Cleaning an old ribbon?

[jec]

Okay, so you get a nice old hat on EBay. The dust on the felt comes off with a hat brush. Easy. But how do you clean off the ribbon - if not all the dust comes off with the brush? Can you damp wipe it? Sponge? Damp paper towel?

Any advice will be appreciated!

Jim

 

[tonyb]

Warning! You can indeed "scuff" grosgrain ribbon by abrading its surface. Some ribbon is more easily scuffed than others, but be aware that whatever cleaning method you attempt, be gentle about it.

It seems sensical to apply water with a spray bottle, and whatever pressure is applied to the surface (with paper towels, perhaps?) ought to be applied WITH the grain. So go up and down, not side to side.

To prevent "high-water" marks, moisten the entire ribbon.

Good luck, Jim. What kind of hat are we talking about here? Got a picture?

 

[jec]

Thanks

Thanks for the advice Tony. The hat is the same one I asked about in a thread concerning moth damage last week:

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=31326

It's an older (but apparently not 'vintage') Stetson fedora- similar in shape and proportions to the Stetson 'Downs' (And perhaps it is , indeed, a Downs- but there is no identifying label).

I was able to clean up the hat, rebash the crown, and replace the feathers with a couple of small wild turkey ****** feathers - which look great and effectively cover the worse of the two moth bites. But the ribbon still looks a bit dirty.

I'd offer to post a photo, but I can not yet upload images onto FL. Perhaps I can use this hat in an avatar photo that I can post sometime later today.

Thanks again.