As well as full-grain leather, you will notice that some Wombat hats are made from suede leather. Suede leather gives a really attractive finish to the hats but because it has been heavily processed it is not as durable as full-grain leather and, therefore, requires extra special attention if you want to keep your bush hat looking as good as new.
How to prevent stains
Prevention is always better than cure so even though your Wombat hat will have already been treated with a waterproof coating, we recommend regularly topping up the protection with a quality suede protector. You can buy these from shoe shops, department stores or larger supermarkets.
However, before you respray your hat you will need to remove any dirt that may have accumulated on the surface. The best way to do this is to use a suede specific brush. You can buy either multipurpose or brass wire brushes for buffing up the nap of the material. I personally prefer multipurpose brushes as they are more versatile and safer if you are worried about scuffing or marking the leather.
How to remove stains
If your suede bush hat has already becomed stained there are a few tricks that you can use to remove them.
The first thing you can try is to rub the stain very gently with a small file or emery board. You will need to be extremely careful as you can risk damaging the material. If possible, you can also try folding the hat and rubbing the stain with another part of the hat. This will be much gentler than an emery board. However, the ideal solution for stain removal is to use a suede cleaning block or suede eraser. Suede erasers crumble as you use them and can remove even deeply ingrained stains.
Once you have removed any stains don't forget to brush and respray your hat.
