Post by indianatone on May 27, 2006 23:10:31 GMT -5
I say weathering because it is more of a technique for giving the hat a dusting than actually "distressing" the felt. I posted this info on another forum but as I suspect, some will try it, won't say a word on the results, and then they'll 'forget' where they heard it only to post their new discovery a month down the road about the newfound technique they've come up with. 
First, this is not recommended if you have only one hat and want to keep it in tip-top shape. But if you want to give a fedora that extra look of having been in the sand blown streets or caves somewhere, it's perfect.
All we need is:
A makeup powder brush; face powder (translucent, light beige, or something that comes close to sand; and one other face powder that is a deep brown shade.) These can be found at almost any store that sells women's makeup. (Yes, fellas, we can still own the man card even if buying a few of these items. ;D)
All we're doing is mimicking dust that has settled into the crevices of a hat that has not been brushed clean yet. That's it. Very easy.
For pictures, we want to put it on heavier than we think it needs to be to the naked eye. A lot of the weathering doesn't pop on film unless it's overdone to some degree. If it is for realistic conditions, put an amount that looks good to your own eye.
I highly, highly recommend using good old-fashioned real dirt if we just want to see the hat look dirty and want it to be clean again. Dirt brushes off the easiest. So if we're just going to a party and want a one-night only look, flit a few handfuls of dirt on the fedora. (Those of us who flinch and get a bit queazy at a few handfuls of dirt on the fedora, do not proceed any further.) ;D
I've mentioned face powder several times in the past elsewhere and of course everyone goes silent (not referring to this forum) so instead of saying what it is again, I'll just refer to it as top secret super duper powder that can be purchased from [glow=yellow,2,300]TOPSECRETSUPERDUPERPOWDERFORYOURHAT.COM[/glow] I only left that in because the link kinda makes me laugh.
It's face powder! I buy the stuff from theatrical shops but any drug store type will do just as well.
Remember, if we're aging the hat, get two types of face powder, one translucent, the other a dark brown or as close to brown as you can get.
The biggest trick is the "powder brushes". Yes, the ladies' makeup brushes. Not very Indy but it gets results.
Powder Brushes (Rumor has it most females will be able to help us find one of these.)
Theatrical makeup or costume shops might have a larger selection of different types. The same principle applies for Fuller's Earth here. I just don't have any. Essentially, we're saving any finger print marks that might show up on the hat if applying by hand. We also have more control over where and how much is applied to the hat with the brushes.
Brush on the dust. Think like dust. Where would it collect on a hat? Which areas would retain dust even if the hat were patted down by hand? Above the ribbon, in the folds, etc. If too much is dabbed on, just blend it into the fedora.
The darker brown powder is for giving the hat a faded in the sun two tones of brown kind of look. It's completely optional. Standard dust will look just as good.
Brush on as much or as little as looks good to the eye.
The hat will clean up again, but it will not clean up as well as dirt and there will be some remnant powder. (The first picture in this series, btw, is the hat AFTER it's been rinsed of the weathering.) Essentially what it looks like right now.
Well, it's not the only method for weathering a fed, but it is a good, inexpensive and very convincing method. I hope it might be of some help to the distresser's out there.
First, this is not recommended if you have only one hat and want to keep it in tip-top shape. But if you want to give a fedora that extra look of having been in the sand blown streets or caves somewhere, it's perfect.
All we need is:
A makeup powder brush; face powder (translucent, light beige, or something that comes close to sand; and one other face powder that is a deep brown shade.) These can be found at almost any store that sells women's makeup. (Yes, fellas, we can still own the man card even if buying a few of these items. ;D)
All we're doing is mimicking dust that has settled into the crevices of a hat that has not been brushed clean yet. That's it. Very easy.
For pictures, we want to put it on heavier than we think it needs to be to the naked eye. A lot of the weathering doesn't pop on film unless it's overdone to some degree. If it is for realistic conditions, put an amount that looks good to your own eye.
I highly, highly recommend using good old-fashioned real dirt if we just want to see the hat look dirty and want it to be clean again. Dirt brushes off the easiest. So if we're just going to a party and want a one-night only look, flit a few handfuls of dirt on the fedora. (Those of us who flinch and get a bit queazy at a few handfuls of dirt on the fedora, do not proceed any further.) ;D
I've mentioned face powder several times in the past elsewhere and of course everyone goes silent (not referring to this forum) so instead of saying what it is again, I'll just refer to it as top secret super duper powder that can be purchased from [glow=yellow,2,300]TOPSECRETSUPERDUPERPOWDERFORYOURHAT.COM[/glow] I only left that in because the link kinda makes me laugh.
It's face powder!
I buy the stuff from theatrical shops but any drug store type will do just as well.Remember, if we're aging the hat, get two types of face powder, one translucent, the other a dark brown or as close to brown as you can get.
The biggest trick is the "powder brushes". Yes, the ladies' makeup brushes. Not very Indy but it gets results.
Powder Brushes (Rumor has it most females will be able to help us find one of these.)
Theatrical makeup or costume shops might have a larger selection of different types. The same principle applies for Fuller's Earth here. I just don't have any. Essentially, we're saving any finger print marks that might show up on the hat if applying by hand. We also have more control over where and how much is applied to the hat with the brushes.
Brush on the dust. Think like dust. Where would it collect on a hat? Which areas would retain dust even if the hat were patted down by hand? Above the ribbon, in the folds, etc. If too much is dabbed on, just blend it into the fedora.
The darker brown powder is for giving the hat a faded in the sun two tones of brown kind of look. It's completely optional. Standard dust will look just as good.
Brush on as much or as little as looks good to the eye.
The hat will clean up again, but it will not clean up as well as dirt and there will be some remnant powder. (The first picture in this series, btw, is the hat AFTER it's been rinsed of the weathering.) Essentially what it looks like right now.
Well, it's not the only method for weathering a fed, but it is a good, inexpensive and very convincing method. I hope it might be of some help to the distresser's out there.
Thanks a lot, Tone! Now I have to buy another Akubra just to test this out! ;D
