Hat cleaning suggestions

[Ranger Clayton Conagher #43872]

I went and dropped some big money for a quality cowboy hat.  It's tan in color and I wore it for the first time yesterday at our monthly match.  As I feared my top ejecting '66 left little black marks where the brass landed on my hat.  What is best product out there for cleaning cowboy hats?

[Rev. Rufus King, Esq.]

I am new to CASS, but I wear hats most days to work, usually of the fur felt fedora type, mostly Stetson and Dobbs.  The first thing you need is a quality hat brush.  You can purchase one from Amazon.  Brush the hat, going around in the same direction--sort of like petting a dog.  That may resolve your problem.  If that doesn't solve it, Stetson recommends using baby powder or corn starch to clean it, never any kind of liquid cleaner.

[Sixgun Seamus]

Those are "character" marks. On the Tom Mix Stetson that I sometimes wear, they give it cowboy authenticity. My regular hat is brown so no problem there.

[Cold Lake Kid, SASS # 51474]

As Sixgun says, those are character marks.

(I know a pard that set his hat down range for a bit and added a .45 character mark.)

[Big Sage, SASS #49891 Life]

Many years ago I bought a Stetson at a yard sale. It was the style popularized by LBJ and the color was silver belly. It was very discolored on the crown where the wearer had put is dirty hands when removing the hat. I sent it to Rand's Hatters in Montana for cleaning. They couldn't get it clean, so the turned the hat inside out. Reinstalled the liner and band and it looked like new.

 

Point is they can be professionally cleaned.

[J-BAR #18287]

Try this in a small spot and see if it works:

 

sprinkle some cornstarch on it and let it sit a few minutes then gently brush it off with a soft clean sponge.

[Blackwater 53393]

Go to a high end hat store. Buy a hat cleaning sponge.  DO NOT buy the ones from Target or WalMart 'cause they have chemicals in them that will make your hat more susceptible to stains.  Those sponges come in packs of two.  You'll understand why after my next couple of lines.

 

Use the sponge in a clockwise motion to gently rush away powder marks and other such soiled spots.  Keep your sponge dry and put it back in the bag it came in when not in use.  

 

You can use corn starch to lift oily stains. Gently rub the powder into the stain and let sit for a while, (I've let it sit on a light color like silver belly for half a day) and then use the sponge to brush out the corn starch and whatever it will lift. Repeat as needed.

 

Water and solvent stains and the sweat stains that occur over time are much more difficult to remove and should be handled by a professional since they will have to reblock the hat in most cases.

 

I have cleaned hundreds of hats and been successful 99% of the time.  I don't do the liquid stains for the most part because I don't have the equipment to reblock a hat body.