talkmagic.co.uk

You may have found, like me, that you old D'lites work well for ages but eventually take on a bit of a "coal miners thumb" look after a while. Trouser and jacket pockets seem to leave the soft vinyl looking a bit grubby after a time.

I found a decent solution to breathe some life back into these tips.

Take some ordinary bathroom bleach (add all the usual cautions here...don't drink it, get it on your skin, in your eyes or on your clothes etc...), pour some into an mug or tumbler (not one you will drink from) and pop out the little "doo-hickie" from the D'lite and drop the TT into the bleach for a good few hours, you will find the original luster comes back.

Wash off the rubber with soap and water when done, dry it and reassemble...VIOLA!

If the innards don't come out you can VERY carefully wrap the TT part in tissues and soak it with the somewhat diluted bleach...isn't as easy but persistance will see you with the same results. Make sure the bleach that runs out of the tissue ends up in a saucer or sink...it WILL RUIN any cloth it gets on...I promise you THAT!

Same applies to ordinary TT's as well?

I normally wear black jeans and keep my TT in the little ticket pocket of the right hand pocket. The dye soon rubs off onto the TT an it's an absolute bug.ger to get it off again!

It may well do...the plastic is different on rigid type tips but the theory is the same.

Give it a go and let us know please...it WON'T damage them.

If it works too well I may the first to market Albino TTs !

Thanks Tom, I posted on this topic a while ago and no one really had a solution. I will try this as the state of my current D'Lites means that I can only get away with using them if I'm dressed as Al Jolson!

of course, pardon me for stating the obvious, and this might not be suitable for a close up solution, but simply get a small sandwich bag, the type you would wrap stuff in the fridge in or pick up the dog's latest offering in, cut in half, and vola, a little keep clean d'lite pouch. After a few weeks it loses its rustle, and will stop the fabric rubbing off on the d'lite. Like I say, probably not the best for impromptu d'liting, but if you know when and where you are going to perform, it's ideal.

Or get a couple of empty plastic 35mm film pots with the lids off...instant D'lite "garages" for the pockets!

I have tried this and I'm afraid my results were rather poor compared to Toms. I will try again with stronger Bleach.
Interestingly I bought some D'lites in the USA in 1997, and found the tips this week. They were used extensively at the time but they have never discoloured, they are as pink today as they were then, whereas the ones I bought in DEC 07 are positively black. Obviously a different polymer blend is now being used. At least that is what I am assuming, has anyone else noticed the very old ones not discolouring?

Still black eh? Hmmmmm.... perhaps it has to be a recent discolouring?

I used them every week in Dec on a "Santa steam train" and they got dirtier and dirtier.
I have an assortment of chemicals at my disposal in my garage , I shall experiment and report back if I have better results.

Yeah my D'lites have become all grubby i might try this out, thanks.