Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr Gazza
I once heard that you can soften old rubber by gently heating it in White vinegar.
I tried it once with a seal many years ago, but let it boil dry, so I can't vouch for whether it works or not if done properly.
Might be worth a try if it's no good anyway?
|
Not heard of the vinegar trick* before but a few years ago Practical Sportsbikes contained a tip for softening hardened inlet rubbers using wintergreen oil. It just so happens that it was in an edition all about the Monster, so I've kept it. Here is the article - hopefully it's clear enough to read if you zoom in.
Note that PS used wintergreen and hot water but I have seen other recipes that mix the wintergreen with alcohol or xylene instead of using heat and water. I'm sure if you do a Google search you'll find details of all the alternatives.
*
Nerd alert! White vinegar is acetic acid (C²H⁴O²) and water while wintergreen is methyl salicylate (C⁸H⁸O³), which is derived from salicylic acid.