Moth Damage Repair

[zetwal]

OK, so what's an "MCO"?

I wasn't trying to be coy or mysterious. I thought you'd know that I meant to say - Monte Cristi Optimo -

 

[Inusuit]

Repairs of this sort bring to mind automobile Bondo repairs. You can apply the proper product, sand the area, and repaint. But at the end of the day wouldn't we all prefer to buy and own a car that has never been wrecked (no matter how good the cover up may appear at a glance)?

Life is not perfect, and we can't always get what we want. Of course I would prefer a pristine vintage hat with no moth bites and a supple sweatband in my exact size. But a part of what I enjoy about owning and wearing hats is the tinkering with creases, brims, ribbons, and sweats. Felt is almost a living fabric that responds to weather, wear, and care.

I agree that it would be unethical to sell a hat without revealing ALL the repairs or adjustments.

 

[HarpPlayerGene]

I wasn't trying to be coy or mysterious. I thought you'd know that I meant to say - Monte Cristi Optimo -

Gotcha'! Just couldn't work that one out. Anyway, the pix we're discussing are of a more recent acquisition: A parabuntal.

Sorry for all the fftopic: everybody. Back to regular programming...

 

[Jabos]

I called Optimo and they advised they don't do any moth repair type work. So, Gene, it looks like you could have the only business in the world that would specialize in moth repair work! See, I'm setting you up to become a millionaire. No doubt your specialty shop could become a Fortune 500 company someday (but I think you would have to sell a LOT of snake oil on the side to get there!).

 

[HarpPlayerGene]

So, Gene, it looks like you could have the only business in the world that would specialize in moth repair work!

I suppose, but it seems I'd have some pretty stiff (stiff, get it!?) competition from Mr. Paladin. His process is proving very effective as well.

I'll PM you my address, but I do not want to charge or consider this a professional thing. I do, however, like that image you conjured up of me on the cover of Forbes...

 

[Mr. Paladin]

lol lol lol I am afraid I am but a piker when it comes to doing anything with hats. Gene, you will not have to share the Forbes cover with me, but I would be happy to have you autograph my copy when it comes out!

Zetwal, I understand your concern over the repair issue and e-Bay sales, but if you read the thread I started, I made the repairs because my "pristine" OR came with three little presents which I had not anticipated. Since I had the hat and I liked the hat, I wanted it to look as nice as possible and I am not of the school that thinks stains, divots, etc. add character to a hat unless its a beater. I, therefore wanted my OR to look as close to whole as possible so I tried the fix. I have never sold a hat because I have all mine to wear; I'm really not a collector. I can assure you I would never sell one that has been repaired without letting the buyer know. Hopefully I will have worn it out before I "exit stage left" but if not, [huh] ...I guess it will be estate sale time and caveat emptor!

 

[zetwal]

I made the repairs because my "pristine" OR came with three little presents which I had not anticipated. Since I had the hat and I liked the hat, I wanted it to look as nice as possible and I am not of the school that thinks stains, divots, etc. add character to a hat unless its a beater. I, therefore wanted my OR to look as close to whole as possible so I tried the fix. I have never sold a hat because I have all mine to wear; I'm really not a collector. I can assure you I would never sell one that has been repaired without letting the buyer know.

I hope you didn't think that I was implying that YOU (or anyone participating here in this thread) were up to no good! I can promise you that the thought never even occured to me!

It's actually quite simple (and innocent). As I thought about the desireability (or otherwise) of felt repairs such as those described here, it occured to me that people often cover up damage to all sorts of items before reselling them. It seems to me not unreasonable to think that as hats become more valuable the temptation to cover up damage prior to resale will increase.

As far as your new OR goes, I'm sorry to hear that it had undisclosed damage when you bought it. I'm also delighted to learn how you were able to repair it to your satisfation. I hope you wear your new hat in good health and enjoy it for many many years to come!

 

[Mr. Paladin]

Believe me sir, no offense was taken nor did I think you were implying shady dealings. I think your concern is quite legitimate, particularly if one buys these immaculate collectors' item hats like JTL, Garrett, and others here, with the expectation that they are getting what they paid for, or those who buy one with undisclosed damage or repair just as a wearing hat. I am just pleased to wear my used OR and not see the giant stock tank -sized divot in my upper peripheral vision all day long!!!

 

[HarpPlayerGene]

Drat and double drat!! I was going to garner my fortune by contacting all Ebay hat sellers and offering my 'hide-a-hole' cover-up services so we could dupe the hat buying public out of millions. MILLION$, I say! BWA-HA-HA-HAAAAH!!

And I woulda' gotten away with it too if it weren't for those meddling Fedora Loungers.
:rage:

 

[HarpPlayerGene]

I recently worked on a hat for a fellow Lounger. I've copied my own text from prior and have added in photos of the process below.

Hey, Mr. P.

This is about the divots under the brim of your new Silverbelly OR style, right? I have repaired a lot of these on my hats - even fixed a complete hole right through the brims of two different fedoras. My method works best on mid-tone hats (medium brown, grey, taupe). Light hats may well show a darker place where you have added felt in the divots.

Here's what I do:

1) I get a small can of Super77 (3M spray adhesive available at hardware and office supply stores).

2) I use 150 grit sandpaper to scuff up some fluffy 'donor' felt from under the brim somewhere. You need quite a good amount of fluff as it smushes back down to nothing in the next steps.

3) I spray a quick spurt of the adhesive at close range on a piece of paper or an old file folder so it makes a little puddle. Careful, this stuff comes out in a blast and overspray is very tacky. Keep the hat away while getting the adhesive glob on the paper.

4) With toothpicks at the ready, I dab into the sticky glue (note, it is already drying so you don't have long to get some of it on the toothpick) and then dot the glue into the divot on the hat.

5) With the glue now applied to the entire divot area, I take a pinch of the graft felt and begin working it into the divot. I press it in, and I circle my finger around a little and I press again. I'm trying to get it to stick to the adhesive AND to felt up with itself. Any oils or dirt from your finger, or too much adhesive used at a time will darken the felt you apply to the damaged area.

6) I repeat steps 3 through 5 as needed to fill the area to level with the rest of the hat surface. Note, I am not trying to make the donor felt soak up that miniscule amount of glue I apply each time - just attach to it so on the surface all you see is dry felt.

Once you've gotten enough felt to stick and fill in the area, brush it lightly.

BEFORE

AFTER

This sounds tricky - and it is. Best I can do to explain it. It takes a touch, but you start to instinctively feel what you're doing only by doing it. I have done this process on some hats and it is next to impossible to see where the problems originally were. I have done it on others and it did improve the damage but it did not perfectly restore it.

Using needles to pick or manipulate the felt, and/or using spray stiffener are not methods I've employed. Nothing against those ideas, I've just gotten good at really making solid repairs to moth nibbles by actually adding felt back into them.

G'LUCK!

 

[Jabos]

Gene did this for me and I want to publicly thank him! After seeing this tutorial I laugh that I almost tried this myself. The photos don't do it justice. The level of the repaired area is EXACTLY level with the brim area around it. Great Job Gene!:eusa_clap :eusa_clap

 

[HarpPlayerGene]

Cool. You're welcome, Jabos!

I failed to mention that in the case of your hat, I built up the felt a little higher and then carefully sanded it back to level. It's almost like doing a drywall patch - just totally different.

 

[jimmy the lid]

Bravo, Gene! :eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap

Fantastic work!

And, Jabos -- a fantastic lid!

Cheers,
JtL

 

[Chinaski]

Very impressive, Gene. Thanks for taking the time to post the pictures!

 

[ScottF]

As pointed out to me in another thread by BK... Moths do not eat the felt. The damage is caused by moth larvae munching on "food" that is attached to the felt. I've actually found these little buggers lying dead on some of my hats. (My 4th Grade Science class taught me that the live larvae must have survived to become moths, and I haven't experienced a "Seinfeld" moment with live moths.)

Soo... moth larvae are the common enemy!

Is the above true?!? If so, it's just a matter of keeping food off your hat - sounds too simple.

Has anyone tried Gene's 'super 77 and felt fuzz' method lately? I'm about to, and want to make sure I get as much input as possible - it's a nice hat, but several holes that go all the way through the top.

 

[rlk]

Is the above true?!? If so, it's just a matter of keeping food off your hat - sounds too simple.

Yes, thats the moths idea of food however which includes a vast number of organic substances including the felt.http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/2000/2107.html

 

[Stan]

Hi,

You mean food as in animal hair which is pretty much what a hat is to a moth?

Yes, the little baby bugs eat the hair itself, then turn into adult moths and fly away.

I wonder if they have enough on the ball to come *back* to the same hat to lay their own eggs??

I have a few hats that have enough moth holes in them that they look like they've been used on the skeet range - as targets!

I keep them in the open on the shelves in the closet as 'please eat me and leave the ones in the boxes alone please' bait. Not that I can tell if any new holes develop, but so far none have gone after the good hats in the boxes! lol

later!

Stan

 

[xwray]

Probably a dumb question but where are those moths coming from...how did they get into the closet...are eggs riding in on, for instance, ebay or other used purchases? I don't believe I've ever seen a moth fly into my house...flies, mosquitoes, an occasionl bee, and even a bird or two has come down the chimney over the years but never a moth. Maybe it's too hot for them in Houston?

 

[Brad Bowers]

Silverfish are also a big problem, more so, I suspect, than moths. I know I've had them cause problems for me. There are other critters, too, that chew on our hats. That's why I've taken to calling them critter craters, since I never know what kind of critter made the crater.lol

Brad

 

[ScottF]

Probably a dumb question but where are those moths coming from...how did they get into the closet...are eggs riding in on, for instance, ebay or other used purchases? I don't believe I've ever seen a moth fly into my house...flies, mosquitoes, an occasionl bee, and even a bird or two has come down the chimney over the years but never a moth. Maybe it's too hot for them in Houston?

I never saw one either, until I started accumulating hats - my guess is that they rode a hat in.

In any case, they finally seem to be gone - no signs for over a month now. Thanks, Sue, for the lemon eucalyptus instructions.