Topic: Wintergreen oil_rubber renew test / peanut oil plastic renew test_pics

[Thunder]

Okay, i have always been sceptical about "easy" solutions, but this forum has been so helpful with suggestions i thought i gotta try these after reading.
basically to restore rubber use wintergreen/to restore plastic peanut butter.

I Found lotasa stuff that contains wintergreen oil(deep heat, arthritis medicine), but i want the good stuff, so off to the chemist.
After a few blank looks and phone calls they order me 15 x25ml bottles of the stuff.(biggest they had).  $15.00  375ml.

By thor7223, shot with E71 at 2009-12-03

Peanut butter was recommended, but again i want overkill, and to avoid smelling like a sandwich, Off to the health shop,+ 1 x bottle peanut oil later.

By thor7223, shot with E71 at 2009-12-03

Now the test.

Peanut OIL

I have an old airbox, that the sun has had its way with


By thor7223, shot with E71 at 2009-12-03

Poured some penut oil (ouderless BTW), on some toilet paper and spread over a section, to see before and after.


By thor7223, shot with E71 at 2009-12-03

Waited bout n hour then wiped it off(totally DRY, nothing , even my fingers dont marr the surface as with residual oil.
. OMG? I cannot believe how freaking good this looks

By thor7223, shot with E71 at 2009-12-03

Note, it seems to have penetrated the plastic as i took my fingernail and scraped the old brittle plastic i had worked on.The plastic came off (still old) BUT underneath was still the "new looking plastic".WOW, guys, thanks for that.Unbelievable.

test 2, Wintergreen oil.

My carb boots are ROCK hard. Eg, that's a 3kg weight and it doesn't even budge the rubber.

By thor7223, shot with E71 at 2009-12-03

Put approx 75ml wintergreen oil  in a coffee jar and dunked the boot in up to just past the carb collar(crap pic).

By thor7223, shot with E71 at 2009-12-03

Checked it out after 3 hour, nothing.
So i am gonna let it sit for 24 hour and will post the results.

to be continued...

Then i had a thought, which mebbe somebody could shed some light on.

I have a whole jar of glycerine, which i used in an effort to "restore rubber"on a '54 bmw. The rubber seems to soak it up like a sponge and its water-based.The rubber was certainly renewed, just not soft.
NOW, if i took the wintergreen and mixed with the glycerine, do you think it will draw the wintergreen into the boot, renewing it and making it flexible?... or blow me up

Anybodys thought welcome

[GammaFlat]

I understand you're supposed to use the wintergreen oil with xylol (available at any hardware store in the paint section).  I have both ingredients and haven't tried it yet.  Now you have me all curious.  I forget the exact mixture ratio but it is here somewhere on the forum...


Thanks for the tip on the peanut oil - My airbox is gonna get "the cure"!

[Thunder]

Yeah, gonna try get some xylol (never heard of it here ), if i don't come right tomorrow, or if the glycerine\wintergreen doesn't work.

[Toxic]

I feel like I am back in high school chemistry class but this time I'm paying attention.

Cool stuff.   I had never heard of the peanut oil trick.

[mystic_1]

Simmer the carb boots in a solution of 4-8 oz Wintergreen to about a gallon of water at 200F for between 15 to 30 min.

mystic_1

[Thunder]

Simmer the carb boots in a solution of 4-8 oz Wintergreen to about a gallon of water at 200F for between 15 to 30 min.

mystic_1

Wilco, cheers. 

[flybox1]

.....or blow me up

hopefully not...but that oil of wintergreen is good aromatherapy for your bike

good work, thanks for the ideas.

[bucky katt]

we get peanut oil by the gallon at wal-mart. the fryer at church uses it. i'll have to give that a try next time i pull off the airbox

[flybox1]

we get peanut oil by the gallon at wal-mart. the fryer at church uses it. i'll have to give that a try next time i pull off the airbox

  You'll never know if your bike will smell like turkey, twinkies or butter! 

[mystic_1]

Background on Wintergreen, from http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=29707.0:

I still haven't got any wintergreen but I think its pretty much a waste of time not using it.

Yes.

Wintergreen oil absolutely does work.

The jury's still out about long-term effects, IMO, at least in terms of 5+ year time-frames.  I don't know how long people have been using this trick.  First mention of wintergreen on this board is in this post from n9viw on April 16, 2005:

http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=472.msg2914#msg2914

But it certainly works in the short term.

mystic_1

mystic_1

[Don R]

I worked with a guy that made custom drumsticks, he used a zylol mix to soak resin into the wood then when they dried the resin stayed in the wood making it harder and more dense. The opposite of what we are trying to do but using the same method. I think he used a vacuum source to evacuate the pores in the wood before adding the zylol mix.

[bucky katt]

we get peanut oil by the gallon at wal-mart. the fryer at church uses it. i'll have to give that a try next time i pull off the airbox

  You'll never know if your bike will smell like turkey, twinkies or butter! 

mmmmmmmmmmm twinkies

[Inigo Montoya]

I concur on the twinkies!

[bucky katt]

i havent had a twinkie in probably 10 years, dont know why

[JLeather]

I've used the wintergreen oil before.  About 4 oz in 1/2 gallon of water or so, heat to just below a boil for 15-20 minutes.  A year later my boots are still fine to get the carbs on and off.

[55fbomb]

does wintergreen oil stink?  probly the dumbest question ever but i always wonder when i read this kinda stuff, lol.

[GammaFlat]

It does smell like chewing gum...

[HondaMan]

i havent had a twinkie in probably 10 years, dont know why

Go eat one.
Then you'll remember why. 

[Thunder]

Okay... an update... I'll post some pics when i get home. First off the wintergreen does smell like bubble gum But beware, it's got strict warnings about not ingesting it.
Finesse is not something I'm too good at, so i chucked alot of things at em.

1:I've left one boot in pure wintergreen.
2:Another i made a concoction of wintergreen and Glycerine (I'm an idiot, chemistry 101, oil n water dont mix )
3: One boot was left in wintergreen and alcohol

left em for a full day

I left em too long(lucky they are spare boots They have swollen to twice their size, but boy they are soft, from not being able to bend em at all, i can now easily close the carb side with thumb and forefinger.The rubber seems to now have the consistency of neoprene(wetsuit rubber).Extremely soft, however i bit a tiny piece off and it is quite weak.(i think just due to the fact it is so soft)

I read somewhere that they return to their normal shape after a while.Will keep you posted.(pics later this evening)

Conclusion: These are old remedies that actually work, and work damn well.
The peanut oil really did wonders on the grey plastic and i am now going to give it a few wax coats qand hopefully its longevity will preclude airbox pulling in a while
Wintergreen:I have never seen rubber "regain" it's softness before.WOW. Hopefully they will regain shape, but lesson learnt.

[HondaMan]

Okay... an update... I'll post some pics when i get home. First off the wintergreen does smell like bubble gum But beware, it's got strict warnings about not ingesting it.
Finesse is not something I'm too good at, so i chucked alot of things at em.

1:I've left one boot in pure wintergreen.
2:Another i made a concoction of wintergreen and Glycerine (I'm an idiot, chemistry 101, oil n water dont mix )
3: One boot was left in wintergreen and alcohol

left em for a full day

I left em too long(lucky they are spare boots They have swollen to twice their size, but boy they are soft, from not being able to bend em at all, i can now easily close the carb side with thumb and forefinger.The rubber seems to now have the consistency of neoprene(wetsuit rubber).Extremely soft, however i bit a tiny piece off and it is quite weak.(i think just due to the fact it is so soft)

I read somewhere that they return to their normal shape after a while.Will keep you posted.(pics later this evening)

Conclusion: These are old remedies that actually work, and work damn well.
The peanut oil really did wonders on the grey plastic and i am now going to give it a few wax coats qand hopefully its longevity will preclude airbox pulling in a while
Wintergreen:I have never seen rubber "regain" it's softness before.WOW. Hopefully they will regain shape, but lesson learnt.

How long was "too long"? 
I'm about to do some old ones, myself.

[mystic_1]

Extremely soft, however i bit a tiny piece off and it is quite weak.

Eating your carburetor boots is not recommended



I've heard a few times about people having issues with swelling and such when doing long-term soaks using their various alchemical admixtures, xylene+wintergreen being the most popular it seems.  I've done the wintergreen, water, and heat thing twice now and didn't have any such problems.

Anyhow yes as you say your boots may/may not return to a usable state once after sitting several days.

mystic_1

[Thunder]

@hondaman, i think i did a bit of overkill (in the interest of science of course), i reckon go with mystic1's formula, pull em out every 10 or so minutes outta the hot water and see when they are soft enough. (i left mine in 24 hours)

Its what I'm gonna do with my good set.
@Mystic1, good info, tx mate.
I haven't posted photo's, tomorrow night promise

[ST-DocLizard1]

Good info. Time to try it out.

Doc

[Bakes]

OK - maybe I'm stupid - if Wintergreen OIL and WATER don't mix ---------What does the hot water do for the process?

Would you get the same effect by 'painting' the wintergreen oil on similar to the peanut oil process?

The Xylene thing I can process as the Xylene acts as a 'carrier' and then simply evaporates away leaving the wonderful, restorative, aroma-therapeutic, muscle soothing, benefits of the Wintergreen. Not to mention - apparently the boots are now also rendered edible.

Amazing!

Who's going to be the first to market the kit? A bottle of Wintergreen Oil, gallon of water, mama's old sauce pan, and a lighter - all for only $79.99 plus s+h.

Even more important - now that Billy Mays has died, who's going to host the infomercial?

[fmctm1sw]

Who's going to be the first to market the kit? A bottle of Wintergreen Oil, gallon of water, mama's old sauce pan, and a lighter - all for only $79.99 plus s+h.

The same people who marketed the Y2K survival kits....

edit:  but seriously, I like this rubber restore idea...