Club Obi Wan

My first Indy hat was a Miller. I wore it all over the place last summer and my head would sweat into the hat. After awhile, a whitish stain from, I imagine, the salt of my sweat appeared on the front of the hat on the ribbon. I tried cleaning it, but there is still a small stain there.

With my newer Keppler, I cut up a white cotton rag into a piece about 1 inch by 8 inches and put it between the liner and the sweatband in the front of the hat. So far, no sweat stain has appeared as the rag is soaking up the sweat.

Any other ways to avoid the sweat stain??

Thanks, Kaleponi Craig

You're doing about the only thing I can think of to avoid the marks. Hat makers USED to sell and/or supply those inserts made of cotton for just this problem, so you're not that far off the mark. What most have discovered is, though, that this is just one of those things that occur, and necessitate the need to occasionally send your hat off to a hat shop for an annual cleaning and reblocking. Refreshes the hat, extends it's life, and removes those stains. Regards. Michaelson

Great minds think a like. I had a PBII custom that was covered with salt stains on the ribbon and felt. I later just used folded paper towels on the inside of the sweat band. It worked fine when I went out on hikes. Your idea seems to be even better.

-Sergei

Although if you're going for that ultra screen-accuracy you want those sweat stains... just look at the Cairo hat!

Yeah, I agree - sweat stains are inevitable -and they can always be got rid off when its time for the next reblock.

It's probably a good idea to have one with the stains...looks like you've been on some adventures, and one without for those times you want a nice clean lid.

Kaleponi Craig

Kaleponi Craig wrote:It's probably a good idea to have one with the stains...looks like you've been on some adventures, and one without for those times you want a nice clean lid.

Kaleponi Craig

Big thumbs up!

The old time hatters used gasoline to get the stains out. White gas. In fact, all hats were cleaned in gas back in the day. Perhaps that is where the term "hot head" came from. The customer rushed the hatter up, received a not quite so dry hat, and immediately lit up a cigarette. The original Richard Pryor stunt. Running down the street with the head ablaze. Fedora

Back in the days, some sweatbands had a thin thin thin layer of plastic sewn behind the leather. There's a name for it... onion ring or something like that, but I can't remember. Those seperated the sweat from the felt. Good thing, if you ask me, but they've become pretty rare nowadays.

Regards,

Marc

Marc wrote:Back in the days, some sweatbands had a thin thin thin layer of plastic sewn behind the leather.

I have a wool, eight-panel newsboy cap that I bought in 1981 that had that thin layer of plastic...but it was behind a grosgrain band, not leather. I just had the sweatband replaced for comfort's sake.

David

Marc wrote:Back in the days, some sweatbands had a thin thin thin layer of plastic sewn behind the leather. There's a name for it... onion ring or something like that, but I can't remember. Those seperated the sweat from the felt. Good thing, if you ask me, but they've become pretty rare nowadays.

Regards,

Marc

I think they call it onion skin now.

Thanks Roger!

@Canadave: interesting version. Never heard of that one before.

Regards,

Marc

Very simple preventative. Take a $20 bill (or any other denomination you like), fold it lengthwise and insert it under the front of your sweatband. This should help absorb sweat and you will always have a twenty in case you lose your wallet or fall on hard times. If you don't want it to show from the inside then fold it in threes rather than in half. This should not take up enough space for you to notice in the fit but if your hat is a bit too large you could put them all around!

Jeez, you had better not lose that hat.

If I spent over $200 for an Adventurebilt or a HJ I wouldn't want to lose it anyway! Maybe include a note in there with your phone # that anyone who finds the hat can keep the $20 if they please return the hat.Honor system but it might work!

Shiva wrote:Very simple preventative. Take a $20 bill (or any other denomination you like), fold it lengthwise and insert it under the front of your sweatband. This should help absorb sweat and you will always have a twenty in case you lose your wallet or fall on hard times. If you don't want it to show from the inside then fold it in threes rather than in half. This should not take up enough space for you to notice in the fit but if your hat is a bit too large you could put them all around!

Shiva, big advice to you. <Shhhhhhh> Don't let Jess or Michaelson look at your hat if you ever show up at any of the Queen Mary summits. They may show great interest in your liner and sweatband and quickly run off to the coffee shop yelling - "Coffee is on me boys!". )

Gotta love it. -Sergei

Yeah, let me see your hat instead. I'm far more trustworth than those guys. 8-[ Hey, anyone up for a group hug?

bink

SHARPETOYS wrote:

Marc wrote:There's a name for it... onion ring or something like that, but I can't remember.

I think they call it onion skin now.

Right. Onion rings make different kinds of stains.

Shiva wrote:Very simple preventative. Take a $20 bill (or any other denomination you like), fold it lengthwise and insert it under the front of your sweatband.

Ooh...I don't know. Indy-On-A Budget will be using either a $1 bill, or a reasonable paper facsimile thereof...

...can I borrow your hat? (EDIT: I was in such a hurry to ask to borrow it, I didn't even see Michaelson and Bink in line in front of me. Sigh...the early bird gets the coffee money!)

Nobody replied to this? *Sigh*.

I believe Shane got his pretty clean by VACUUMING it. Worth a shot, if the stains are dryer, rather than set from a liquid.

J

Anonymous wrote:

The old time hatters used gasoline to get the stains out. White gas.

White gas? Wazzat? Leaded? Premium?

aka 'Coleman fuel' nowadays. A very clean, pure, form of gasoline.