I'm thinking even a small quantity of bleach (of any type) would tend to make a real mess and would only serve to 'wear-out' the jeans fabric at an alarming rate...

Odd Thought: Why not simply sew onto a new(ish) pair of jeans, some few bits of fabric from an older much-more washed-out and no-longer-in-service pair of jeans (?)

I did some more searching ... I'm keen to try a mix of squeezed lemon juice, washing soda, and a little non-chlorine bleach. These all fade and brighten. 2 gallons water. Those 1980s went for about $30-40 a pair ... going to give it a go one night this week. I just thought someone might do this on a regular basis

I would be interested in your results

Butt I would never try that myself as new 'jeans' are expensive

And I would like to get the most 'wear' out of each pair as might be fair

bought for all cotton content and exact match for another pair of Arizona jeans, circa 2009. Can't use bleach on the new spandex jeans. Curiously the pair I already had I think were acid washed ... they sure look it.

I used the juice of one lemon, 1/3 cup washing soda, 1/4 cup OxyClean, and 1/4 cup non-chlorinated bleach in about 3 gallons of water for 3 hours. The mixture bubbled a lot, took out some color the water was blue, but this was more like washing them 3 or 4 times than acid washing. But the fade has begun so we'll see where it leads next time through the wash!

The only problem is it takes a bit of time...
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