How to remove a glued on hat band?

[easportsracer13]

Got a new Resistol and the hathand appears glued on. I tried gently trying to separate it with a knife but thats not working. Any ideas?

 

[RBH]

Only suggestion is to replace it with a band/ribbon that will cover the old glued spots.

 

[gtdean48]

Typically that glue is from a hot glue ***. Use a blow dryer to warm it up & see if it becomes more pliable.
Acetone may also work on it but not sure what it'll do to the felt.

 

[DOGMAN]

I just ran into the same problem.I peeled it off with my fingers,without pulling to much felt off the hat.I did it very carefully.Worked pretty good then I covered it with a wider ribbon.

 

[Rabbit]

Got a new Resistol and the hathand appears glued on. I tried gently trying to separate it with a knife but thats not working. Any ideas?

An idea, not based on experience, though:

Try a razor blade. It will probably take off some felt, so you might want to even out the dip by sanding the felt. Then install a new hatband. Any glue left behind the new hatband may show through by leaving an impression, especially if it's a pliable vintage ribbon. For this reason, try to remove the glue entirely, any way you can.

Another possibility: Hat in the freezer, then the razor blade on the cold glue.

 

[John in Covina]

As mentioned above it does depend on the type of glue. Some glues will disolve using the right solvent so you may find a chemical that might do it. But be carefull, if the ribbon is synthetic you could disovle that too. The most powerful solvent i have worked with was MEK - methyl ethyl ketone which was available at paint and harware store in the past. Chemically it is considered "hot" in which it can disolve many things and quickly. A lot of plastics turn into goo. Super flamable too, don't breathe it in either.

 

[ideaguy]

MEK will lift tar off the road...be VERY CAREFUL if using it- eye protection, heavy duty gloves, respirator, the works-it'll take just about any glue
off, but you run the risk of taking some color off of the felt, so prepare to use a larger ribbon. Don't use a hair dryer to "soften"the glue
if you're going to use MEK; bad juju!! Good luck...

 

[carldelo]

MEK! - Yikes! - might as well throw the hat in the fire and inhale the fumes - it'd be healthier that way.

I'd opt for the "peel it with your fingers, cover the scars with a wider ribbon" method. No one cares what's under the ribbon....

 

[johng70]

Last fall I ordered my first hat from Panamahatsdirect. I also decided to order several different hat bands to be able to change the look. Weather is finally getting nicer and I broke out the hat. It appears as though the band is glued on. I had thought since they push the other bands they would be pinned on. Having never changed bands before I didn't give it much thought. So, now the question is: is there a tutorial on how to properly remove bands and re-attach new ones? I believe a number of users here have hats from them. I apologize if this is covered in another thread but I couldn't find it. Thanks, in advance, for any help. Looking forward to wearing the new hat this year and I'd like to be able to swap the bands but don't want to damage it.

 

[tropicalbob]

Have you tried contacting the company? How much glue was used?

 

[johng70]

I did receive a reply from them - they said to gently pull it off and then use hot glue to apply the new one. It seems to me that process would likely leave residual glue from the "old" band. The last thing I want to do is start the process then botch the hat. It's not like there are a lot of places you can take a hat to to get hat band replaced if I botch it

 

[RJR]

I obviously haven't seen your hat or the spare hatbands so am a bit hampered.
Often puggaree types have hooks on one or both ends to secure them.They are usually wrapped over the original band which helps keep them in place.

 

[rogerstg]

Last fall I ordered my first hat from Panamahatsdirect. I also decided to order several different hat bands to be able to change the look. Weather is finally getting nicer and I broke out the hat. It appears as though the band is glued on. ... So, now the question is: is there a tutorial on how to properly remove bands and re-attach new ones? I believe a number of users here have hats from them. ... Looking forward to wearing the new hat this year and I'd like to be able to swap the bands but don't want to damage it.

I've removed them by working a letter opener between the hat body and ribbon. Any similar implement would work. I didn't buy replacement bands from them, but made my own. I attach them with double sided fabric tape, but you could sew it in the traditional manner. Hot glue would be too permanent for my liking.

 

[johng70]

Thanks for the tip about the letter opener and double sided tape!

 

[AbridgedPause]

Most hot glues have a weaker hold in cold conditions. When hot they're sticky and elastic, and they're designed to harden and bond at room temperature. If you try to re-heat the hot glue to remove it, it'll only get more sticky and stringy and spread further. Instead if you cool your hat in the freezer for a while, and let the glue harden, it'll get brittle. Just like when you want to clean up old wax from candle holders, if you try to melt it, it just gets everywhere again but if you stick it in the freezer, or run it under cold water, the wax will chip off. Just an example, I've hot glued power bars to my walls around my office, and in the winter, where we get -20 to -30 Celcius weather here in Canada, the power bars that are against the outside wall sometimes fall off because the glue got too cold. They of course make industrial strength hot glues that bond better but I doubt that any hat company would go through the expense and trouble of using that.