Guide to Polishing a Top Hat

This article has been rewritten based on new information. Be advised that it is at your own risk for using any of the below methods to polish your silk top hat. If in doubt, seek professional advice. What is written here is what I found out during experiments and trial and error.

Charles R H Wolfenbloode of the High Hat Hall (髙帽堂)

The best kind of top hats are made of a material known as “hatter’s plush” which is a kind of velvet but with a flat directional nap made of pure silk. They were once made by a French duo of two brothers in Lyon but since their falling out and subsequent smashing up of the last looms in their possession around the 1960s top hats are no longer made using silk plush but ‘fur melusine.’ This, when compared to the silk, is less black and cannot be polished to a high flat sheen like silk toppers can. Indeed, you can now only get silk toppers second hand or vintage.

The best silk plush toppers are often marked with the words ‘extra quality’ on the lining. When one strokes it, you can feel the smoothness of the nap. The nap behaves like fur; if you stroke it in the opposite direction of the nap, it catches. You can see why that silk plush would be difficult to make and I suppose it would cost too much to revive the trade since we wear toppers rarely except for certain formal ocassion which are now dying out as we speak.

A silk topper in good wearable condition can be bought cheaply if one knows where to look. That is not the subject of this article however as there is much lore and guidance to give on this subject alone. But once you have obtained a proper topper, as I like to say, you must know how to return it to its full former glory through polishing it to slick jet black vinyl satin splendor.

Other than newly refrubished toppers that are bought from the main hatters of the realm (for hundreds if not thousands of pounds), toppers bought second hand are most likely to be scruffy and dusty through many years of neglect and storage. When you look at the nap carefully, you will notice that the light reflection is distorted to a great degree as the nap strands are not aligned straight. This is similar to what a polished fur melusine topper would look like. However, it is unsatisfactory for a silk topper.

Dutch topper. Made in England. Price: £32!

In order to bring out the shine, one must polish it and there are some steps which one must take in order to do this. First, you must obtain some basic tools in order to do this.

Tools

1. A silk hat soft bristle brush

Lock & Co. soft bristle hat brush

A hat brush has a curve to it that allows you to brush around the curve of the brim. It must also have soft real bristles so as not to damage the silk nap. Soft bristles are gentler on the silk plush and avoids wearing the plush out. You may adittionally use a standard hard bristle brush if the hat is extremely dusty.

2. A silk or rayon velvet polishing pad

Lock & Co. rayon velvet pad

It must be pure silk or rayon. Cotton would not do as the pile is matted so the strands cannot align the nap of the silk in the correct way. The pad should be rectangular and may have a cord for you to loop your finger around it.

Self-made pure silk velvet pad

3. A silk polishing pad

Silk polishing pad

This you would have to make out of some silk taffeta and cottonwool. Do not use rayon or acetate as these could melt in the high heat that you would be using.

4. An iron

Any would do but turn the steam setting off.

These are sufficent enough to polish your topper. There are other items which you may want to get but these would be dealt with as necessary.

Dusting

Before any polishing must take place, you must first get rid of any dust. Some old toppers are stored incorrectly by placing them on a flat surface with the crown side up and not upside down in a hat hox/bucket. This allows dust to collect on the surface.

In order to remove the dust, one must use a suitable hat brush. Start from the brim and work your way up. The curve of the brush allows you to brush the brim easily. The underside of the bit where the edge of the brim turns inwards almost 180 degrees is where a lot of dust can get trapped. Brush in the direction of the nap always. Use a light force and keep brushing until most of the dust has gone. Remember to wipe the bristles ocassionally to remove any dust that has collected on the brush. Avoid rubbing the silk grosgrain ribbon as it can wear away more easily than modern cotton-rayon ribbons.

Velvet pad polishing

After the dust has been removed, it is time to refine the nap just a little by polishing it with a velvet pad.

As with the dusting, start from the brim and finish at the crown. The space at the sides on the brim is difficult to reach but since this place is unseen in normal circumstances, it is not that important. With the sides of the crown, polish using the whole length of the pad going around the whole surface in one direction. The crown is more tricky as the nap goes around in a circle. Pay attention also to the edge of the crown.

Once this has been done, the nap is more aligned and the light reflection is more clarified.

After velvet pad polishing

Silk pad polishing

In order to lay the nap more flat and to add for luste to the hat, it is necessary to polish the hat with a hot silk pad. The pad should be small so it can be heated on an iron.

Put the iron upright and switch it on. Turn the heat setting to high (or three dots) and wait for it to heat up. After the iron has heated up, place the silk pad against the iron and allow the pad to absorb the heat and get hot. After it has been heated up (don’t over heat it) quickly take the pad off the iron and start running it over the hat like you have done with the velvet pad, reheating the silk pad as necessary.

The end result should be a more clarified shine.

After silk pad polishing

Advanced polishing method 1: water polishing

The application of water momentarily changes the nature of the silk and adheres it flat against the surface. It is like using water to brush your hair; the strands stick together so it makes the hair more flat, shiny and slick. Using water on the topper will make it shine more than dry polishing. There are two ways to do this.

The first way is light dabbing. Using as clean white cloth or handkerchief, wrap it around your index finger then dip in water. Dab it on the surface of the topper and stroke in the direction of the nap. Keep doing this and reload when necessary. Go through the whole surface of the silk until the nap is aligned to a high degree. Then, using the pad, polish as per above instructions.

The result is more clarity and slickness.

After water dabbing technique

You can see the difference straight away. A good way to check the clarity is to take a photo of the topper with the flash on. Make sure the vertical line of light is straight without any nicks to it.

The result is very acceptable. However, if you want a complete going over of the whole surface then another method may be used for even more clarity.

This method is not for the faint hearted as it requires you to literally pour water over the topper! Of course, you could spray water on but in order for the whole surface of the silk to be uniformly wet, giving the topper a cold shower is the only way forward! Since silk is water repellant to a certain degree, water should not harm it. This method could be used if the topper is extremely dusty and dirty.

[NB: I have been informed that you should use distilled water rather than regular tap water to polish toppers...]

Go to the bathroom and make sure you have tray over the bath (you know, those things where you put your sponge, soap, bubblebath and rubber ducky on whist in the bath) and put the topper on top of it. This will allow you to pour water over it without the bottom of the brim or the inside getting wet. Then, fill a jug or bottle with clean tap water then slosh it (gently) all over the topper, making sure the whole surface of the silk is covered with water, especially the sides. Don’t overdo it; one or two applications is enough. You may use a shower head to apply the water on in a more controlled way. Again, make sure you do not saturate the hat with water! Also, some American hats have a ring with a hole in it at the apex of the hat so you would need to be careful not to get any water inside the hat.

After that, quickly turn the topper over and shake it to get rid of excess water. Note that some water is likely to be trapped at the sides of the brim. Turn it forwards to let the water drain out.

When most of the excess water has been drained and shaken off, immediately get the velvet pad and polish it. After several wipes, shake off the excess water from the pad. The space at the sides of the brim is difficult to reach so you may have to get a paper towel and carefully wipe the excess water from under the turned edge. Again, avoid rubbing the silk grosgrain. After polishing, view it under a light to see if there are any scruff marks and polish them off.

Another way is to dip the velvet pad in some water, shake off the excess then polish the hat. This avoids having to pour water all over it.

Now that that is done, place it on a flat surface with the crown up and let it dry at room temperature for at least a day. Avoid direct sunlight and excess heat; it must dry naturally.

The result is a professional quality finish.

After cold shower technique

The surface is like vinyl and the texture like satin. Now, whatever you do, avoid touching the silk to prolong its sheen.

Please take note that you should not use this method too much, perhaps once on a new topper to clean it. I have been advised by Patey that water stiffens the silk strands. Also, sometimes the nap lifts from the surface as the hat dries; a reason maybe to do with the hat drying too quickly. A better method would be to polish the hat with tallow.

Advanced polishing method 2: tallow polishing

In order to polish the topper to a professional standard, you must use tallow. Tallow not only waterproofs the silk but also can be restored to what it originally looks like by dry polishing with the velvet pad afterwards unlike the water method which requires you to use water again. Also, the nap would not lift through drying as the tallow does not evaporate like water so stays subtle on the strands.

In order to polish the hat with tallow, you must do some preparations. You first must obtain some tallow either already prepared in a jar or you must make some of your own. Whichever tallow you get, you must make sure that the tallow is clean and free of any impurities.

Prepare a small dish and a small bundle of cottonwool wrapped in a sheet of silk taffeta to make a silk application pad. Scoop some of the soildified tallow into a small saucepan and heat it at the lowest heat setting until it melts fully. Pour it into the dish which has a folded square of paper towel in it. This is to pad the tallow so you avoid over loading the silk pad. You may also want to use a heater under the dish so as to avoid solidifying the tallow due to cooling.

When you are ready, dip the pad into the tallow and leave for a fews seconds whilst the tallow soaks into the pad then remove and rest for a few more seconds before dabbing the tallow again. Check the pad. It should not look oily but sufficently saturated. Then, apply the pad to the silk in the direction of the nap and keep reloading as you go on. Note that the tallow on the silk may seem uneven and patchy but that does not matter. Do you best to cover most of the silk surface but do not saturate the hat with oil. Do not bother with the sides of the brim as these are not seen. Also, avoid applying the tallow onto the silk band or bindings.

After the hat has been polished with tallow, lay it to rest for a few minutes. Afterwards, begin polishing the hat again with the hot silk pad method. This not only lays the nap more but also melts the tallow thus allowing the patchy and uneveness of the tallow application disappear. Once you are done with the silk pad, use the velvet pad again to align the strands.

The result is not as stark and hard as using water but more soft and luminous yet not scruffy.

After tallow polishing

If you do decide to use this method, I would practice first on an old cheap silk topper. It is not as simple as the water method. Also, be aware that the hat has a faint odor afterwards which I do not know if and when it would dissipate. I am imagining that the professionals would have added other secret ingredients to maybe dye the silk or to remove the odor which I have not yet discovered.

Epilogue

Once this has been done, you just need to simply brush and velvet pad polish the hat before and after every use.

Always store the topper upside down and in a hat box or bucket. Make sure the crown does not touch the bottom as any contact could rub away the edge of the crown which is a very common problem for toppers.

Note that these methods are designed by me after some research on the subject and experimentation. These methods may not be actually used by the professional hatters and hatmakers. I would, if it is possible, to get the hatter or hatmaker to polish the hat for you in the first instance of obtaining a new topper and then you won’t have to go through the tallow method. If you don’t have access to hatters, then these methods would be of use to you as a stand-in.

Please note that you should avoid using the advanced methods of polishing too much as it could wear out the silk if it is overdone.

Below are various addenda that I have written in the past when I have discovered some new piece of information. Some of the information below has already been incorporated into the above article.

Addendum 1 (29/11/2009)

If after polishing the topper, the nap starts to lift again then that may either mean the silk has dried too fast or that there is too much dust still trapped in the silk nap. In such a case you may try and repeat the water sploshing method again to try and get more of the dust out. If that still doesn’t work then it needs the attention of Patey’s or Lock’s for a refurbishment.

I also came across this snippet of information of an alternative method of polishing (credit to Wolfmanjack of the Fedora Lounge):

It should not take over twenty minutes to iron a silk hat. First brush the brim thoroughly with your silk hat penetrating brush, making sure that all of the dust is removed. Sponge the underbrim [WMJ: I think Ermatinger means the whole hat here, not just the underbrim] with a cotton wad dipped in gasoline. Rub one way only. This process imparts gloss and lays the nap. As gasoline evaporates rapidly, the hat dries quickly. When dry, brush again with the penetrating brim brush and shake all the dust out of the crown, brushing it with a silk hat brush. Then, take a pad made of the silk cover of an old umbrella, hold it against a very hot iron, and then run the hot pad quickly over the hat, in the direction of the nap only. The hot silk pad produces the necessary lustre. By placing the hat on your tip stand, you can spin a perfect center to the tip by running the hot silk pad over the same. After the hat has been thoroughly brushed, the hot silk pad rubbed thoroughly over the tip, sides and upper brim, so that no streaks appear, and that hat has a perfect lustre or polish, you must then sponge the binding and underbrim with your hot sponge.

Ermatinger, Henry L. Scientific Hat Finishing and Renovating. New York: Roberts, Cushman & Co. 1919. pp. 144-146.

Of course, use this method at your own risk as I have never used it myself to see if it works. I think that the gasoline can be subsituted with dry cleaning fluid (I have read the book in question now and the gasoline seems to be used to clean hats and it seems dry cleaning fluid would be the best replacement).

Addendum 2 (05/05 and 30/05/2010)

From my chat with the people at Patey’s, apparently, one should not polish the topper with water as this makes the silk hard. Instead, it should be polished with tallow which also waterproofs the hat in addition. I am guessing that one will have to heat the tallow to melt it first before applying with a pad of some sort (after brushing and polishing beforehand). I am not sure whether you would mix other substances in with it. I found an auction item during my Google searches that came up with a Herbert Johnson topper that had a bottle of polishing liquid with it.

Herbert Johnson's silk hat polish

The liquid is black so there must be something else in it. One suspects that pitch resin may have been used as I have read a similar recipe that uses tallow, pitch and beeswax to polish and waterproof shoes (cf. Alex Langland in Victorian Farm). I do not think that beeswax would be used as that would damage the silk. I think the pitch may be a blackening substance in addition to its waterproofing quality. [NB: since tallow solidifies at room temperature, I'm not even sure that tallow is even in this mixture...]

Comparing the results of the tallow polished topper (that Patey’s had done for me) and the water polished topper, there is a marked difference. The former’s plush is very soft and subtle whilst the latter’s is slick yet hard. I would advise that if you do not have access to tallow or a silk hat restorer who can polish the topper for you, you could use the water polishing technique as a stand in to at least wash the plush out as an initial measure. I will investigate the tallow polishing in due course and report on my experiences so I could advise further as to how to do it. Watch this space.

Top hat polished with tallow by Patey

Addendum 3 (25/06/2010)

I have finally got a fur melusine top hat and have successfully polished it. You first need to do your usual brushing and dusting. Then, using a clean sponge dipped and squeezed out of water, dab water over the topper in the direction of the nap before going all over with a velvet pad. The nap should lie flat against the surface like silk. The result is similar to a semi-polished silk topper though not as refined. Still, it looks better. The shine does not last long as when the water fully evaporates, the fur will return to its original state so any scruff would be seen.

Polished melusine topper

Addendum 4 (29/12/2010)

New information has been unearthed by jmrtnko from the Fedora Lounge regarding the ingredients to the top hat polish. These are patents from America and the UK.

American Patent

This uses highly refined petroleum and oil mirbane (with oil wintergreen or other scented oil).

British Patent

This uses 5 parts gum arabic to 100 water and 9 lamp black.

I think that the British patent is the closest thing to what the Herbert Johnson bottle contains. I visited HJ (now Swaine Adeney Brigg) a few months back but they have denied knowledge of the polish’s existence.

My correspondant does not recommend using oil mirbane as it is ‘refined nitrobenzene and quite toxic’. The main active ingredient is the ‘petroleum’ which happens to be the substance of choice to clean hats in the past (one assumes dry cleaning fluid is the modern alternative).

He also says that the British mixture could make a harder and long lasting finish. However, it could be difficult to remove once harderned.

Feel free to try these out (I will so in the future once I get the ingredients and a crappy old topper to test them on) but it would be at your own risk if you try it on a prized topper…