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Mine needs a little more than cleaning. Is there a source for the leather belt tie on an A tool kit?

On the vinyl part would try Simple Green. I had exhaust stains on the outside of the fiberglass on my boat and I couldn't get them off with any of the usual solvents. I tried the Simple Green and the stains came off amazingly easy.

I found this tool bag because another member was looking for one. He passed on it, so I decided to buy it. I can’t remember the last time in 5 years that one has come up for sale. Being that I already had a complete kit, I thought it would be interesting to breathe some life into this tool bag.

Are there any updated methods for cleaning tool bags?
I have Eric Cherneff’s (EC) write up link here (vol. 30, issue #6, page 54 Mar/Apr 2007 Registry):
https://porsche356registry-production-p ... 1396814932

and several posts on the subject:
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=31275&start=15
viewtopic.php?t=2444

My steps based on the above:
(1) remove all tools and vacuum tool bag of any debris. (2) protect leather strap: put leather treatment on the strap, roll it up and place in a plastic bag before proceeding to next step –EC. Mine was not present, so, nothing is done here (more on this later)
NOTE: I did not find a safe way to protect the leather straps. The older original straps are very brittle, and manipulating them by rolling them up and putting them into a bag can cause them to crack further. I tried many methods and nothing seems to work. The only method that another member suggested would be to remove the strap completely and clean the bag as described below. I would have to agree, I do not have another solution for protecting the leather strap. I have tried everything i could think of...water still seeps in.

(3) place tool bag in a plastic bin and soak tool bag in laundry detergent (Tide in my case) and warm water for 20-30 min –EC. remove water and add laundry detergent (I used 2 tablespoons) and made sure there was enough water to cover the entire bag. Remove after 30 minutes or when water gets dirty. Agitate bag several times –EC. I ended up doing this for 2 hours, 30-minute intervals each time before I would change the water and then add more laundry detergent. I would also massage the soapy water into the cloth with my hand...gently to free up any dirt that needed coaxing out. ---continued....

(4) CAUTION for step 4: I decided to keep going forward with cleaning the inside material/cloth, so my next step was to remove the rust stains. I used Whink, and I have to repeat the warning that EC and several others have stated, this is an extremely toxic solution, the packaging mine came in (From amazon) was broken and the solution got on my thumb… now, I do not know if it is from this solution, but a deep cut appeared on my thumb and I do not remember cutting it… I am assuming it is from this solution. Afterward, I was OCD with safety while using this solution, changing gloves each and every time, wearing eye protection, and warning my household NOT to go into the bathroom where I set up in the bathtub. So PLEASE take all precautions necessary. Now, to the steps. I laid the tool bag in the plastic bin (in the bathtub) with the cloth side facing up.
Important note:
Whink can damage vinyl color, so care must be taken when applying. Whink is made of hydrofluoric acid
please make sure that container is at an angle, so no solution pools up underneath the bag.

Every 30 minutes I doused the bag with Whink. Every 30 minutes for 7 hours, I would tilt the bag up from one end so all the previous solution would “run-off” the bag and then I applied more Whink solution.

IMPORTANT EDIT, I PREVIOUSLY WROTE:
After 7 hours, I put copious amounts of the solution on the bag and let it sit overnight for 8 hours. In total, this step took 15 hours. <- DO NOT LET SOAK IN THE BAG, THIS WILL REMOVE THE DYE FROM THE BAG, ESPECIALLY BLUE BAGS
Note: after each application, I changed gloves and washed my hands. (5) I rinsed off the bag with tap water (in the bathtub). Then, I did another 30-minute rinse in laundry detergent. (6) I drip dried the bag and then placed it in the sun for 15 min on each side, flipping over the bag 3 times. (total 1 hour). Then let the bag to bake (in the sun) on each side for 30 minutes. (7) I will be continuing to the next step this Tuesday/Wednesday (July 9/10), namely, cleaning of the vinyl. I will be using the following different chemicals (recommended by different members):
De-Solv-It – Eric Cherneff
Simple Green - Robert Harrington
409 - Pat Daily
Goof OFF, followed up by 409 - Adam Wright
Paint Thinner – Gerald Manna ....to be continued

in the meantime...here are some side-by-sides:
please note: I had to change the perspective of the images (on the right) to get a more accurate side-by-side comparison.

A definite improvement. Congrats!

Mike

Great research and conclusions. Thanks for the info.

Great outcome. Thanks for posting.

There is a rust remover called Iron Out. It used to be called Rust Out. It is made for, among other things, removing rust stains from clothing in the laundry. I have used it many times on cotton fabric, and it works unbelievably well. I bet it would do a great job on the fabric interior of these tool and travel kit bags.

Edit: I see there now also is Super Iron Out. I haven't used it.

Nice summary & beautiful results Benjamin. Thanks for sharing!

Thank you, everyone, for the comments and compliments. I also received PM's about some tips...and I will be applying them to the restoration/cleaning of the tool bag next week. I also wanted to remind everyone that Whink and like products are dangerous to work with. Although I thought I was being careful, I did receive a small burn to my skin, that I can feel below my skin. It feels like someone cut my skin off...seriously!

PLEASE BE CAREFUL:


Another important note:
Whink can damage vinyl color, so care must be taken when applying. Whink is made of hydrofluoric acid

The before photo:
so... I have a few options: Initially, I thought to use
de-solv-it,
goof-off,
simple green,
and
paint thinner

I decided to add:
Lexol Vinylex
Dawn Dishwasher soap
Goo gone
acetone


Here are some pH values of the various items under consideration. From everything I read, I should be looking at pH-neutral solutions.

2 lemon juice 2-3 (usually pH 2)
2-4 distilled white vinegar
4.5 hydrogen peroxide (not pictured)
5.9 goo gone
6.6 de-solv-it
7 acetone
7.4 Dawn dishwasher soap
7-8 goof-off
7.7 rubbing alcohol
8.5-9.5 simple green
9.3-11 Lexol vinylex


If anyone has any other suggestions, please let me know. I plan to tape up the vinyl bag into different sections to test the different products.

so... here is an update on cleaning the outside vinyl: multiple cleaners
brand new terry cloths (i used kirklands)
soft bristle brush
medium brush
gloves

these steps were used over the entire bag:
trial 1 - clean with tide in warm water bath for 2 hours switching water and new detergent when dirty or every 30 minutes (whatever comes first)
(see photos above)


trial 2 - Goo gone kitchen degreaser w/toothbrush results: a lot of dirt was removed


these steps were used on the vinyl only:
note: after each step I cleaned with dishwasher soap and dried with paper towels

trial 3 - lexol vinylx: results: some dirt removed

......continued....

trial 4 - goo gone: results: some dirt removed


trial 5 - de-solv-it: results: some dirt removed


trial 6 - simple green 1:10 results: nothing


because I did not achieve any results with the 1:10 dilution, I decided to up the strength to 1:1
trial 7 - simple green 1:1 results: nothing


trial 8 - goof off results: nothing


..... continued......

trial 9 - paint thinner (i used a "green" paint thinner) results: nothing


trial 10 - rubbing alcohol results: nothing


HELP: I am having some technical difficulties uploading photos to this forum....many photos are appearing upside down...anyone know why this is happening? my solution, is to delete it from the post, re-save the file, and then re-upload it.


Results of all 10 trials:
due to the positive results of both "goo gone" and "de-solv-it" i decided to use the other test area to test both of these side-by-side:
My pick (for now): Goo Gone a quick bath in tide, then a quick tan in the sun and this is where we are now:
I did not use the lemon juice, distilled white vinegar, hydrogen peroxide or acetone. I will think about using Acetone and/or regular paint thinner when the tool bag gets back from the next step....
TBC