*White* hoods

[james_from_stoke]

I am giving a relatives bike a little tlc - not a full restoration but a little cleaning and greasing here and there.
The hoods were originally white. After about twenty years of little or no use, they had become almost black. I have scrubbed vigorously and returned them to yellow with black blotches, but I think I have reached the limits of fairy liquid.
Any suggestions for getting them a bit closer to pale yellow - I have given up on white, but getting all the oily splodges off would be nice.

While I'm here, I'll put up a pic of the bike - It's an 80s Swinnerton frame with full Reynolds 653. Shimano 600 hubs and drivetrain and 105 brakes and levers. It is in pretty much original condition - I don't think anything has ever been replaced (except the saddle, which used to be a lovely black Rolls). It has BioPace chainrings, Mavic Open 4CD rims and rapidly perishing Vittoria tyres. Cinelli Criterium bars and stem with Tange Allez headset. I know it's not perfect, but it's cleaner than it was.
Apologies for shoddy picture quality. The camera is in for repair, so I had to use my phone

 

[Nob]

Rubbing Alcohol

 

[t47b]

Re:

Tea tree oil to remove 'residue', then pledge spray on furniture polish to keep it clean.

Tea tree oil removes glue left after removing stickers, or tape.

 

[gavr]

Re:

I find that Brasso works very well - oddly enough...

 

[Ideale]

Re:

Cream cleaner of the sort used in bathrooms works every time.

 

[cloonaghpat]

Re:

Whitening toothpaste will bring them back to their former glory - and I mean white not yellow, the colgate paste is the best.



Regards,

Pat

 

[james_from_stoke]

Re:

Thanks for all the suggestions.
After a combination of Fairy Liquid, Cif Cream Cleaner, Aerosol Degreaser, White Spirit, Toothpaste, Brasso and plenty of elbow grease, the hoods are still stubbornly yellowish. Although from a distance they do look white now rather than black, so that's got to be an improvement.
Thanks!

 

[t47b]

Re:

If they still look yellow rather than white maybe you should try smokers tooth powder

 

[james_from_stoke]

Re:

It has been returned home now - I was only doing a quick clean and re-grease etc.
I might suggest that to the owner though. Or maybe Steradent tablets?
Although actually, the yellow rather matches the colour of the frame...