how to recondition rubber?

ttocs · Oct 3, 2013

Not that kind of rubber you sicko's. the kind of little rubber bumper thingy's that are inside of the metal rad mounts. I have the metal pieces soaking in vinegar to get the rust off prior to some rust preventative covering of some type... would like to cover them with some black paint and have the rubber look good as well. I think I heard on American restoration that they blast them but not sure the price of it would be worth the trouble although I did just get my bumper media blasted so they might be willing to work with me since they are small and they could hopefully just throw them in with an existing job but wasn't sure if I could maybe sand them or use se oil or something.

Orange 94 · Oct 3, 2013

what about a varsol bath?

If you can lightly sand/wire brush them that would be good I think. Just have to find a nice in between doing nothing and carving the rubber.

ttocs · Oct 4, 2013

did some reading online last night and realized that between the old parts and new ones that I had 4 of the radiator mounts to play with, so after a little reading I tried some stuff out. I started off with a small bowl of the hottest water I could get from the tap and after rubbing dishwashing soap all over the pieces I simple threw them into the water for 30 mins. Then I hit them with a wire brush and cleaned them up. After that I soaked them with WD40 for about 30 mins and then came back and again hit them with the wire brush. After a quick wipe with a paper towel I am not sure I could tell a new piece from mine. The rubber is again soft/supple and looks good as new as well.

The metal mounts cleaned up really well also. Soaked them in vinegar for 4 hrs and then hit them with a wire brush and some steel wool. Dried them, adhesion promoter, rust proof paint and then cleared.

Other then the soaking time and drying time for the paint it was maybe 30 mins of work and they look better then they did new.