick and apparently I had dabbed enough of the dressing off so that corn meal wasn't effective...Naptha is up next

Wil Tam · Nov 22, 2008

not corn 'meal'

Hoss & da Posse said:
Well...I can tell you Tide sticks didn't do the trick and apparently I had dabbed enough of the dressing off so that corn meal wasn't effective...Naptha is up next

corn starch ...leave it on for a while to let it pull it out ... then dust with baby talc ... try it on the ribbon also ... naphtha is used in lighter fluid... I use that to remove glue off plastics but never tried it on material

and never ever leave a hat on a dining table with food or drink on it ... that's just inviting catastrophe!

warbird · Nov 24, 2008

But don't use lighter fluid. Get coleman white gas. There's a big difference in the composition and cleanliness between traditional lighter fluid and Coleman White Gas.

retro50 · Nov 24, 2008

I unfortunately a while back somehow was in the wrong place at the wrong time and got some compressor oil sprayed on a felt hat. Oops! I got a can of Scout felt hat cleaner (for black hats) and voila, out out damn spot. DO NOT USE the cleaner for light/white hats, as it bleaches, and will ruin anything but a white hat.

To avoid rings/spots when cleaning, I have found that once the undesirable spot is gone, one must clean the entire hat afterward.

HarpPlayerGene · Nov 24, 2008

warbird said:
But don't use lighter fluid. Get coleman white gas. There's a big difference in the composition and cleanliness between traditional lighter fluid and Coleman White Gas.

THAT'S probably why I was getting the old ring-around-the-cleaned-spot effect.

HarpPlayerGene · Nov 24, 2008

kabuto said:
The commercial hat cleaning sprays (Scout, Bickmore) seem to be a combination of a naptha-like smelly, headache inducing solvent and a corn starch-like powder: You spray them on, let the solvent evaporate, then brush off the powder that remains.

Ahhhh, sounds like the best of both.

randooch · Nov 24, 2008

suitedcboy said:
I have used corn starch with great success on light hats.
The last stain was automotive rear end lube which is a heavy oil, splashed onto a 100X silver belly western.
I used baby powder and dusted and re-applied two times and I can't see where it was stained now.

Now THERE'S a story! What was a hat like that doing within blup-shot of 90-weight gear oil?!

jake_fink · Nov 25, 2008

Corn meal!?!?!?!?

Just send it off to someone who cleans hats. Why you would spend weeks pouring things on your hat is beyond me. If you're an obssesive DIYer then DIY, but if you want your hat coming out the other end of the process then let a knowledgable person do it - and pay them.

Anyway, if it's oil, your hat is almost certainly spotted for good, and the ribbon is even more likely to be permanently spotted.

retro50 · Nov 25, 2008

jake_fink said:
Anyway, if it's oil, your hat is almost certainly spotted for good, and the ribbon is even more likely to be permanently spotted.

It was compressor oil, and it got on the ribbon too, and the Scout cleaner removed it completely. There is no sign it was ever there.

warbird · Nov 25, 2008

retro50 said:
It was compressor oil, and it got on the ribbon too, and the Scout cleaner removed it completely. There is no sign it was ever there.

Pretty impressive stuff right there.

Aargh! Salad Dressing on my Johnnyphi!

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