New member wondering about water repellent

[Pyrodigital]

Recently discovered COW after rediscovering the films last fall. I have to say, this place doesn't disappoint when it comes to gear/film knowledge!

I'm a pyrotechnician among other things & always wear a wide brimmed hat when working on a show due to the amount of sun/rain we get exposed to. After re-watching all the films, it really put me in the mood for a good Indy hat that I could actually wear on fireworks shows & not shrink in the rain (I live near Seattle). I did some research & not knowing as much about SA as I do now, settled on the DM Adventurer. Went to his shop in Bothell & found a factory second (tiny pinhole in the ribbon) in size 60 (I normally wear 61, but I'm a bit of a long oval). THe shop stretched the sweat out & it fit OK, but a bit snug. THen I wore it in a few rainstorms & tried to make the bash more SA by using lots of water--not smart as now the sweat has shrunken slightly. Not sure if the felt really shrank or tapered, since I know the block has a bit to begin with.

I'd love to replace it w/ a pure beaver Penman or AB, but sadly don't have that kind of money yet. Then I discovered Garrison & I'm extremely tempted--need to do taxes now! That Raiders hat looks incredible! I would order rabbit, so this brings me to waterproofing. I know LLS pre-ages the felt the same as Steve Delk & uses the same waterproofing, but it is still rabbit, so I want to protect this hat when/if I get it.

What does everybody recommend for waterproofing (that can be purchased in reasonable quantities i.e. not a 55 gallon drum! ) and (for owners of really good custom rabbit hats, be they Garrison, AB or Penman), do you handle yours any differently than say an Akubra or do you not worry about it since they're built tougher & blocked longer than the Akubra? I guess maybe I'm just a bit paranoid about tapering a custom hat through carelessness.


As for my screen name,the Pyrodigital firing system is one I've fallen in love with since getting to use it last fall on the 2011 APA (American Pyrotechnics Association) Convention shows. Rugged, extremely reliable, easy to use & practically bulletproof-- a lot like Indy's gear!

[Chewbacca Jones]

Welcome to club, Pryodigital!

I can't speak from experience regarding the Garrisons, but I have worn my share of rabbit felt and beaver felt lids. Obviously, beaver will go longer in wet conditions before tapering or shrinking, but a good rabbit lid can do fairly well, too. Since LLS goes to the length he does, and you wont have to soak your hat to get how you want it, I think it should take about two years of abuse before needing a reblock. As long as the felt is not damaged, reblocking can keep a lid going for a long time. You could have it done during your slower seasons.

You can probably get a pretty good spray-on waterproofer, but keep in mind that some of those things are flammable. You may want to avoid them in your line of work. I have never waterproofed a hat. I prefer to get reblocks if they taper. This is, of course, only one man's view.

Enjoy the madness!

[Indiana Jeff]

Adding to the welcome!

Garrison hats are great. David sources the same top shelf rabbit felt both Adventurebilt and Penman uses and as you mentioned, Steve taught David the secret pre-aging technique so between the felt quality and construction, even the rabbit hats will hold up well. I'm not sure what waterproofing David adds to his hats before shipping, he would need to answer that directly.

As far as adding additional waterproofing, Steve often mentioned using regular Scotchgard on his hats. Nothing overly special.

Regards,

Indiana Jeff

[Pyrodigital]

THanks for the welcomes; enjoying the madness greatly so far! As far as flammability, we wear hard hats when actually firing--regular hats are for daytime setup/cleanup. Scotchguard would be easiest, but didn't somebody say it took a long time to remove the residue for reblocks?