Cap Cleaning Help

[Bob Hritz]

I have seen a camo cap which I bought, and it is deeply impregnated with dirt and oil from the skin and hair of the SS man who wore it. I am sure this is not good for the hat, althought it has been this way for 63. The oil is dirty, black and shiney.

Is there any solution for cleaning that will not fade or damage the camo material? I was thinking of using white gas, which is naptha petroleum, commonly referred to as camp fuel. I know it will break down the impregnated dirt and oil but I do not want to damage the color of the camo material.

Bob Hritz

[phild]

I know that most people will tell you "don't clean it", but I can understand your wanting to do so on this. I think that you should look at soaking it in a clean bucket of cold water with a capfull of Woolite mixed in. I would follow the directions on the Woollite in terms of how much and how long to let it sit. Don't ring it out but rather stir it around some and let the mild detergent do the work.


I think that you will also need to give it several soakings with clean rinse water to get all of the detergent out. After it is well rinsed I would sit it on a towel or hang it on a peg to air dry indoors....My guess is that the colors might actually be brighter after the dirt is removed.

[DonC]

Bob, I am with Phil on this one - you might even try some form of mild detergent soap - you might be suprised what baby detergent like Dreft might get out. And your hands will be so soft...

Don

[Arran]

Bob- you must be very careful! There are no guarantees that the white gas will not dissolve the oil and dirt only to carry it deeper into the cloth. When I studied at the Museum of Anthropology I conserved an old Inuit seal skin float that was similarly afflicted to this cap, almost to the point of being "sticky". According to my notes, I used a Q-tip and Xylene with good results. I'd try this on a small area to see what it does...good luck!

[Bob Hritz]

My experience will Woolite is that it makes the material glow.

Bob Hritz

[Erich B.]

Bob,
Woolite doesn't have any chemical brighteners so shouldn't affect the UV reaction.
Erich

[phild]

I tend to agree with Erich on this but I have not researched it. I know that phosphates are what cause the UV glow reaction (not synthetics per se but phosphates found in some dyes and brightners) and I would think that if any were present in Woollite..it would be very slight and would rinse out with the couple of fresh water soakings that were mentioned above.

I think that in this case I would feel better that any white gas, dry cleaning fluid or even lighter fluid (all of which could be used to cut the oil and grease and not damage the colors or fabrics...at least in the short run) were rinsed out of the cap.

[phild]

On second thought, since those fluids evaporate so quickly, you could test them on any item of wartime era dyed cotton and see if they fade a spot at all.

If not you could always use the white gas to do the heavy lifting and then make a decison if you want to or need to wash the whole the cap.

[billbert]

And dont forget the cardboard bill will suffer also...Billbert

[Glenn McInnes]

I would just leave it as is,gives it character.





Glenn

[NTZ]

I would just leave it as is,gives it character.





Glenn

I agree, if it is not broke don't fix it.

[besslein]

I agree, if it is not broke don't fix it.

I agree,its better not to clean camo items,
can you show us more from the cap

[jacquesf]

Why Bob, why???? Jacques

[jacquesf]

If it is wartime dirt and grime, it = history. Please let it be. Jacques

[Bob Hritz]

Here is a better photo.

Bob Hritz