Cleaning Canvas

[Eric Norris]

This may sound like a silly question to those would value "beausage," but ... How does one clean a Carradice or other canvas bag? I took my Carradice saddlebag for a ride in the rain this past weekend, and it of course got soaking wet and sprayed with a fair amount of road grime.

Is there a way short of throwing it in the wash to get it clean (or at least cleaner than it is now)?

--Eric N

[Steve Palincsar]

On Mon, 2011-02-21 at 14:55 -0800, Eric Norris wrote:
> This may sound like a silly question to those would value "beausage," but .... How does one clean a Carradice or other canvas bag? I took my Carradice saddlebag for a ride in the rain this past weekend, and it of course got soaking wet and sprayed with a fair amount of road grime.

Brush it off when it dries. If that doesn't work, you might try washing
it in a bucket of water. BTW - fenders do a great job keeping off
"road grime..."

[J. Burkhalter]

Hey Eric,

I've never cleaned any of my Carradice stuff, but just this past
weekend I finally cleaned my Filson briefcase that is the tan color
similar to the Acorn Bags. Anyway, it's had a big splotch from some
homemade salad dressing and another spot from a blueberry smoothie on
it for a while. I didn't think either would ever come out with
Filson's "wipe or brush clean only" method, but after I got some fried
eggs on the bag (don't ask) I figured it was time to give it a scrub.
I started using a brush under running water in the kitchen sink. The
blueberry stain wasn't going anywhere, and the bag was too wet to see
if the oil stain was leaving. So, I got some Phil's Hand Cleaner and
worked it into the fabric with the brush, and then flushed it really
well with more water. It took a day or so to dry, but the oil stain
vanished and the blueberry stain is way less noticeable.

If you do end up washing it, you can always "reproof" with the
Carradice, Filson, or similar wax. I've never done this, but I
imagine the process might take a little while.

Good luck,
-Jay B

[Allan in Portland]

This reminds me, I ended up cleaning my sidewalls (http://
groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch/browse_thread/thread/
2aca181cfb49460d/) with some really old "goop"-like, lanolin hand-
cleaner. Gently scrubbed with a scotch pad and they look almost like
new. They are pack to the original color, just with thin, black
stripes in a few areas where the rubber had creased from the inner
casing for whatever reason. They looks so good, I'll probably not
bother with latex after all.

-Allan

[Fai Mao]

This would require reproofing but you might try using a foam stain
remover made for carpets

But be careful that you don't bleach the color out

> > --Eric N- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

[CycloFiend]

For unwaxed cotton canvas, it will probably work ok. You may get some weird
shrinkage from the immersion, but it ought to stretch out. You might try
stuffing it tightly with other clothing to help maintain its shape while in
the washer.

Safest way is a scrub brush with some light detergent - Dawn to take out
grease stains. One pass with mostly soap and then a quick rinse should
prevent the absorption of the water.

A dry heat-on wax like the Filson stuff can protect such a fabric, then you
just use a dry stiff brush to clean it.

http://vimeo.com/8025058

hope that helps,

- Jim

--
Jim Edgar
Cyclo...@earthlink.net

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