Soften Hard Brittle Old Dried Out Rubber, DIY Technique For Restoring & Reusing Old Rubber Car Parts

If you are working on a car restoration project you may or may not have aftermarket support depending on the year make and model of the car. A lot of the metal parts can be made or repaired but what do you do about old rubber parts that have dried out and are no longer usable? This video shows you what you need to do to restore the rubber back to a soft usable consistency.

[@Vlad_Zat]

Hopefully this works with the rubber wheels in my cassette deck

[@dazecars]

I not sure, good luck and if you can test on something similar first thats a good idea.

[@stevemurphy402]

Thanks for this, I think I recall reading someplace this is a great method to restore motorcycle carb boots too.

[@dazecars]

if they are rubber and structurally sound, it should work

[@zjtr10since80]

Thanks for sharing your knowledge

[@dazecars]

My pleasure

[@paulshermet535]

Glad you showed us that. Chive on!

[@dazecars]

My pleasure

[@joell439]

This..... was a GREAT video. I had no idea. Thank you 👍👍😎👍👍

[@dazecars]

Glad it was helpful!

[@paulmanhart4481]

Ha ha. Daze said Penetrate. 😬

[@dazecars]

yep

[@JohnnieBravo1]

I'mma try that! I'm restoring my old Olds Toronado (89 model I bought new), and it has some deteriorated rubber components. Thank you!

[@dazecars]

My pleasure

[@robertflanders1158]

Is this a short term solution or does rubber stay plyable for years? How about an update video in a few months or year. Thanx

[@dazecars]

As I said in the video the only rubber I had to do this video with was the worst possible choice for demonstration purposes so a follow up video probably wouldn’t show much more than the first video did BUT I still can answer your question. I have rubber that this technique was used on to convert it from dry to “new” over ten years ago and it is as soft and usable today as it was 10 years ago right after coming out of the soak.

[@patrickbeaumier8616]

Nice one.

[@dazecars]

Thanks!

[@jamesolivier3192]

Cant wait to try this out! I wonder if any results could be had by applying it with a brush to shrunken window seals that are in place. ie without removing them.?

[@dazecars]

The problem there is it will tend to dry before is has the opportunity to soak in. The thinner parts of the seal (which are likely to be the most dried out parts) mat benefit but I do not know how effective it will be over all.

[@guywatts964]

It should be noted that since 2016, Pine Sol no longer contains any pine oil. 😕

[@dazecars]

Depends on where you get it. the pine Sol that comes from some suppliers still has pine oil listed as an ingredient. There are several other comments with more details.

[@innocenthumans3721]

How about refrigerator gasket can they soften to be reused

[@dazecars]

Maybe, I really don't know. Only thing I have ever done this with is car parts. I always recommend testing on something unimportant first. My biggest concern would be the smell.

[@David_Mash]

Brake fluid contains the alcohol that will cause rubber to swell. It is used in "oil stopleak" products but its just brake fluid

[@dazecars]

My experience with brake fluid is it can cause the rubber to expand significantly bigger than original shape but with the pine sol the rubber does not expand beyond the original form.

[@Glens1965]

Interesting.

[@dazecars]

Very!

[@worldwidehiphopmuzic]

Would this soften the rubber on my jordan shoes ?

[@dazecars]

maybe?? but I don't think I would try it if they were mine. Hardest part would be getting the pinesol rinsed off afterwords without damaging the rest of the shoe, and then there is the smell. It's one thing on a car part but something totally different on a pair of shoes.

[@michaelg4931]

I used wintergreen oil diluted with water, a tablespoon to a quart of water. Bring to 190 degrees Fahrenheit and drop in the parts for 15-30 minutes. Don't freak out if the parts swell WAY bigger than original as they will return to their original normal size within 24 hours. Minus any cracks, the rubber will look like new. For cracks, you used to be able to use 'Tire Black' that was allowed to dry out some to a gel to glue/fill in the cracks but the Enviro's killed off the product.

[@dazecars]

I have never heard that one. How long does it last?

[@michaelg4931]

@@dazecars I have a 1974 Honda CL200 that I used that technique on for the intake boots in 2012 and they're still pliable though they do seem to be stiffening up a bit.

[@dazecars]

Thanks for letting me know

[@bobweiram6321]

Silicone spray works great.

[@dazecars]

Good to know! never tried it

[@petitelidi]

Sunflower oil

[@dazecars]

never tried it but would be concerned with it turning rancid with time

[@a.joegevara3519]

I use silicone; spray, grease or thick oil. I get mine for free, as I work for a weather stripping company! Is pine sol a pine tree byproduct? Terpentine?

[@sixtyfourchebby4507]

Pine sol is a joke. Sanitary engineer

[@dazecars]

@sixtyfourchebby4507 Not a joke, I have used it to restore tones of brittle rubber parts, and they are as soft any plyable today as they were when I restored them 15 years ago. Thanks for the comment

[@dazecars]

I honestly don't know how it is made or what it is in it that makes it work.

[@timothywhieldon1971]

restoring or ghetto hacks that last all of a few days. please no. you can literally 3d print rubber stuff like this

[@dazecars]

You are incorrect, this is not a “ghetto hack”, and works extremely well . Because the pine sol permeates the rubber it fully rejuvenates it for years. I have rubber that this technique was used on to convert it from dry to “new” over ten years ago and it is as soft and usable today as it was 10 years ago right after coming out of the soak. And while 3d printing is an option, it’s not an option everyone has available to them especially in rubber.

[@bustednuckles2]

I have been a mechanic for 45 years now and I have never heard of this Pine Sol trick. I'm wondering what specific chemical in it does this miracle. One reason you may have not had stellar results on your sway bar rubbers could be the Durometer rating of the rubber its self. That would call for a really tough product. It would probably work well with a lower hardness type material. I like the vacuum trick too. You can use that same technique to store dry goods for years. Great video! I like to restore old machinery and it is impossible to find replacement rubber pieces, I will have to try this. Thanks!

[@dazecars]

I totally agree on "my choice of rubber" for the demonstration. I spent two days scouring the shop and old parts trying to find anything better but no luck. There were definitely still results and the rubber was more flexible after the soak, not that that was easy to see on the video. Not sure what compounds in the pine sol cause the change. My guess is it is the same chemicals that make pine sole a good carb dip.

[@charlescalkins3485]

Pine Sol main ingredients are Ethoxylated Undecyl Alcohol and Pine Oil. I'm not an expert but with these ingredients this seems very legit. I'm definitely going to try this.

[@dazecars]

Never knew why it worked, just knew it worked as well or better than advertised.

[@charlescalkins3485]

Yep just pulled my test part out of the pine sol. Softer then I ever thought it would be. Not quite new but I think if I would have left it longer, I only left it 24 hours. I did get the 2x strength concentrate pine sol. Thank you for this info. Very helpful.👍

[@dazecars]

Glad you are happy with the results. When I first heard of this technique I was skeptical, but like you was amazed at the results. there are several factors that effect results including original hardness of rubber (in other word how hard/ dense it was new) and time soaked but you can easily get a feel for what is needed for each part. I have also found you cant over soak it (learned that one by accident) best part is the results last for years.