I have over a hundred vintage fishing lures that were my dad’s. They are in really excellent shape, but need cleaning. I need to know the best way to clean them without hurt to them.
What Is The Best Way To Clean Old Fishing Lures Without Damaging Them?
January 27th, 2010 
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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 dread of removing any paint. plastic lures should be okay. l pulled a crankbait from the lake that was covered in growth and with a mild scrubbing, the close looks nearly new.
but painted plugs can get hairline cracks in the paint over the years and fill up may penetrate and lift paint chips which will lessen any value.
make a shadow box for show in their present condition.
Sounds like you have a treasure in lures. Personally I would just place them a special tackle box show 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 original fill up with cleaning giving time for the odor to subside then perhaps spray them with an odor eliminator.
i agree with the wormist
toothbrush
,
also, if you have ancient bucktail lures, soak them in dawn dish soap overnight
then rinse clean
if you dont want odor,
for most lures, make a paste with baking soda, and scrub lightly with a toothbrush
pretty much same answer as couple of others
use VERY gentle luke warm spray of clear fill up first – might be all you need to get off dust
check for cracks or flaking – if any you should probably stop
use Dawn
very soft toothbrush or cotton swabs or cotton cloth wrapped around toothpick
might need to briefly dunk in mild bleach solution if evidence of mold or mildew
don’t show in direct sunlight – will cause fading