Club Obi Wan

So, a few weeks ago a friend spilled some orange juice onto the crown of my sand AB. I tried my best to wash it off but it seemed like the felt was stained. I was resigned to sending it to John to clean but was hesitant since I didn't want the hat disassembled to preserve the pedigree.

I finally had the idea to lightly wash the stained area with soapy water and...it worked. The stain is gone. Has anyone ever tried that method before? Do you guys have any other cleaning methods that you find have worked well? Are there methods we should stay away from? I'm interested in knowing how we maintain that nice clean look (for those that aren't going for the SoC look )

Dave

I was told by Steve Delk years ago that the easy 'clean' for grease off felt was a cotton ball and lighter fluid, which is essentially napha.

I've used this trick for years and it has always worked for spot cleaning.

Regards! Michaelson

Cool! I seem to remember something about running alcohol working well too but forgot about that at the time.

Dave

Alcohol is fine on sweatbands, but can sometimes leave a white residue behind on felt.

Lighter fluid does not.

Regards! M

Glad I didn't use it.

Dave

I've used soapy water on my AB, I've gotten it completely wet, squirted a tiny bit of soap on it and washed it, rinsed it, then put it on a block.
I've also dumped it into a bucket of White Gas to clean it. Then put it on block.
C

please don't try cleaning it yourself. once you do that and can't get it clean. That means when you do decide to send it to me. I may not be able to clean it.

best thing to do is not touch it and send it to me. I don't charge for cleaning a Penman or a AB and I don't have to strip it down to do it.

Wow, first Chewie gets Pepsi spilt on his AB, and now this.

If you don't yet know the story, then I'm sure that Chewie will enlighten you.

You know, the first thing I said when the OJ was spilled was "You know, there's this guy who had this happen with Pepsi..."

Dave

Oh, cool. I didn't know you cleaned Steve's ABs gratis as well. I will be sending it shortly.

Dave

The moral of the story is: Don't drink near treasured hats!

whipwarrior wrote:The moral of the story is: Don't drink near treasured hats!

moral of the story is, if you do don't clean it yourself.

Actually, an AB makes a great pitcher.
I never got to drink it. It was being served to our table... A whole platter of cups, right in!

Back when it happened, Steve told me that if there were small spots, and it hasn't had time to soak in, I could try a light sanding, which would remove the surface fibers. That concept terrified me. Would not have done it. But, it wasn't necessary. The liner, though... Ew.

DR Ulloa wrote:Oh, cool. I didn't know you cleaned Steve's ABs gratis as well. I will be sending it shortly.

Dave

I didn't know either. That's a very amazing service.