Ludwig UFO case cleaning

Mustion

Senior Member
I just bought an old UFO case (metal hinges!) which has a pretty well-established layer of dust/dirt grime on the outside. What is your preferred cleaner that gets into all the nooks and crannies in this type of textured plastic? I vaguely remember using Armor All years ago to clean amplifier tolex which is similar in texture, but wonder if there's an easier/more common option that I might already have.
 
I would suggest warm water with soap (Dawn or similar dishwashing liquid) and a terry towel. Make sure the towel is nice and wet, and feel free to rub hard, the case is pretty resilient.

Armor All is fine as a step #2 if you want the case to glow, but I believe they were a matte finish when new. Also, Armor All can feel sort of greasy on textured surfaces (because it hides in the nooks and crannies.)

Bermuda
 
I would suggest warm water with soap (Dawn or similar dishwashing liquid) and a terry towel. Make sure the towel is nice and wet, and feel free to rub hard, the case is pretty resilient.

Armor All is fine as a step #2 if you want the case to glow, but I believe they were a matte finish when new. Also, Armor All can feel sort of greasy on textured surfaces (because it hides in the nooks and crannies.)

Bermuda

Well, that sounds simple enough, dishsoap and warm water. Works for me!

And yes, I do recall said amps feeling really greasy after the Armor All treatment. And smelling like a garage.

Thanks Bermuda...
 
What is your preferred cleaner that gets into all the nooks and crannies in this type of textured plastic? I vaguely remember using Armor All years ago to clean amplifier tolex which is similar in texture, but wonder if there's an easier/more common option that I might already have.

Armor All is one of the worst three products ever foisted on the public. Being around the custom car and custom bike circuit a number of upholsterers and builders told me they wouldn't use Armor All on anything . . . ever. One upholsterer confided that 60% of his jobs were directly due to the damage caused by consumers using Armor All on factory vinyl and leather seats.

If you have to use a plastic protectant for your case go with something like Eagle One or Meguiar's (upper end automotive products). These actually do a great job protecting plastic surfaces. But typically after you use these once, you have to keep reapplying them on a regular basis for that "new" look.

If your case looks clean after soap and water I concur with Bermuda, leave well enough alone. But if it's not quite clean enough then you might consider trying ProtectAll. It's sold at Walmart in the automotive department on the RV aisle. I use it annually to clean and protect high end carbon fiber products.

If you do decide to treat your plastic case only do a small test area in an inconspicuous spot. Give it several weeks to several months to see if you like the results before applying over the entire case.

Rant over.
 

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Thank you for the warning. I definitely will not bother with the Armor All. I have dish soap at home so that's good enough. Anyway, I don't need it to be showroom pristine; I bought this to replace a really nice Ludwig blue/olive soft case which is getting beat up from constant use in my dusty practice space. So I really just need to remove the previous owner's basement gunk (to be replaced by my own basement gunk)
 
Thank you for the warning. I definitely will not bother with the Armor All. I have dish soap at home so that's good enough. Anyway, I don't need it to be showroom pristine; I bought this to replace a really nice Ludwig blue/olive soft case which is getting beat up from constant use in my dusty practice space. So I really just need to remove the previous owner's basement gunk (to be replaced by my own basement gunk)

Good move. I don't know if there's another product that attracts as much dust as Armor All does.
 
Pressure washer.

Kidding - like others have said, I've had really good luck with that kind of thing just scrubbing hard with warm dish-soapy water and wash cloth.
 
There is a dollar store cleaner called Awesome. It really is. It will get blood out of fabric, you can use it for just about anything. It's also non-toxic and biodegradable. We use it at home to clean everything. It also smells nice and leaves no residue.

And yeah, Armour All sucks. It dries stuff out bad, totally opposite of what it's supposed to do. You would be better off smearing butter on the case.
 
There is a dollar store cleaner called Awesome. It really is. It will get blood out of fabric, you can use it for just about anything. It's also non-toxic and biodegradable. We use it at home to clean everything. It also smells nice and leaves no residue.

And yeah, Armour All sucks. It dries stuff out bad, totally opposite of what it's supposed to do. You would be better off smearing butter on the case.

I agree with the dollar store Awesome cleaner. That stuff rocks big time. Peace and goodwill.
 
Awesome does great on the UFO cases. I've used it along with an old towel or T-shirts. I use a soft toothbrush for the nooks.

Someone mentioned Meguiar's as well. I've had really good luck using Meguiar's Cleaning Wax and 0000 steel wool on metal parts and snare drums. You have to do it by hand though. Power tools will just make a mess of it. You put some of the wax on the steel wool pad and gently clean the shell with it. You have to be patient! Let the part(s) set up while the wax dries and then buff with either a chamois cloth or the blue shop towels. This helps clean the part and it puts a protective coat on it. I do this and every month or so I buff the parts by hand using the cloths or towels. This treatment has saved the finish on several brass and steel drums and my hardware looks brand new.
 
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