Cotton flags and tea staining

Before modern textiles such as nylon, flags were made from natural materials (such a cotton) that would develop a set of age stains over time. These are called “tea staining” or foxing and are the distinctive discolorations that give an old flag its battle worn and aged appearance. There are many artificial techniques for tea staining flags, but only one natural way to obtain n authentic aged look. Time.

To encourage this process, we do not treat our cotton flag to prevent tea staining.

When it arrives, your flag may already have some of its first few tea stains (seen as small discolored spots, especially on light colored areas). If you wish your flag to age naturally DO NOT CLEAN THESE OR APPLY CHEMICALS to the material as it it will disrupt the underlying color and interrupt the aging process.

If your flag is lucky enough to survive to be an antique (in 50 to 150 years) it will have the beautiful and natural aged look that only time can bring.

Custom Aging look

We also provide tea staining or aging to any flag you choose, it works well on cotton or nylon. We can create that authentic look on your purchased or sent flag. This service can be performed on grommeted or flags with ties.