Club Obi Wan

This time of year, those of use who wear our hats year round may have noticed that our fedoras get (to be civil) a bit 'gamey' due to the amount of perspiration we shed during the hot time of year.

This is usually due to the amount of dirt and perspiration the sweatband is designed to absorb.

Just to post my standard practice (and it's by far NOT the ONLY way, but it's worked for me all these years) that may help in that area.

Take a cotton ball and soak it in rubbing alcohol. Not dripping, but wet. Proceed to wipe the sweat band all the way round. Don't worry about the back of the band, just the side that touches your head. You'll be absolutely amazed how dirty your cotton ball will be. Do this with a couple of alcohol soaked cotton balls, but don't keep doing it until you have a completely clean cotton ball. If you go TOO deep with energetic cleaning, you may be pulling out the dye from the leather! Allow the hat band to air dry.

Alcohol will dry out leather, so once it's dry, you need to apply some leather treatment. A lot of folks advise using Pecards, and though that's a great product due to it's pH balanced formula, keep in mind, standard Pecards is a water resistant product. We still want our sweat bands to do their job, and this is to absorb, so we really don't want a repellent applied to the leather.

I use Pecards leather lotion (also advertised as 'motorcycle leather lotion') that is water soluable and is a cleaner/conditioner. A close product to this is Lexol leather cleaner/conditioner. This replaces the moisture lost from the alcohol cleaning, and also cleans and conditions the leather (yeah, well 'duh'! ).

After a couple light applications of the leather lotion (I just apply with my fingers rather than a cloth), allow it to completely air dry. Once dry, take a clean dry cotton rag and buff the band to remove any excess product and bring the band to a shine.

This adds years to the life of your sweatband, and also removes the grime from day to day wear as well as the odor of a 'well used hat'.

Just a tip offered.

Regards! Michaelson

Thanks,

See, I'd have used regular Pecards.. then thought about the waterproofing bit after the fact. Great info!

Randy

Great idea. The alcohol sanitizes as well. I usually rub leather lotion on the sweatband when the hat is new just to get a jump start on the break in process, softens it up some.

Good tip! I don't wear my hat as often, so I've been taking a more reserved approach of a wipe-down with a damp cloth. That might work as an intermediate cleaning between alcohol treatments.

Agreed, tym.

The method above is for those hats that have really been used hard and haven't had a good cleaning in a while.

Your method is a great practice to get into between the cleaning method I recommended.

I usually don't have to do this but once or twice a year. You don't want to hit your leather sweats super often, or they WILL dry out and crack, but on occasion with application of leather lotion will not bother the leather and will actually add years of life and use. Just use moderation, and don't get heavy handed when you're cleaning.

You'll be amazed just how much grime you'll remove, and that so much dirt and oil was suspended on the leather surface, but is hidden by the nature of the brown color of the leather sweat band itself.

(good point about the sanitation, Texas! You're absolutely right! )

Regards! Michaelson

You know I have never treated any of my hast/sweatbands. I do wipe them clean after a hot sweaty day but never treated them.

Try it, Oak. You'll be amazed what will come off that band.

Regards! Michaelson

Michaelson wrote:Try it, Oak. You'll be amazed what will come off that band.

Regards! Michaelson

When ever I get one that looks bad I will but so fare by just wiping it when wet with a dry cloth seems to do the trick. I will keep that nugget in my back pocket though.

Michaelson wrote:You'll be amazed just how much grime you'll remove, and that so much dirt and oil was suspended on the leather surface, but is hidden by the nature of the brown color of the leather sweat band itself.

That is so true. I have an older wool baseball cap (Red Sox 2004 World Series on-field cap) with a white sweatband; the icky yellowish-brown color it acquired after only a dozen or so days' wear was pretty off-putting. For that hat, I was able to get by with a gentle hand-washing, followed by letting it dry on my head so that the sizing became perfect (it's a fitted cap).

Not to derail my own topic, but have you thought of trying a cleaning of your wool had by hand washing with Woolite?

Regards! Michaelson

Michaelson, I've seen a product advertized that basically is a form to hold baseball caps in their shape and made to use in washing machine on 'delicate' with Woolite.......haven't actually used one , maybe someone else here has ?

I know what your talking about but I wouldn't throw my ball caps in a washing machine. I'm sure I wouldnt throw a fedra in one.

No, I'm talking about HAND WASHING your cap in Woolite.

Yeah, I have one of those hat rack thingies, and they're great for cotton hats, but NOT professional wool made/fitted caps. Haven't used mine for years, though, and it was mainly used to wash our daughters caps 'back in the day'.

Regards! Michaelson

BendingOak wrote:I know what your talking about but I wouldn't throw my ball caps in a washing machine. I'm sure I would throw a fedra in one.

I only own two ball caps. one camo, the other a fishing cap, and I throw them both in the washer when needed with no problem.

I'd venture to say if you washed a fedora in the washing machine, it'd come out "distressed"!

Randy

I wouldn't do that.

Did I say the hat would be distressed? I mean whoever did the washing would!

Randy

Michaelson wrote:No, I'm talking about HAND WASHING your cap in Woolite.

I hand washed it in normal detergent. The issue with the wool isn't so much the detergent choice but the fact that the water causes the material to shrink mightily. I do own a hat jack but found that letting the hat dry on my head produced the better result.

As for machine washing, I'd only do that with polyester or cheap cotton caps. Wool caps shouldn't go anywhere near a washing machine.

I tend to be about as conservative as one might be with a fedora, doing only light surface cleanings unless the hat is fully soiled.

tym, were you hand washing the cap in cold or warm/hot water? That'll make a big difference!

Does anyone know what Major League teams do ?.Do they 'dry clean' or just replace them as they need it ?

Replace.

My wifes family was involved with the operation of a farm team to the Atlanta Braves many years ago, and even they just use the hats until they fall apart, then toss them.

Regards! Michaelson

Thanks, Michaelson! That's very useful info!

Shane

binkmeisterRick wrote:tym, were you hand washing the cap in cold or warm/hot water? That'll make a big difference!

Excellent point. I was using cold/lukewarm, as I recall. The resulting fit is good, though I don't wear the cap much as it has historical significance. My current ballgame cap is my '07 Sox World Series on-field cap, which is all polyester and therefore able to withstand more abuse.

I realize that I've driven the topic a bit OT, but I think in this case it's useful to extend the discussion to general hat care, as a lot of the concerns are common to various styles of headwear.

No problem! As a matter of fact, I changed the subject title a bit so if anyone else want to add any hat cleaning/care tips, please feel free to do so in this stickied thread.

Regards! Michaelson

Thanks!

What would one recommend for just general protection of the sweatband? And shoudl i apply the product to the back side of the sweat or just the front?
Thanx!!!
Charlie

As I am a heavy sweater and wear my fedora year round I will give the alcohol a try. I usually take Oaks approach and wipe the band down at the end of the day.

Beaverlid

Instead of posting another topic, I thought I'd just post here... it is titled "general hat care."

How do you guys get rid of sweat stains on the ribbon? My Fed has a couple of white spots. I tried rubbing it out with water, but it still keeps coming back. Will rubbing alcohol work on these kinds of stains?

I have discovered that a little neutral moisturiser cleans off the sweat and dirt without drying the leather.

Brilliant! Makes perfect sense too!

Has anyone used Bickmore leather conditioner on their sweatbands? My local grocery store sells this product and I was wondering if it would be a decent alternative to Pecards.
It's the first product on the page: http://www.bickmore.com/products.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Not sure, as I've never heard of the product.

One thing to keep in mind when looking for substitutes to what has been suggested is to make sure what ever you use OTHER than Pecards is also pH balanced. You don't want to put something on a leather sweatband that you find out the hard way is a skin irritant and causes an allergic reaction when worn against your forehead.

Do your homework first before proceeding with the unknown here. This isn't a jacket restoration product we're talking about, but something you'll actually have in direct contact with your skin, so use a product that is pH balanced and says so in their product description.

Regards! Michaelson

Thanks for the advice, Michaelson. I think I'll just go with Pecards. It's better to be safe than sorry

Understood. Still, don't count out other products without doing a little research. It may still be a product that meets the same criteria as Pecards in the manner we're discussing, and is right at your door.

Regards! Michaelson

Just checked out the Pecard site. I'm overwhelmed with the variety of products. I have two hats, a 4 yr old Adventurbilt and a 73 yr old Dobbs which has a thin, but still supple sweat band. Which would work for these?

I'm partial to the 'leather creme', though it's really a jell. Less bees wax and therefore less tacky as it soaks in.

Regards! Michaelson

Michaelson wrote:I'm partial to the 'leather creme', though it's really a jell. Less bees wax and therefore less tacky as it soaks in.

Regards! Michaelson

You forgot the words "awesome" and "dy-no-mite" because that's what it is. Im now a disciple of Pecard's.

Well, I don't want to OVER sell my opinion.

Regards! Michaelson

I have an old "Indiana Jones" wool fedora that I bought in 1989 from JC Penny that I'd like to fix up for my 6 year-old. It's seen better days, but the main problem is the sweatband, which is bone dry and starting to crack and tear. Is there any hope for rejuvenating the sweatband or would I be better off trying to cannibalize an old hat and sew in a better one? Thoughts? Opinions? Recommendations?
Thanks.

If it's cracked and torn, I'd say no. You'll need to install or have installed a new band.

Regard! Michaelson

Yep, gotta agree with M. I had the same issue with a vintage campaign hat I bought. The sweat was really dry and starting to crack. I hit it with Pecards and that helped extend the life, but eventually had to have the sweat replaced.



Regards,

Indiana Jeff

Since it's for your 6 year old, you might want to consider replacing it with a cloth sweat band.

Leather gets pretty warm and can cause the skin to break out due to the heat when worn on a young person's head.

Just a thought....

Regards! M

Thanks guys. That's good advice. I'll try to find a sturdy cloth band.
Cheers.

It's been years since I last went on. Hello, guys!

My FedIV's sweatband has shrunk. It's now all wonky... and I do mean wonky!

Will conditioning it and stretching it still work or should I just remove the whole thing?

Howdy! Good to 'see' you!

Sounds like it needs replacing to me.

Regard! Michaelson

I managed to stretch it a bit again by putting some conditioner and stretching it over my block with a thick piece of leather in between the hat and block. It wasn't much but it did get the "wonkiness" out of it.

There's already a hole in front because of the pinch - which I plan on repairing by scraping some fur off from the inside and "re-felting" the collected fur to cover the hole. Hope it works.

I'm just restoring the hat to make into a display for my office desk.

From the sound of it, that's all I'D use it for now. It's beyond wear ability, unless you're going for the 'Treasure of the Sierra Madre' Bogart look.



Regard! M

Well, I sort of managed to repair the hole. But as far stretching it back to my size, that was a fail - it still wouldn't fit me. I think it's now 1 or 2 sizes smaller.

The hat sorta resembled the screen-used ROTLA hat already because of the faded ribbon and felt color, relaxed brim break and "muffin-topping". So I had to massage the hat back into a better looking shape.



Couldn't get the Raiders bash as I was afraid it might undo the hole repair I had done. I just sort of went for a general Indy hat bash.

The hat in the background is just a straw cowboy hat my GF got as a present. I'm currently stretching it cuz the hat's a bit tight around her temples.