Cleaning Hoods?

Got some Shimano levers that are pretty dirty, the off white hoods have seen better days.

Soapy water didn't do a lot for them, but I tried some citrus cleaner we have at work and it cleaned them up pretty well, although there are still some black marks left, also the rubber is a bit sticky now.

Any good chemicals for cleaning rubber/gum that won't damage it? Is the stickiness a sign that the rubber has seen better days? Maybe worth just buying new hoods?

For the old white ones, unfortunately I've always found Cif or similar cream cleaner to be best t removing marks. Scrub hard enough and you should lose the deeper black marks too.

The stickiness is not a sign of wear as far as I am aware - just a result of the clean up.

Maybe some finishing spray or something might reduce the stickiness?

I did wonder about that, I have various rubber care products for car cleaning, but not sure how suitable they'd be for hoods. Was worried that they might make them a little slippery. Other option is maybe to try keying them up with some scothbrite or something.

I'll try some Cif anyway!

Bleach in hot water. Works well for Campag white hoods anyway, and does no cause any noticeable damage.

Oh, I was expecting circumcision chatter. sigh

Oh, I was expecting circumcision chatter. sigh

Haha..... I wondered how long it would take!

Paint thinners on a cloth and rub away the dirt, I got some 105 hoods back from dirty grey to white

I used some 'Astonish' cleaner (sold in tubs for a quid) on some similar rubber to clean it, but not white....

cif + scrub
bleach + scrub
anti-bacterial spray + scrub
then once clean, spray/rub on some rubber/vinyl car care stuff, it feeds (?) the rubber and helps keep it supple, avoids it tearing anymore, do a small amount and wipe it clean, then ride then repeat over a few weeks (the rubber care) the hoods should come back to their former glory.

Shampoo for cleaning white hoods is very effective

Try scourer as it's also effective on white bar tape ribbon.

Solvent is more effective than say soapy water. But the solution works best with dilution.

Push comes to shove, acetone but don't douse other parts with it.

GTH