After reviewing the vid and the comments, more time soaking like a few days makes them very soft and also makes them swell some. Drying for a few days also they return to normal and do not lose the soft rubbery feel. For vintage bikes, this is a major breakthrough. Get back those old hard rubber bits back to the normal soft rubber bits that ya need. Yes they again will get hard with time, but, saving old parts that are impossible to find is priceless.
I have a 1976 Honda CB750A (Hondamatic) and this channel has been absolutely AMAZING!! Your step by step instructions on repairs and all these tips and tricks have made working on my motorcycle an absolute joy, thank you so very much!! Keep up the FANTASTIC work!!
Excellent video! After nearly 200 restorations this will be a game changer for me. As you know the repro parts often are of inferior quality and don't fit well. Cheers, -Kirb
I used this method on the rubber gasket of a motorbike fuel petcock, supple it did make the rubber but it also swelled,so i had to put it in the sun to shrink it enough to get it back in it's channel. Reinstalled and not leaking so just be aware..
It is one of the issues that the rubber initially swells. I haven't used it for any internal type seals because of this. But like you said they do return to normal size after a bit of time.
Just doing air box "trumpets " on an 85 kawasaki. Less than 24 hrs in a 1 to 4 mix of natural Wintergreen and isopropyl and the difference is incredible! FYI Isopropyl alcohol mixes without separation issues
I must admit I thought Rubbing Alcohol was Isopropyl Alcohol, but having just looked it up again, it does say it can be some other mixture of stuff. Next time I will have to make sure I get Isopropyl, especially now you have told me it doesn't seperate. You've got to love the smell of Wintergreen, makes for a very fragrant workshop.
I’ve just started experimenting with one rubber off my Katana 1100 (sadly the cost of 4 replacements for that machine is £80… the oil and alcohol worked out at £20.
I have found it works well with things like inlet rubbers. They do swell a little at first, then settle back to the original size. Best of all is the smell, I wonder if it is a performance enhancer? :)
I put dried shoe outsoles in wintergreen and isopropyl alcohol and after a few weeks the rubber swelled so much and was like chewed chewing gum. The red and blue paint/dye also came off and coated the uppers of the shoes. Keep an eye on it.
Did you soak the outsoles for a few weeks and the rubber swelled, or did you soak it for a similar time as the video and three weeks later the rubber swelled and softened?
@@kevin15776 Hey Kevin, have you found any other ways to soften rubber shoe soles? trying to do it to my pair of 1991 Nike Mowabbs but real scared of ruining them!
How do you go about that? I live in a very dry climate and drive every day, and I swear by the time I actually need to use my wiper blades they've dried out completely. I've considered removing them when it's not raining and keeping them in the original packaging in the car, but I'd love to know how to restore them, too.
Will this technique work to recondition rubber O-Rings? I'm looking to make the rubber expand and seal again on a vacuum pump. A replacement cost $100.00. Looking for a cheaper alternative:)
Good question. Sorry but I haven't got an answer. I have only read about Wintergreen being used, and I have only used Wintergreen. I don't know why it has to specifically be Wintergreen, maybe there is something in it. But, why, not give it a go and see what happens. I suspect that it wouldn't do any harm. Let me know if you do.
@SPANNERRASH well I did try spearmint essential oil mixed with alcohol. I soaked my carb o rings for about an hour and they did swell,however they were very old and fragile and didn't make back into the carburetor
Around a year later they still seem fine. They swell a little at first, around 2%, but go back to normal size after a couple of weeks the only thing is they still smell strongly of the Wintergreen :) not too unpleasant though!
An update to my update..I had added a hardened formed o-ring gasket to my mix, I checked it after a couple of days, seemed soft. Well the slight swelling I noticed on other parts was more pronounced and the gasket was much too big. I'm thinking the shape and material 🤔. After a bit it dawned on me to place it on a heat register, after an hour or so the gasket/o-ring had off gassed enough to install!!!
Great question and I can't say I know the answer. I wonder if keeping at an elevated, not burning, heat would evaporate some of the solvents in it making it harder. It might be worth a try, let me know if you try it.
Yes the seperation is a bit of an issue, but I don't think the mix is absolutely crucial. Somebody in a comment said if you add polysorbate 20 it stops the seperation, but I haven't tried it so I really can't comment what affect that has. I can only say it works for me and I have the best smelling workshop I have ever been in :)
Wintergreen is not the answer! WD-40 rejuvenates rubber, makes it soft and supple again, also extends its life for a very long time and it works quickly usually overnight! Small parts can be soaked directly and for larger parts soak a rag in the WD-40 and apply it liberally! It works extremely well 100 times better than Wintergreen!
@@SPANNERRASH usually works quick like overnight. I have one of those Gator dump wagons it sat outside for two years. The inflatable rubber tires were dry-rotted and I thought the whole wagon was going to have to be thrown away. Last year on July 4th I used a rag and soaked the tires real good and by the next morning the tires were like brand new! No signs of dry rot with nice soft rubber again and they're still in that condition today!
@@SPANNERRASH try it on your windshield wipers. Put them in the up position wash them with Windex real good soak a rag with WD-40 apply it to the rubber real good leaving them in the up position until the next morning and they will work like new!
Thanks that's a great idea, I wondered if there was anything I could add to stop them separating. I hadn't heard of that, but now I have looked it up I may get some.
I haven't tried it, myself, but it works great for making oil mix with water, so I would assume it will help wintergreen oil mix with alcohol. Odd, since damned near every oil I ever tried dissolved in alcohol, without coaxing. I'd love to hear if it works.
It is what they call an essential oil, made from Wintergreen leaves. It has quite a minty smell to it. If you look online you will find it is supposed to have medicinal properties too.
After reviewing the vid and the comments, more time soaking like a few days makes them very soft and also makes them swell some. Drying for a few days also they return to normal and do not lose the soft rubbery feel. For vintage bikes, this is a major breakthrough. Get back those old hard rubber bits back to the normal soft rubber bits that ya need. Yes they again will get hard with time, but, saving old parts that are impossible to find is priceless.
All that and a lovely minty aroma in your workshop. What's not to love.
I have a 1976 Honda CB750A (Hondamatic) and this channel has been absolutely AMAZING!! Your step by step instructions on repairs and all these tips and tricks have made working on my motorcycle an absolute joy, thank you so very much!! Keep up the FANTASTIC work!!
Thank you very much for your praise! We'll do our best to keep the standards up for the future, there's plenty more content to come. :)
Absolutely fantastic process. Going to give this a shot on my Hummer H1 restoration on some of the rubber parts.
Awesome project by the sound of it. This trick really is remarkable, you'll be surprised how well it works.
@@SPANNERRASH Looking forward to the experimenting. Your results looked amazing!
Excellent video! After nearly 200 restorations this will be a game changer for me. As you know the repro parts often are of inferior quality and don't fit well. Cheers, -Kirb
Ha. They even smell nicer too! Thanks.
I used this method on the rubber gasket of a motorbike fuel petcock, supple it did make the rubber but it also swelled,so i had to put it in the sun to shrink it enough to get it back in it's channel. Reinstalled and not leaking so just be aware..
It is one of the issues that the rubber initially swells. I haven't used it for any internal type seals because of this. But like you said they do return to normal size after a bit of time.
Just doing air box "trumpets " on an 85 kawasaki. Less than 24 hrs in a 1 to 4 mix of natural Wintergreen and isopropyl and the difference is incredible!
FYI
Isopropyl alcohol mixes without separation issues
I must admit I thought Rubbing Alcohol was Isopropyl Alcohol, but having just looked it up again, it does say it can be some other mixture of stuff. Next time I will have to make sure I get Isopropyl, especially now you have told me it doesn't seperate. You've got to love the smell of Wintergreen, makes for a very fragrant workshop.
I’ve just started experimenting with one rubber off my Katana 1100 (sadly the cost of 4 replacements for that machine is £80… the oil and alcohol worked out at £20.
I have found it works well with things like inlet rubbers. They do swell a little at first, then settle back to the original size. Best of all is the smell, I wonder if it is a performance enhancer? :)
I put dried shoe outsoles in wintergreen and isopropyl alcohol and after a few weeks the rubber swelled so much and was like chewed chewing gum. The red and blue paint/dye also came off and coated the uppers of the shoes. Keep an eye on it.
Thanks for the heads-up on that Kevin. I guess with the parts I was trying to restore, I had nothing to lose really.
Did you soak the outsoles for a few weeks and the rubber swelled, or did you soak it for a similar time as the video and three weeks later the rubber swelled and softened?
@@dodgedforgottenn I soaked it for a few days recently and the rubber softened but hardened again soon after and cracks formed.
@@kevin15776 Hey Kevin, have you found any other ways to soften rubber shoe soles? trying to do it to my pair of 1991 Nike Mowabbs but real scared of ruining them!
IPA is great to restore your wiper blades too.
How do you go about that? I live in a very dry climate and drive every day, and I swear by the time I actually need to use my wiper blades they've dried out completely. I've considered removing them when it's not raining and keeping them in the original packaging in the car, but I'd love to know how to restore them, too.
Will this technique work to recondition rubber O-Rings? I'm looking to make the rubber expand and seal again on a vacuum pump. A replacement cost $100.00. Looking for a cheaper alternative:)
If the downside of it failing is low, I would give it a go. But it isn't anything I would have thought of but $100 o rings may make me try it :)
Does it have to be wintergreen or would peppermint essential oil work as well
Good question. Sorry but I haven't got an answer. I have only read about Wintergreen being used, and I have only used Wintergreen. I don't know why it has to specifically be Wintergreen, maybe there is something in it. But, why, not give it a go and see what happens. I suspect that it wouldn't do any harm. Let me know if you do.
@SPANNERRASH well I did try spearmint essential oil mixed with alcohol. I soaked my carb o rings for about an hour and they did swell,however they were very old and fragile and didn't make back into the carburetor
Any update on these? Are they still soft? If so, has the material degraded or did this properly restore the rubber over time?
Around a year later they still seem fine. They swell a little at first, around 2%, but go back to normal size after a couple of weeks the only thing is they still smell strongly of the Wintergreen :) not too unpleasant though!
@@SPANNERRASH Many thanks for the update!
After a few months my boots (un installed) started to stiffen , just chucked them back in this evening
An update to my update..I had added a hardened formed o-ring gasket to my mix, I checked it after a couple of days, seemed soft.
Well the slight swelling I noticed on other parts was more pronounced and the gasket was much too big. I'm thinking the shape and material 🤔.
After a bit it dawned on me to place it on a heat register, after an hour or so the gasket/o-ring had off gassed enough to install!!!
Hello i have same type soft rubber how do i hard it please.
Great question and I can't say I know the answer. I wonder if keeping at an elevated, not burning, heat would evaporate some of the solvents in it making it harder. It might be worth a try, let me know if you try it.
@@SPANNERRASH o have not tried. I request you to try yourself and guide . I am eager to watch
Because of the seperation of wintergreen and alcohol the % of wintergreen at the bottom of the jar is no longer 3:1
Yes the seperation is a bit of an issue, but I don't think the mix is absolutely crucial. Somebody in a comment said if you add polysorbate 20 it stops the seperation, but I haven't tried it so I really can't comment what affect that has. I can only say it works for me and I have the best smelling workshop I have ever been in :)
Wintergreen is not the answer! WD-40 rejuvenates rubber, makes it soft and supple again, also extends its life for a very long time and it works quickly usually overnight! Small parts can be soaked directly and for larger parts soak a rag in the WD-40 and apply it liberally! It works extremely well 100 times better than Wintergreen!
Interesting, never had much success with it. Maybe leaving it soaking for a long while is the key. I'll have another go with it.
@@SPANNERRASH usually works quick like overnight. I have one of those Gator dump wagons it sat outside for two years. The inflatable rubber tires were dry-rotted and I thought the whole wagon was going to have to be thrown away. Last year on July 4th I used a rag and soaked the tires real good and by the next morning the tires were like brand new! No signs of dry rot with nice soft rubber again and they're still in that condition today!
@@SPANNERRASH try it on your windshield wipers. Put them in the up position wash them with Windex real good soak a rag with WD-40 apply it to the rubber real good leaving them in the up position until the next morning and they will work like new!
@@timh.2137 Sounds like the ultimate hack!
Too bad you didn't throw a teaspoon of polysorbate 20 in there to keep them from separating.
Thanks that's a great idea, I wondered if there was anything I could add to stop them separating. I hadn't heard of that, but now I have looked it up I may get some.
I haven't tried it, myself, but it works great for making oil mix with water, so I would assume it will help wintergreen oil mix with alcohol. Odd, since damned near every oil I ever tried dissolved in alcohol, without coaxing. I'd love to hear if it works.
Rubbing alcohol is just isopropyl alcohol. So, if you don't want to pay a fortune just buy 'methylated spirits'
Seems like a good idea, but the purple dye that they put in Meth's makes it look less attractive for mixing.
What is winter green ?
It is what they call an essential oil, made from Wintergreen leaves. It has quite a minty smell to it. If you look online you will find it is supposed to have medicinal properties too.
@@SPANNERRASH you’re not supposed to use the essential oil, you want methyl salicylate.
Your wife will crucify you if you damage that dining table top....
True that! Why do you think I moved it outside? ;)
You can’t cheat aging. Get rid of this old junk
Ha, it's only original once!