What is the best way to clean old fishing lures without damaging them?
bingo asked:
I have over a hundred vintage fishing lures that were my dad’s. They are in really good shape, but need cleaning. I need to know the best way to clean them without damage to them.
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on Saturday, September 12th, 2009 at 8:24 pm and is filed under Fishing.
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I have over a hundred vintage fishing lures that were my dad’s. They are in really good shape, but need cleaning. I need to know the best way to clean them without damage to them.
September 13th, 2009 at 10:16 pm
Sounds like you have a treasure in lures. Personally I would just put them a special tackle box display and hold on to them. Cleaning would lesson their value by removing the vintage appeal. Buy new lures to fish with and start you own collection of usable lures. But that is my opinion.
Clorox or CLR will clean the lures but will leave an odor. Fish can smell and will not hold on to a lure with the smell. If you use any of these products or others, be sure to wash them in fresh water after cleaning giving time for the odor to subside then perhaps spray them with an odor eliminator.
September 14th, 2009 at 6:23 pm
for starters, do not use anything stronger than mild dish soap and a soft toothbrush for scrubbing. if any are painted wood, l would not touch them with even that for fear of removing any paint. plastic lures should be okay. l pulled a crankbait from the lake that was covered in growth and after a mild scrubbing, the finish looks almost new.
but painted plugs can get hairline cracks in the paint over the years and water may penetrate and lift paint chips which will lessen any value.
make a shadow box for display in their present condition.