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old rubber mats

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NutmegCT

NutmegCT

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Has anyone found a treatment that preserves and restores rubber?

Example: old rubber floor mats, starting to get a bit brittle.

Not "make 'em dark and shiney" - but "renew the flex and texture".

I've heard that some products (e.g. Armor All Tire Treatment) make rubber look nice for a while. But a few months later the rubber has actually dried out.

Any suggestions for "rubber renewal"?

Thanks.
Tom
 
Tom,

I have had great success using 303 Aerospace Protectant. It will not leave a shinny slick surface like all the other so called elixirs. It will not dry out or further deteriorate the rubber, in fact it will make rubber more pliable. I have the original rubber floor mats in my '62 AH Sprite and they are usable. When I first got the car they were so brittle/stiff I was afraid to try to remove them to clean them. After treating them a couple of times with 303, they were pliable enough for me to unsnap them and remove them. If you rubber has an film of rubber oxide on them, clean them with warm water and Ivory soap, and rinse them well and let dry before using the 303 on them. This will remove the film and allow the 303 to soak in better. I soaked mine and left them sit overnight and then repeated this for a few more nights. After the 303 is soaked in/disappeared or will not soak in buff them down using clean cotton rags. This will restore the color almost back to when they were new. I have been using 303 since the early 70's, first on my boats and latter on all my cars and trucks. I have never had any problems from 303.
 
Tom


I looked at this to restore some rubber parts on my Abarth.

This subject has been broached before but I am happy to report success in revitalizing old rubber.

I have been using a mixture of 30% wintergreen oil (methyl salicylate) and 70% xylene to restore old rubber parts and it works beautifully. This is the same ingredients and proportions for the commercial product Rubber Renue according to the MSDS sheets.

Wintergreen oil is analgesic and liniment for aching muscles and found in most drugstores, pharmacies, health food stores and co-ops.

I gently heated rock hard honda CB carb boots with a heat gun for 30 seconds and dropped them into mason jars with my solution for 12 hours at room temperature. They come soft, pliable and looking good. They have been out of solution for 48 hours now and are still soft and pliable. I soaked smaller rubber parts such as side panel grommets and there extremely soft and may need to soak for less time

Critics are going to argue 'why not buy new ones?' Well, I am restoring four CB's at the moment and if I can reuse perfectly good parts, why throw them and my money away?

Cheers
Mark
 
Gentlemen - thanks for the suggestions.

I'd never thought of that 303 product. For some reason I'd always figured it was similar to the Armor All products.

I can get wintergreen oil at the drugstore, but I imagine finding xylene will be an adventure.

Mark, you mention small rubber parts getting "extremely soft". Is there a danger that the concoction continuously softens the rubber? In other words, that the rubber absorbs the mixture and continues to soften, even after the rubber is back in place in the car (or whatever)?

Thanks.
Tom
 
Tom,

Xylene can be bought at your local Ace Hardware store or any good paint store. Mark's formula rings a bell from way back when when you could buy a product called "Rubber Renue". The "Rubber Renue" would disolve small parts if too much was put on them.
 
Home Depot has it as well. From pints to gallons.
 
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