First off, sorry if this addressed elsewhere, I just can't search for it right now. No complaints, just grateful for hard work of those who host and maintain this forum.
Any suggestions for cleaning off fur felt when things fall from the sky... things like tree sap, gifts from birds, etc. I imagine water works but looking for ideas that might work better for specific situations. Hasn't happened yet but thinking about this as I take a lovely walk in the jungle.
Thanks!
Bird droppings I would start with simple distilled water. Tree sap would be like tar and much more difficult to deal with.
Naphtha/white gas/Coleman Stove fuel has been mentioned in the past as very effective in cleaning fur felt. Obviously it is extremely flammable so appropriate caution must be taken. The upside is it evaporates quickly so once the hat is clean it should gas off and your hat will be good to go. As with all cleaning, you may experience color changes, though my understanding one of the advantages to using naphtha is that it does not tend to impact color.
binkmeisterRick wrote: ↑Tue Oct 13, 2009 3:31 pm
Matt, old time hatters used a gasoline bath to soak and clean hats back in the day, so it's far from a new concept. Just don't smoke while using the stuff. You can use the naptha as a spot remover, but make sure you're wearing gloves and that you do this outdoors or in a very well ventilated area. I've done this with a vintage sand colored Borsalino to some success. (I never got around to finishing the job. )
Yeah, any kind of organic solvent would work on the sap. Any kind of naphtha based lighter fluid or paint thinner like toluene would work, and even isopropyl should work as well, especially if the sap is from a deciduous tree like a maple -- an evergreen's sap is a bit tougher, usually, but you'll get it out.
But, keep it away from the ribbon and the sweatband and the liner and the stitching. Cotton normally works fine with organic solvents, but rayon, nylon, polyester, etc, generally do not.
Citric acid is one of the less nasty, eco-friendly solvents I've found. Leaves your hat smelling like an orange grove, too.
Whatever product you use, remember to BLOT the spot with a clean white cloth. Rubbing will just work the now-softened goo into the felt. Blotting lifts the goo up and away. Always use a fresh part of your cloth for each blotting.
If you do a search for naptha on The Fedora Lounge, there's a whole step by step thread.
For general cleaning, you need a hat brush if you don't have one. The horse hair brushes they sell next to the shoe polish is fine. And don't use that same brush on shoes, and vice versa. The next step up would be a hat sponge. Its just a big coarse sponge that gently removes some of the surface fibers. The orange ones are everywhere online, but there's also a white hat sponge which I think has a cleaning agent in it.
River Junction Trading is one of the only places I can find them online. Anyway the white hat sponge is a bit more intense than the normal orange ones. Neither will harm the integrity of the felt, it removes far less than the hat gets during pouncing.
Last edited by jlee562 on Thu Apr 21, 2022 12:02 am, edited 1 time in total.
You can use the naptha as a spot remover, but make sure you're wearing gloves and that you do this outdoors or in a very well ventilated area. I've done this with a vintage sand colored Borsalino to some success. (I never got around to finishing the job. 
)
