Ancient rubber and synthetic guns

mcnicol

mcnicol

Hero member
Location
Safety Harbor, Florida, USA
I was just reading in the latest Motorcycle Classics magazine about a technique one of the featured restorers used to rejuvenate ancient dried out rubber parts. He boils them for about 10 minutes then treats them with synthetic gun oil.
While I don't need to spend a lot of time discussing what is a synthetic gun or how/why you would oil it, I'm curious if anyone else has tried this formula (or anything like it)? I have almost all original rubber pieces on my '78 Jota, and most have not aged too well. Replacement cost for all of them would be quite considerable. Just curious?

Ken
 
mcnicol said:
I was just reading in the latest Motorcycle Classics magazine about a technique one of the featured restorers used to rejuvenate ancient dried out rubber parts. He boils them for about 10 minutes then treats them with synthetic gun oil.

Ken
Click to expand...

Should be able to achieve the same effect by smearing on a little LP Jelly (Vaseline), leave it overnight and then wipe off. This certainly seems to rejuvenate hardened windscreen wiper blades so might work on other rubber parts also..

AndyW
 
Don't know what that would do for the cracking,BTW I just watched that TV show called Wheeler Dealers,they were doing a 110 year old car for the Brighten Run.Seems loose wooden spokes can be tighten up to the timber rim by dunking them in a tub of water for a couple of days,who knew.
Bloody funny episode.
 
Vince, the guy in Motorcycle Classics did say it didn't do anything for cracking, just softened the hard stuff. I've had a fair bit of luck with repairing cracked rubber with black synthetic rubber repair compound, usually several types at better hardwares, all seem pretty similar. One of my headlight bracket vibration-absorbing rubbers is in really sad shape, I'm going to fix the cracks then try the softening technique.

Ken
 
In the October newsletter of the Canadian Vintage Motorcycle Group the following restorative solution was posted in the Technical Section: soak the rubber parts in a solution of 1/3 oil of wintergreen and 2/3 xylene. Thicker parts such as carburetor boots may require a couple of days soaking, thinner parts much less. Parts will swell up but will return to normal size as the xylene evaporates.
I haven't tried this yet but will soon, but to be on the safe side I would first try it out on a sacrificial part.
Dennis


 
Soak them in boiling water until soft.
No solvent swelling, no deterioration.
 
I have friends who dip their rubbers in the Lockheed

They dip their rubber all the night and the next day in the morning the rubber found his properties

They tell me that it works with some, but not all

Personally, I have not tried it yet

Sant?

Xavier
 
Oops, I think I made a typing error, or a spelling mistake

Please, read lookheed. Lookheed DOT 3 or DOT 4

Grand V

Xavier
 
Grant said:
Brake fluid?
Hmmm.
Click to expand...

Yes Sir ...

In the brake fluid, you find :

polyglycols  http://www.dow.com/greaterchina/en/products/chemical/specialty/polyglycols.htm

?ther glycol  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glycol_ethers

inhibiteurs  http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inhibiteur_(chimie) / http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polymerization / http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polym%C3%A8re

Then, why not ?  :D

As I said, I never tried it (I do that soon), but my friends yes, and they are glad of the result for a great part
 
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