chaadster

I'd never thought about it until recently, when I was affixing a used white saddle to a new bike: why should a beautiful bike suffer the indignity of a beat-assed (or is it ass-beat? ) saddle?

Now, you might ask why not just buy a new saddle, and the answer to that is, because I wanted to test one out before plunking down the big bucks. My favorite LBS doesn't handle them, but I got a great price for exactly what I was looking for on eBay, albeit lightly used.

So, it needed just a bight of freshening to look like new, so I picked up some Kiwi Shoe Whitener/Blanchissant to give it a whack, and it has worked out great! I just followed the instructions on the bottle, with a little additional edging work with the square corner of a clean dish sponge to get to those hard to reach spots around logos and in crevices.

I 'painted' it, let it dry overnight, and have ridden it a half dozen times since, with no color transfer to clothing or any other issues. Really, it seems perfect.

I'm sure many of have have tried this before, but I thought I'd post the tip in case there are any other cyclist as daft as I am, needlessly and shamelessly riding dull, off-white saddles!

One caveat worth mentioning, perhaps, is that my saddle cover is Lorica, and leather may have different peculiarities and results: I don't know. I'll try it on my leather Flite soon, probably.

Oh, and one other thing to note is that the saddle I treated wasn't very worn and weathered, so again, that may impact process and results.

So go ahead, restore that saddle to its former glory, ang give your bum something to be proud of!

chaadster

Okay, this is embarrassing....

I just looked at my tights from yesterday's ride, which was the longest on the saddle at about two hours, and there was some white rubbed onto them, so...

...basically, forget everything I said in the OP. Sorry. I tried to delete the whole damn thread but couldn't, so figured I might as well just come clean with the mistake.

CrankAndYank

Maybe you should really clean it instead of painting over the stains. Just saying.

dralways

Is that even possible? That's like trying to restore dirt-stained white bar tape, is it not?

CrankAndYank

So remove the dirt and bleach out the stains (oxidizing cleaners might work).

sloar 

Bleach white works good. I've also used lava bar soap and a scrub brush.

CrankAndYank

I've never seen a stain that a highly-concentrated, hot solution of oxidizing cleaner could not handle. Heat is the key.

bianchi10

I use Zip orange degreaser (found at home depot). That stuff is amazing at getting all sorts of stains out of cloth. I use it for my automotive cleaning, bike cleaning, carpet cleaning, shoe cleaning....etc. I love it! I used it on my white saddle and bartape when i had white and it worked great.

JohnDThompson 

That's why I prefer black shorts/tights and a black saddle...

ThinLine

Or....just buy a new pretty White saddle

nlgrav182

Try some boat upholstery cleaner. Most of the materials should be similar to saddles.

JohnDThompson 

Fify:

MegaTom

I still can't understand the aversion to dirty saddles and bartape. I just always looked it as a sign of a well used machine.

escarpment

isnt the whole point of a white saddle and bar tape to see how dirty you can get it.

dirt is a badge of honor

CrankAndYank

Do you apply the same argument to your undergarments?

Jaymadd

magic eraser https://www.pgestore.com/home/home-cl...u=037000450849

qqy

Agreed. Works great with white shoes too.

John_V 

^^^ This. I use Magic Eraser with some oxyclean based household cleaner. My white ISM saddle came out looking like new. Even got rid of the scuff marks.

OldsCOOL

Try a bottle of Westley's Blech White (does not contain real bleach). It's found in the auto section with other cleaners and waxes. Originally for white lettering on tires it is an amazingly versatile cleaner.

ETA: ooops I repeated what sloar had recommended.

ahsposo 

I kind of like a 'well ridden' look myself.

And really don't care what my bike looks like as long as does what I ask it to.

NWS Alpine

If all else fails then it's time to buy a new bike... to match that new black saddle you already ordered.

Nakedbabytoes

Acne creme with peroxide in it takes out everything on white/light surfaces. Slap it on, set bike in the sun, a few hours later you have what looks like brand new tape.

dalava

This. /thread

New Yorker

Plus it's nice having a saddle without zits.

eja_ bottecchia

Exactly!