Classic & Vintage - How to clean old white rubber brake hoods

I've got an '87 Bianchi with white rubber brake hoods. They have yellowed a little and have a few darker yellow spots. Simple Green cleaned off the black marks, but I'm left with the yellowing.
Anyone have any good methods or products to brighten my hoods?

Thanks

Paul W.

I've got an '87 Bianchi with white rubber brake hoods. They have yellowed a little and have a few darker yellow spots. Simple Green cleaned off the black marks, but I'm left with the yellowing.
Anyone have any good methods or products to brighten my hoods?

Thanks

Paul W.

If they're not brittle, I'd bead-blast them.

Try a bleach cleaner.

Agreed with WF, if you have a bleach-white cleaner that is used for auto whitewall tires that would likely be a good bet.

I wipe my old Carlton hoods down with an acetone rag.

Bleach White works for me too.

marty

Just try scrubbing with soap and water using a tooth brush. Best not use any chemicals if you can help it.

Mike.

toothpaste. worked for my '89 bianchi with the same problem.

Gunk brand Bug and Tar Remover sprayed on a wet rag. Takes the dirt and grime right off and leaves them slightly tacky like when new. It is also safe for paint and not too harsh on the hands.

toothpaste. worked for my '89 bianchi with the same problem.

Wonder if the acetone rag would work on my teeth...

naw. Bleach White, though...the babes would be running after you - and your minty fresh breath.

naw. Bleach White, though...the babes would be running after you - and your minty fresh breath.

I just take a picture of my teeth and adjust the levels, print it and cut it out, then stick it in my mouth when I have to go someplace dressy.

:D

Wonder if the OP will take all these suggestions at once.

Like the time I spilled oil on my asphalt driveway and wanted to clean it up - suggestions were dishsoap, laundry detergent, kitty litter, sawdust, and simple green.

Let me tell you: a dishsoap detergent litter sawdust simple green amalgam is pretty hard to get out of the cracks of a driveway.

Thanks for the great suggestions. I'd forgotten about my bottle of Westley's Bleach White. It works great on my white vinyl convertible top.

btw, I would never use any of these products on my teeth. In fact, I figure that if I don't brush at all for a year or two, my teeth will be the same beautiful shade of Celeste green as my bike. lol

Thanks again.

I wipe my old Carlton hoods down with an acetone rag.

Ouch! Acetone attacks the elastomers causing pre-mature hardening. I like the automotive cleaners as they are designed to clean without attacking the surface. But I don't know if I would use a heavy de-greaser like Gunk. In the old days, it was known to compromise the rubber on ignition wires.

naw. Bleach White, though...the babes would be running after you - and your minty fresh breath.

I don't know if the "babes" would be to turned on by your white tongue!!!!

Ouch! Acetone attacks the elastomers causing pre-mature hardening. I like the automotive cleaners as they are designed to clean without attacking the surface. But I don't know if I would use a heavy de-greaser like Gunk. In the old days, it was known to compromise the rubber on ignition wires.

Usually by the time someone got around to cleaning their engine with Gunk the ignition wires were old and had been covered with oil and dirt for years and it was the oil that damaged the wires, so the Gunk didn't compromise the wires it just cleaned the wires so you could see that the wires were rotten. I used Gunk to keep my engines clean for years but did it on a regular basis thus oil did not accumulate on the wires and the Gunk never damaged my wires.

BUT I'm not sure if Gunk would be too strong of a cleaner to be using on soft thin rubber hoods, nor do I think Gunk will remove the yellowing since that's caused by sunlight and ozone. Since they are white hoods the bleach would be the best bet, just make sure you rinse them well after your done. The Toothpaste thing is more work then just bleach.

I suppose I should clarify my earlier comment. I've used acetone on those occasions when I forgot to keep my greasy paws off the hoods whilst wrenching. The rest of the time SimpleGreen works just fine.

'Premature hardening', eh? I wonder if...

Nah, nevermind.

:D