Dying a Tilley?

Lindey

Lindey

Joined
Apr 13, 2005
Messages
842
Hey all,
Not long ago after washing my tilley it turned from the whitish tan color to an orange. Just the canvas part though, the strap and liner stayed white. Nothng I've tried has been able to return it to its natural color. SO I was thinking about dying it brown or dark green. ANy tips or suggestions?

-Lindey
 
Did you contact Tiley? They are pretty good about these things and may send you a new one. Love their Hats, but have never dyed one
 
I haven't contacted them. I know they have an excellent warranty, however this hat was a hand me down from my grandfather, so even though its a half size too small it still has sentimental value so i'd like to keep it around. Thanks.

-Lindey
 
You might want to contact them anyway. I am sure that they would want to know what happened and might even have a suggestion or two on how to fix it, if it is fixable.
 
longbow50 said:
You might want to contact them anyway. I am sure that they would want to know what happened and might even have a suggestion or two on how to fix it, if it is fixable.
Click to expand...


Give them a shout.. They can help you! If they can tell ya how to wash a Tilley after it's gone THROUGH an Elephant, this should be "No Problem!!"
 
Lindey, Tilley understands sentiment. When they give you a new tilley hat on warranty,they let you keep the old one. I am on my third T3 hat. They also sell socks with three year warranties. When you wear out a pair and they replace them,the ones they give have their own new three year warranty. No I don't work for them,I just wish I did.
 
Lindey,

I've tried to dye a Tilley hat...a complete disaster.

I used fiber reactive (Procion) tan dye, what I got was a white hat
w/ several tan splotches & lines where the hat had been folded/worn.
It appears that Tilley puts an epoxy-type finish on the hat, like
the epoxies used on permanent-press clothing.

My guess would be that this is to repel water & to keep the hat
"clean & new" looking.

Nice hats, BTW, I was very sad to have trashed one.

John

"I haven't failed. I've found 10,000 ways that don't work" -Thomas Edison
 
Most likely the Tilley hat has been through some sort of mercerization process. Before you dye it, you need to get it unmercerized. Probably the best way to start is several wash cycles, first some with thiourea dioxide, then some with Synthrapol. After you've removed the mercerization, then you'll want to use fiber reactive dyes, preferably Procion MX dyes. You need to prepare the hat in a mordant, first, such as soaking the hat in a mixture of water and soda ash. After you've soaked it for a while in the mordant, wring it out until it is damp. After the hat has been unmercerized, and prepared with a mordant so that it can receive the dyes, then you want to apply the Procion dyes, while the hat is still damp and the freshly prepared dye's still hot. You might want to mix your procion dyes with a substance to hold nitrogen, to keep the hat wet for as long as possible after being dyed. After 24-48 hours of sitting wet with the dyes, wash it, again with Synthropol.
 
Ah, just wear it. If anybody asks, say, 'What orange?' They will walk away with a strange look and not bother you any more. Tilley hats are great.
 
I dyed mine using tea bags, lots of tea bags. Came out a shade or two darker than new, if I did it again I'd try strong coffee instead. Mines all blotchy now but that's from using it to protect my hand when picking up hot pots & pans off the fire. :o
 
Alberta Ed said:
Ah, just wear it. If anybody asks, say, 'What orange?' They will walk away with a strange look and not bother you any more. Tilley hats are great.
Click to expand...

Or look said and mutter as you walk away, "they got to him too"...
 
Thanks for all the input. I think I will give them a call and see what's up as I don't want to mess it up dying it myself especially since the process that Evolute described seems a bit over my head. In the mean time I'll just continue wearing it. Thanks again.

-Lindey
 
Good news, I didn't end up having to hassle Tilley or do a dye job. After a few daysout and about in the hot sun its seems to be returning to its natural color just fine. Under the brim is a different story, but no one sees that anyway. Thanks again though for the help though. Cheers.

-Lindey
 
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