did a search could not find anything so if i missed it,close this.my truck is a 53 chebby.it had new weather strip put on it about 10-12 years ago.shortly after the truck got parked ,out side.where it sat for the next ten years. the weather strip on it is solid,no tears,nothing. looks brand new.but its stuck in the shape it sat for so long, but it is hard as a rock.anything/treatment that will work to soften it up,or should i just bite the bullit and buy new ones.baby oil maybe, w-d 40, spray silicone, vasilene. any help? thanks bruce
Hit it several times with armor all type reconditioners. Not cleaners. Vasiline/baby oil, ect eats rubber. Thats why you don't use those for lube unless you want a family.
point taken as a matter of fact i tried that today.couldn't find any armour all so had to use maguires?
As long as its a "reconditioner" and not an upholstery "cleaner". It's not going to come to life on one try, you will want to try and keep it "wet" for a few days and "m***age" it a little. Its a bit of effort, but here in the desert losing rubber seals is common, and I never had a set I couldnt bring back.
Armorall just adds some plasticisers to the surface of a part to make it shine. It might not make the seal recover its memory (shape) after that many years, but I'd try too! Usually, once EPDM rubber or latex seals sit that long you're F'd & have to replace them, because they don't have any seal pressure to the body anymore. I would suggest that you leave the doors open as you douse them with the goo. I've never tried to bring back old seals, so Ill be looking forward to the results of your efforts. I hope it works! BTW- Most owner's manuals tell you to use die-electric grease to treat seals today, so that might also help.
I'm not talking spray it on and wipe it off, its the idea of letting it absorb. Most of the ones we have done we could bring back. Were they like new? No. But they were once again usable and effective. We have used "tire shine" type products too in paste form with results.
An old timer,older than me told me glycerine soap would soften rubber. You can buy it at Walgreens here. Cheap and worth a try I guess. Any product will take time I think.
what i did today was soak them down,really good,left doors open. i'll do the same thing tomorrow.temp will be in the low 70s. nothing to lose but the 10 bucks.everthing to gain.
its what racer's use to soften up their racing tires.there is a distributor in b'ham, ray putnam.but i can't think of the name of his co.
Just about any one who sells circle track parts or anyone who races has this stuff under a different brand..As a general rule tire dealers dont like to sell softner. stay away from the tolule based softner[dangerious stuff]
i thought about that also. thats what we used in vachum wiper motors. ( i have a 56 chebby)it would swell the rubber seals in side. would run like a charm for a while.
Man, this is EASY, dielectric grease. It's even recommended in new car owner's manuals and takes years off them with each treatment. If they're rock hard, prolly start with silicone spray since it's runnier and will penetrate faster. Don't be suprised if you gotta treat em once a month for several months to get em right. good luck
Damn, I must be living under a rock. What is dielectric grease. They didn't have all this when I was growing up or I didn't pay attention. Brake fluid will make your paint slide off too.
You can buy silicone emulsion at your local GM parts counter. It is specifically for this purpose. It works well, but how well depends on the composition of the weatherstrip.
10-12 years outside not being used? Buy some new weatherstripping for crying out loud. If you're going to be keeping and using the truck do it right. Screw trying to liven up old dead rubber. Don't be a cheap***. Buying and installing the new stuff will be much easier if the old stuff isn't covered in grease and chemicals from trying to rejuvenate it!
Put them in a big pot, like one for frying a turkey. Fill the pot up with water, boil the *******s for 10 minutes, soft as new. Do this outside, its stinky. But I would buy new ones.
.............. afternoon update. applied 2nd coat this p.m. not soft but can tell something is changed. while i was doing the 2nd coat i figured i might as well put some on the vent window rubber also. WOW you could see the rubber soak that stuff up. all this stuff was put on new,when built 15 years ago.
day 2; noticeably softer in spots,other places not so much. shape is still kinds off but, its still just the 2nd day of treatment. going to use heat gun on it sat i think. bruce
Took ten years to get there man, give it a few weeks before moving onto another method. Faster is often extremely detrimental when rejuvenating things. Sounds like damn good results thus far. good luck
yeah i guess your right,i'm going to drive it to a show next week,so i guess i'll let it set there with the doors open at least. garage is not heated,just thought a little heat might help.but i'm in no rush......................yet
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