Wildgoose

Cap press with or w/out cardboard

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So when pressing hats do you remove the cardboard liner or not? I tried one with it in and it didn't seem to hurt anything. Just thought it might be a good idea to get someone's opinion who has more experience than I do.

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Yup remove the cardboard, you need the cap to bend with the press pad. You might be getting good results however try washing the hat or pulling on the vinyl see if there is any that's sort of  loose or turned up.

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I usually forget about the cardboard until after. No problems so far but probably more flexible like hatter said w/o it in there. On a side note mainly on visors but some hats like to pucker up so I grab the visor/hat under the press and manually pull it tight while closing press with other hand. Also if using siser trim as close as possible to image to make it more comformable. My process is to trim tight tape w/ high temp tape and just as the press hit the hats I wiggle it side to side about 1/4", This helps ensure the image is flat with no tunnels.

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Quick qusetion... Where do you get high temp tape? What brand name?

 

Thanks

MM64 B)

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Thanks for the tips guys. BTW I got my heat tape right here at USCutter. Looks like the same stuff as Stahls for a little bit less dinero. I am surprised at the mileage you can get on it. I probably re-use ot 4or 5 times.

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I have to correct my previous statement on the heat tape. I have been busting out several hundred hats and have found I can get anywhere up to about 4 dozen re-uses on the tape. depending on how much lint comes off the hats. Pretty impressive. I was worried when I bought the roll that I would use it up too quick but thats not going to be a problem.

 

As for the original topic on this post I have tried with and without the cardboard quite extensively. I have an older model Stahls cap press that I scored off ebay for $100 and it doesn't seem to make much difference either way. The hat face gets pressed very slightly smoother without the backing but it also has a tendancy to create a crease along the top of the foam. When I leave the backing in it still gets a reasonable flat press and doesn't show the crease so much. Saves a TON of time leaving them in so thats what I have settled in on. These hats are a low profile 6 panel hat. I did a test press on a mid profile 5 panel hat that worked better but eveyone seems to prefer the low profile look or they go to the extreme the other direction with the flat bill gangster style flex fit.  

 

I have heard of folks shaving off the sharp edge of the press pad to help reduce the crease, I may do that one of these days.

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I had to trim mine to get the fit just right but it was just a little bit of chamfer along the back edge

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