Sometimes things are in this condition....

Theodor · September 23, 2009

I am not keen about cleaning/washing uniforms and hats, under normal conditions the most I'd do is gently vacuum clean dust and/or animal hairs.

But sometimes the things are in such condition, that can not be in a collection, can not even be kept indoors :angry: See this poor hat. Decades of dust, spiders, black from coal and some paint to boot :speechless:

Theodor · September 23, 2009

It looks too clean on the photos! In hand it was the most dirty piece of uniform I've seen so far!

Theodor · September 23, 2009

And against all my non-cleaning beliefs, I had no option but clean it. The top cover part was hand-washed, the rest was carefully vacuum cleaned and wiped with a sponge. The best part is, as I tested the visor, its original surface was absolutely neutral towards chemical paint stripper. So the nasty paint is gone without any damage to the visor! :cheers:

It will never be new, no way to get rid of all stains or un-eat the eaten piping, but now looks at least a bit better and may stay in the collection. Only one thing is still bothering me: the cockade. It is the right size /largest size/, but I suspect it must be from the type with tin main part, not white china. But I'll have to search through the old photos to see.

It's better, isn't it? :rolleyes:

Edited September 23, 2009 by Theodor

Theodor · September 23, 2009

The hat needed special care, because it is not alone, not anonymous. Together with it I got some papers from the officer - two diplomas from the Military of H.M. School, a St Alexander order diploma and a Red Cross award diploma. Seems more order diplomas and other papers have been lost through the ages, but not bad after all, most often the uniforms come with no name :cheers: