Hello everyone, just some helpful tips for you if it helps ..
I am currently working on a Dansette Monarch from the early/ mid 60's and the rexine covering was absolutely "minging" to say the least, having looked like it had spent 40 years in someone's loft undisturbed.
It had the original grained with dark base, the same as the inside that hadn't been grimed up and was checking out what to clean it with, without destroying it and saw things like "Cif" and other abrasive cleaners being advocated.
By chance, the wife was cleaning some other antique items with a totally separate product and I thought I would give it a try. All I can say is wow !! .. The years of grime just fell off the rexine and with no damage either. The outer lid looks as good as the inside now and it has taken years off the appearance, while keeping the look original, unlike the recovered ones that scream new but out of place.
The product of choice is something called "Stardrops Pink Stuff". All I did was dipped a cloth into a bowl of water and dipped it into the pink stuff and applied it to the Dansette in small areas. Even if you leave it for around 3-5 minutes, it almost dissolves any grime without hardly any rubbing, but as mine was black instead of the white it should have been, I gave it a gentle rubbing and buffed it off with a microfibre cloth.
It worked for me and I hope this may help someone else who is trying to clean the original Dansette Rexine. If used in the way I described, the rexine isn't damaged and cleans up really well
