rubber restorer

I was just thinking about how much all the rubber parts to rebuild two sets of xj carbs cost and that the only rubber parts I didn't change were the slide diaphragms. has anyone used any kind of rubber restorer on the diaphragms? I am looking at these products specifically...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/3M-39042-Rubber ... e9&vxp=mtr

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Eastwood-Rubber ... 6c&vxp=mtr

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Revive-Gel-Rubb ... 11&vxp=mtr

http://www.ebay.com/itm/CleanTex-Rubber ... 3cdbb974f6

CN

 

Sorry, I doubt you could bring them back from the dead as they have probably oxidised, not to mention the dreaded pinholes

 

Havn't bought any, others here have, but they're good prices for new diaphragms
http://jbmindustries.com/HITACHI

 

I am not trying to bring them back from the dead, just trying to lengthen their life span.

CN

 

I think straight up silicone is a good bet. The closer to 100% the better...

 

Transmission fluid has some rubber restoring agents. I put a dried up rubber part in some fluid and checked on it in two weeks and nothing happened. I put it on a shelf and forgot about it. I stumbled on it a year laterr and the part was like new. I doubt you want to wait a year but if you have spare parts you could do it or maybe while the bike is stored for winter.

 

Hey Noob, you got me thinking there with that list of 4. When I have a few lazy minutes I am going to search the MSDS for each of those and see where that points. My guess is, as already stated, silicone. But who knows?

 

cool! I was hoping to get someone here who had actual experience, but any and all help researching this topic is welcome and much appreciated. I have many "irons in the fire" so to speak and have little time for research. cheers!

CN

 

DOW 55

DESCRIPTION
Molykote®
55 O-ring Grease is a
silicone-based material that helps
ensure positive lubrication and sealing
by slightly swelling rubber O-rings
and seals. This product is heat stable
and oxidation resistant and is
serviceable from approximately -65 to
175°C (-85 to 347°F).

 

x2 on the silicone. I use silicone spray on any rubber piece I remove, and let it sit in a can for a few hours before I put it back. It was my understanding that rubber hardens when it loses silicone, but I could be completely wrong on that account.

 

I used the wintergreen + xylene method on my airbox rubbers, the result was unbelievable, they went from bakelite to soft rubber in 24 hours, then another 24 hours to shrink back to size

Removing/fitting the carbs is now almost a pleasure rather than pure, knuckle tearing torment

I have a spare set of slides with stiff diaphragms, I reckon I'll give them a soak to see if it makes them usable again, they may come in useful some time

 

wintergreen and xylene? Is that something you mix yourself? How much of each? Where did you get the ingredients?

 

Sorry it's taken so long to reply, I've been in France visiting my Sister

I can't remember where I got the recipe, it might have been on here or another moto forum, I've seen the formula in a few places

I mixed the Wintergreen 30% to Xylene 70% in a glass jar and imersed the part in it. My carb boots I left in there for 24hrs, thinner section rubber would need less time

I soaked my crispy old spare sliders for about 10 hours, two of them came out as good as new with lovely flexible membranes. The other two were wrecked, the rubber must have been very porous, as the membranes swelled they split the plastic retaining rings. Still, I got 2 usable spare sliders out of the experiment, they were headed for the trash anyhow

I found the ingredients on Amazon here in the UK, they aren't too hard to find

 

this reply inspired me to test my google fu again and I found that a lot of antique auto restorers like lestoil for restoring rubber. this is just one thread I found that talks about it.

http://forums.aaca.org/f120/make-rubber ... 62022.html

lestoil is a degreasing cleaner that can be found at home depot and most grocery stores.

CN