Club Obi Wan

How would you clean an AB liner properly?? Mine has an oily spot from the gel that I use in my hair, right on the spot where the center dent touches my head. It makes the liner a little more transluscent, and makes the headpiece a little more difficult to see.

Advice?

Shane

I think I remember Fedora telling me to hand-wash the liner in some soapy water, but don't quote me on that. :junior: -IJ

I've washed liners before. Hand wash it in a little bit of Woolite (or something else silk friendly) and swirl it around a bit. Rinse and repeat if necessary. Let it air dry and reinstall it in your hat. If your liner has the plastic cap, you should have no problems, but if it's the full silk liner, you may or may not have a bit of residual stain, depending on how badly and how long the stain has set in. But it's a liner, if you want to keep it pristine, remove it and set it aside.

I've never removed the liner on my AB's, how do you go about re-installing.
Step by step if possible, I'm a dunce when it comes to these sort a things.

Croft

I don't know about the AB, but most liners are glued in. I've used a little heat to soften the glue on Kepplers, Federations, etc. and removed the liners with gentle force. Then to replace, just use a little Elmers white glue. A few dots every so often...The leather sweat band holds it in place for the most part anyway. I've purchased extra liners for my Keppler and when one gets too dirty or stained, I just pop in a new one!

Regards, Dr. J

I thought the point of a liner was to get dirty and sweaty and stained... so the hat doesn't.

Steve stitches his liners in, so you'll have to cut the thread. He may also use a small daub of water-based glue (unlike Akubra which uses a hot glue gun ) to help keep it in place while he stitches it in. When I put a liner back in, I just tuck it back under the sweat and leave it at that. It usually does the trick. Otherwise, you could take a small dot of Elmer's glue (which is water based and won't harm the hat) and tack it in against the felt in a few places.

WeeMadHamish wrote:I thought the point of a liner was to get dirty and sweaty and stained... so the hat doesn't.

It's the smell I have a problem with.

I use double faced tape that I get at the fabric store (JoAnns) 4 or 5 1 inch strips works for me.
Bob.

I used double sided tape on my Akubra and it made it look worse than before! When I tried to take it out the next time, I couldn't because the tape had gone through the liner, taping the crown to the sweatband in a sticky Mid-brown mess! It looked pretty gross. Maybe it was just bad quality tape?

Thanks for the responses guys! Maybe I'll just leave it in there and deal with it!

Shane

Shane, I think I have a couple brand new ones on my shelf I'm not using.

Drop me a PM with your mailing address and mail you one.

Just use the Elmers glue drop to install that bink mentions above (that's what I do myself) after you cut the threads and remove your old one, and you'll be good to go.

Regards! Michaelson

Anyone know a source for new liners? I prefer my liners without the plastic as it sticks to my shaved head.
Bob.

Ok, just to be sure, Michealson or Bink when you say

Just use the Elmers glue drop to install

is this the white elmers glue. My daughters had one here for loong time and it's white and says "washable" and it's still good.

Thanks, as I've always contemplated cleanig the liner but was nervous about replacing it and I wouldn't want to bother Fedora, as we all no he's busy.

Croft

Dr._J wrote:Then to replace, just use a little Elmers white glue. A few dots every so often...The leather sweat band holds it in place for the most part anyway.

Looks like it I never would have thought of using that stuff in my hat though! That's really interesting. I'll try that on the new one!!

Shane

Indiana Croft wrote:Ok, just to be sure, Michealson or Bink when you say

Just use the Elmers glue drop to install

is this the white elmers glue. My daughters had one here for loong time and it's white and says "washable" and it's still good.

Thanks, as I've always contemplated cleanig the liner but was nervous about replacing it and I wouldn't want to bother Fedora, as we all no he's busy.

Croft

That's the stuff. Water soluable and harms nothing.

Regards! Michaelson

Speaking of glue...You could also try this 2000 year old Japanese recipe. It really works:

How to Make Sokui

1. Take a small amount of one- to two-day old cooked short-grain rice and place it on a clean, flat surface. A board works well.
2. Wet a strong, flat stick, such as a bamboo spatula and mash the rice.
3. Add a drop or two of water, and mash again.
4. Keep adding water as needed.
5. Continue mashing the rice until it becomes a sticky, glutinous mass with no lumps.
6. You now have basic sokui.

How to Use Sokui
1. Use a small sliver of wood to spread a bead of sokui over the necessary area.
2. Press together the pieces to be glued. Hold them firmly in place using a cord, rubber band, or other similar device until dry.

Believe or not this is still being used to repair certain parts of a Katana.
...and if you get lost on a deserted island, you could always eat your hat!!