What solvents do we like?

I just bought a bottle of Rubber Renue. I haven't tried it yet though. If I find any wear on rubber parts, I like to replace them. I really have never found a chemical that can rejuvenate a belt or an idler for any length of time.

Nothing truly renews degraded rubber, which is due to chemicals like ozone reacting with the polymer, due to the shortening of the polymer chains with age and other factors. Now you can coat a rubber thing with stuff, and the stuff will change the surface characteristic slighty and for a while, but you haven't done a thing to the bulk properties.

I used to put a thin coat of gel toothpaste on tired rubber rollers for dot matrix printers and fax machines, back in the day. Worked well, if briefly.

Dont overlook Westleys tire cleaner . It was made to clean rubber and it does . It wont bring back hard rubber but it sure cleans it .Best if washed & rinsed instead of wipped . I have made several yucky rubber turntable mat , covers look new again .

MG Chemicals? Have some sitting right here. Not bad for removing the outer oxide and "gripping up" the surface a bit. As you say, replacement is always better, but this isn't too bad for a quick spiff job.

I used it on the rollers of an older printer when they would no longer grab the paper. It worked like a champ. I've restored a few printers with it. Haven't tried it on anything else.

Al

Still, cleaning rubber parts is sometimes useful. I'll often clean an otherwise good idler just for good measure.

Mark Z.

Had to do the rubber rollers and odds and ends on my H-P FAX700 today with it.

Yeah,

I hadn't even thought about that - cleaning platens etc on printers. No way is replacement economical on most PC type printers these days.

Mark Z.