What do you mean, Larry?
Ever since I got a peek inside your fly box, I've had my flies soaking in a mixture of acid, saltwater, and Dr. Pepper, in a vain attempt to, " Grundge them up," just like yours! I've been looking everywhere for, " Ugly Crap," colored bucktails, and have offered a reward for, " Rust," colored stainless hooks.
Now you wanna' clean 'em up?
Here's my idea:
Grasp bucktail firmly with left hand while holding scissors in right hand.
Cut bucktail as close to hook as possible.
Using sharp knife, scrape balance of thread, cement, etc. off hook.
Tie on new bucktail.
Repeat.
For best results, try not to store flies loose on deck of Mako running at full speed through four-foot Vineyard Sound chop with cross swells!
But seriously, I haven't had any success trying to undo the damage from bucktail colors running together, although I did learn early-on to keep my night-time flies in a separate box from my lighter-colored flies.
More importantly, if they're catching fish, who cares what they look like!
Just one more reason why I like Joe Brooks', " Blonde," pattern so much. It only takes about five minutes to tie, and cost about a nickel for materials, exclusive of the hook. When they get nasty, cut the old bucktail off, and tie on new.
Option Two: Keep a separate box of clean un-used flies, just for when, " Company," comes over.
Jay