I am expecting a baby in April and my mother gave me a German-made stroller she bought 30 years ago. It’s still in tip-top shape. However, the thick rubber wheels and the rubber handgrip have yellowed. I’d like to make them white again. My mother tried washing them with bleach but the yellow remains. Is this something I can simply paint over in white?
–C. Demetropoulos, via e-mail
Your mother was on the right track. Stuart Grannen, who has been in the antiques business for 35 years, suggests using a combination of bleach and a kitchen cleanser such as Comet. Mix enough cleanser with bleach to make a paste. Apply the paste to the rubber and let it sit.
“You may have to sacrifice the rubber in this process,” warns Grannen, owner of Architectural Artifacts, 4325 N. Ravenswood Ave. “It may weaken in the bleaching, so you’ll have to decide when the paste has set long enough.”
As for painting, Grannen says, it’s possible. “The paint will make it look like new, but it will begin to wear over time because of the constant contact,” he says.
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