Distressing hats?

[LetHerGo888]

Pardon me, I'm super new to this, although I've wanted an accurate hat since I was 8 years old in 1981... but is there a master thread--or an informative one--on distressing a hat? I've been trying to find stuff on it and my searching skills have failed me! Is hat distression not a thing?

[Illinois_Jones]

Sure, though artificial distressing is sort of a bespoke, personal to the wearer kind of thing in most cases for those who want it. Some makers like S&J and Advintage will artificially distress it to a particular scene if you'd like, especially the Cairo hat because of its peculiarities and treatment, but a lot of people like to do it themselves.

Most use fuller's earth, some people will mix in a little ground pencil graphite, etc. Some people have put dabs of glycerine on it to mimic sweat stains. And some choose to go really hardcore and irreversible and thus waterproof and use various paints to mimic the dirt and dust.

Other than that it kind of depends on which hat and what scene you'd like to replicate.

[Mulceber]

I'll also chip in that there's an entire sub-forum here entitled Gear Care & Distressing, if you're interested in more details.

[LetHerGo888]

I'll also chip in that there's an entire sub-forum here entitled Gear Care & Distressing, if you're interested in more details.

Sure, though artificial distressing is sort of a bespoke, personal to the wearer kind of thing in most cases for those who want it. Some makers like S&J and Advintage will artificially distress it to a particular scene if you'd like, especially the Cairo hat because of its peculiarities and treatment, but a lot of people like to do it themselves.

Most use fuller's earth, some people will mix in a little ground pencil graphite, etc. Some people have put dabs of glycerine on it to mimic sweat stains. And some choose to go really hardcore and irreversible and thus waterproof and use various paints to mimic the dirt and dust.

Other than that it kind of depends on which hat and what scene you'd like to replicate.

Thank you both very much! Fuller earth keeps coming up for the jacket, too.

I did not see the ENTIRE SECTION on distressing. Exactly what I needed. Haha, this is why they need a FIND function on iOs!

[Illinois_Jones]

No problem. Lots of advice and tips to be had on the forum. Just remember, distressing isn't for the faint of heart and most of it can't be fixed. My basic advice would be whatever you choose to practice it on a cheap wool felt hat first and make sure you're happy with the result.

[Indiana Jeff]

Haha, this is why they need a FIND function on iOs!

COW has a search function built in. It's in the top banner. Searches are for key words and can be limited to a specific section of the site to reduce hits.

Regards,

Indiana Jeff

[Ridgerunner58]

My own 2 cents is to just wear the hat and let it evidence it’s own life story.

If you start with a really good hat and unless you attack it with sandpaper, acid, oil or fire anything you do can pretty much be fixed, but artificial distressing pretty much looks . . . artificial.

I have an AB Legacy that I travel with and wear while working out in the sun. It’s been rained on, lived through sand, wind, snow and dust storms, been rolled, folded, crushed and sweated in - rebuilt twice and has a ton of character that it would not have if I dumped a bunch of crushed drywall or kitty litter on it and tried to make it look aged with a make-up brush.

The only thing I do to it other than re-block it every few years is spray it with water to fix it when the brim gets too wonky looking. As it’s aged though it seems to need that less and less because it’s found it’s own shape and returns to that shape no matter what.

[shade88]

My own 2 cents is to just wear the hat and let it evidence it’s own life story.

A good hat will gain plenty of character through wear, more than an artificially distressed hat imho.

[Dalexs]

And it really depends on what you're trying to achieve with "the look"

Most distressing, especially with the hat, is more or less just getting it dirty. WITHOUT damaging it.
That can be achieved in a number of ways. Most here will tell you to use Fullers Earth.

This can be hard to find, especially in a short period of time. It's really just a natural clay product, ground down to a REALLY fine powered.
Thankfully, its a Halloween time, so some of the pop-up stores may have something similar.

But in short term, there are plenty of alternatives, foremost... unscented, clay based cat litter. Basically the same thing.
Regular dirty or sand won't give you lasting looks, but the clay products really stick well.

Water/sweat stains are another look to go for (mostly around sweatband) but, depending on the materials, your mileage may vary.

Dalexs

[Forrest For the Trees]

My own 2 cents is to just wear the hat and let it evidence it’s own life story.

If you start with a really good hat and unless you attack it with sandpaper, acid, oil or fire anything you do can pretty much be fixed, but artificial distressing pretty much looks . . . artificial.

I have an AB Legacy that I travel with and wear while working out in the sun. It’s been rained on, lived through sand, wind, snow and dust storms, been rolled, folded, crushed and sweated in - rebuilt twice and has a ton of character that it would not have if I dumped a bunch of crushed drywall or kitty litter on it and tried to make it look aged with a make-up brush.

The only thing I do to it other than re-block it every few years is spray it with water to fix it when the brim gets too wonky looking. As it’s aged though it seems to need that less and less because it’s found it’s own shape and returns to that shape no matter what.

Can we see some pictures of this hat? I would love to see what AB Legacy looks like after that kind of wear and re-blocks. Thanks!

[LetHerGo888]

Thanks for all the information, folks. I got a Dorfman in the mail this week--it was all could get shipped in time for Halloween--and I can see that it's a somewhat limiting choice. I've got a Denton on the way, but it's not estimated to arrive until November. I love wearing this Dorfman, though, so much that I'm going to flip for a Herbert Johnson... those look pretty spot-on.

I initially started this thing for a Halloween costume. My eight year old is REALLY into the series, as I was in 1981 when I myself was 8, and all it took was for her to say, "Dad, you should totally be Indiana Jones for Halloween."

Anyway, my OCD has made this a much larger concern. Regarding the distressing, though, weren't all the film items distressed artificially? Wasn't the ROTLA jacket worked over at the swimming pool the night before the first day of shooting? Those pieces looked pretty darn good. But then again, I bought a Roadworn Telecaster because I liked how it felt better than the standard line, so what do I know?