Factor 40 sun cream and rubber parts

[daverclasper]

Probably a mad idea, though some of my windows seals are very old a a bit perished.

In summer, car is often on coastal campsites etc, and I assume the UV sunlight is not helping their aging process.

So, what about it?

  

[daverclasper]

I won't let the neighbors see me 

[ahebron]

I would be very careful about putting sunblock on car parts.
It can react with certain plastics and we have all seen kids handprints on car paint after they put sunblock on.
 

Edited September 25, 2022 by ahebron

[Badwolf]

I don't know about sunblock, but black boot polish has revitalise several of my old rubber fittings. Thank Colin.

[Pete Lewis]

2 hours ago, Badwolf said:

revitalise several of my old rubber fittings.

what about the ones on the car  !!!!  

someone had to say it   

Pete

[Badwolf]

I just feed you the lines to see if anyone is paying attention.

[Pete Lewis]

is there a prize  ???  I'm into collecting them  now 

Pete

[Unkel Kunkel]

Not sure about sunscreen, but I understand there can be an issue with some interior controls of the soft rubbery plastic type - radio knobs etc on certain VW’s  if handled just after someone had applied the sort of softening  hand cream that some  (avoiding gender bias here )tend to use almost habitually. 

[Wagger]

Many years ago, glycerin was all the rage for protecting rubber. There are many other products now, but the best way is to keep it away from direct sunlight. (No! not the Lever Brothers block soap).

[Badwolf]

I knew of one type of hand cream that caused a catastrophic effect on condoms. No...do NOT ask!!!!

[Peter Truman]

Not re-vitalising rubber but here in Aus during the 50’s I remember one of my jobs as a kid was a couple of times during hot summer’s to stop the doors gluing themselves shut was sit with a small paint brush and talc powder brush the talk onto the rubber esp an issue with the Rovers in the early 50’s not so bad on the Later Jags, the common folks Holden didn’t appear to have the problem!!!

Even today I have to pull the wiper blades off the screen if it’s been dry for a couple of weeks one of the Mits electronic wiper control steering column switch’s melted a soldered joint with the stuck wiper blade and overheating or that’s what I assumed happened a fiddley job to re solder on a circuit board.

[Unkel Kunkel]

Something to consider:

The rubber   seals on the complex VW Eos hood  respond well to  an unusual sort of grease -“ Krytox” -.It works really very well.

It does revitalise and “plump up” flattened, tired,   dull- looking seals - it is not needed very often.

- Which is just as well as it  isn’t cheap, - shop around the “official” VW product is  very expensive. 

 

[trigolf]

Amour All is supposed to help protect rubber components from UV. It certainly helped on my old GTI. I think it's American, guess they would know about strong sun...!

[Colin Lindsay]

18 hours ago, Unkel Kunkel said:

Something to consider:

The rubber   seals on the complex VW Eos hood  respond well to  an unusual sort of grease -“ Krytox” -.It works really very well.

It does revitalise and “plump up” flattened, tired,   dull- looking seals - it is not needed very often.

- Which is just as well as it  isn’t cheap, - shop around the “official” VW product is  very expensive. 

 

YIKES!! Wonder if he'd take a Best Offer of a fiver?

[Chris A]

1 hour ago, Colin Lindsay said:

YIKES!!

Yes, I know - I looked up the prices last night as well. I've just come out of intensive care as a result of the shock. . .

[PeteH]

We used to store rubber seals in Powdered White Chalk, in a 40 gallon drum kept in the Popellor shaft tunnel (coolest place in the ships machinery spaces) Some of the sealing "O" rings where up to 30" dia, and cost the 1960`s equivalent of the "Arm and Leg".

Looking at that E-Bay add. Kryptonite is cheaper!.

Pete

[KevinR]

4 hours ago, Colin Lindsay said:

YIKES!! Wonder if he'd take a Best Offer of a fiver?

The Krytox for VW roofs is quite a bit cheaper

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/294732942665?epid=20032787347&hash=item449f73cd49:g:f-cAAOSwgA1h5Bvw&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAA4AAR3NNKbiytSPQaM%2BflJjKcydGVuD%2FgLQgRASJyAFA0rgLsEAeI4pCf9RkoPw2ZYBNrQgSwLtRVHsUkzXrjugPxHvwhgxTZjEot46eW4dqo%2BAwN41RWLKeMh%2FjARr0euk9gtphwYP1SWnFTLxFcvL3bmdOeCI9fOITh01z3caw664oU35pyXDsI8G0MJnttG3UIlh37BjLMSg4T0%2BzAtxyOX%2BxHMm%2FIyvfyH8v2by%2FenkaSRK%2FNiXXF3hFSqzRCfajbIE6XU%2FT5IFCSulrpmUeMv5mWlsBV91n2M6TwHmAp|tkp%3ABk9SR-TUp7TvYA

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/124321359114?epid=20032787347&hash=item1cf221650a:g:Q40AAOSw3nJfT1mD&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAA4Dq%2FmopksiGc2aUaEwLZU56sRltBYlI8MBoGB8Q1gAM%2F%2F6FMpGbxukJiQ5c8cgj8YdVRpUW%2FRe3b%2BesK9MBmM8qhap8I%2BAKW8icTNSXhQZFUZvFHukUe%2F7tkpJNpjKIMkRvb%2Bui8aYql1HSeKLwW5oEmHA4Da2bbcdiwkvrXQmABUKQcpjJPJRnk6UJbU%2BMgdcXbXCM6iuuZrv9Nzm6eTHJR5RsUDB3XzmhekenQErPseIyTNpeQGJSx30wgtmLfR%2BFzGpJM8ESafVEfDDey8MqgipF%2BnSGpKCdDKtvs7qlR|tkp%3ABk9SR-TUp7TvYA

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/333950202976?epid=20032787347&hash=item4dc0fbb460:g:VY8AAOSwWqpay3LO&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAAoDjMrZaRlTGZrp690rQBPIDZymuGCCik4mA%2Fqrx3%2FqAAa%2BTrs0SVZxf861%2Bm7hCHLu2jWJ3e6F4%2FFH8WXTKyeog5wRgPn5nfyWYLABAvud7ZFiLs0Ddbi1vkTunfuT14y%2FQlfXvvZoWSvvweWINNOGSavSk4rGC%2F5fhJyGJm0frTfcnPHWdSMzRr0iM1ZaOwChqtn2eHsWrO3h0UekxPOto%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR-TUp7TvYA

 

[Piglet]

There is another trick to this. Only done it on bike parts but if the rubber part in question is very stiff when it should be soft and pliable (I know, I know) stick it in a zip lock bag with brake fluid. Couple of days later it's like new.

Alex

[daverclasper]

20 hours ago, Piglet said:

There is another trick to this. Only done it on bike parts but if the rubber part in question is very stiff when it should be soft and pliable (I know, I know) stick it in a zip lock bag with brake fluid. Couple of days later it's like new.

 

Interesting. The parts held up over time, do you know?

[Piglet]

They did indeed. I used this method on carb intake rubbers that were rock hard, turned out just fine. And you can reuse the brake fluid to do other parts. Just don't use it as actual brake fluid!

Alex

[daverclasper]

Thanks 

[ahebron]

I was lead to believe that the additive to oil to stop engines leaking contains a product similar to brake fluid in that it reacts with the rubber seals and allows them to swell thereby stopping the leak.
Whether pouring a bottle of brake fluid in to your oil would work is not for me to say.

[Pete Lewis]

so who can we bribe to try this idea out  ????

Pete

[DJB350Z]

But of a thread revival but I use a product called gummi pflege to keep rubber seals supple and prevent from drying out. Not sure if it is advertised for UV protection but seems to work quite well.

[JohnD]

This thread is reminiscent of the stories of many pharmaceutical products.  Aspirin, the old fashioned headache and hang over cure, is now widely used to protect people at risk of heart attack.    Aging gentlemen suffer many problems, such as baldness, but when a drug to prevent that was trialled the participants noticed that an altogether different body part was invigorated - yes, I'm talking of Viagra.   We should always be alert to side effects, for ill and good.

But the formulation is critical, and the contacts of one preparation may not suit another application.     If there's something for rubber etc. that claims it protects against UV (Armour All does so) use that, not sun cream!    Anyway Factor 40 isn't very effective - you need  SPF 100 to block 99% of UV rays.

John