refreshing old rubber part (not FSJ related)

[Eric S.]

I need a little advice from the collective mind at FSJ. I'm fixing some air valves on my inflatable kayak. They all have slow leaks. I think it has to do with the spring tension, but I noticed that the rubber gaskets are also a little stiff. Not brittle, but not as soft as I'd like them to be. I went to Napa, Lowe's, and Tractor supply and no one carries similar gaskets (they look like black garden hose washers, but a slightly wider/thicker dimension). So I'm going to try and give them a little spa treatment to see if I can make them feel younger again. My plan was to scrub them with a toothbrush in soapy water. Is there anything I can soak them in to get the rubber spongier again?

Thanks!
Eric

[Eric S.]

So the answer to tonight's trivia question is (drumroll please...) an hour-long soak in WD40. The gaskets are soaking right now, and they're coming back to life. I will probably leave them in for another hour.

I also read that transmission stopleak has a nice way of making old rubber swell up again.

[jeeper54]

I've heard about brake fluid making rubber swell but have never tried it myself.

[Eric S.]

the WD40 definitely gave it some life/fexibility back. There's probably a better way to do it (never thought of brake fluid), but I reccommend this if you don't have access to anything else.

[FSJ Guy]

If anything, WD-40 will make them smell nice.

I wouldn't recommend brake fluid. It eats away paint. Although you could argue that it doesn't eat away rubber brake seals in the pistons.

[autoarcheologist]

Silicone? There's a product that BMW recommends called "Gummi Pflege" which looks like it should translate to "snot" but is close to "Rubber Care". It's recommended to keep rubber door seals flexible, but I've never tried it. I'll have to try WD40, the petroleum distillates must soak into the rubber. Wonder how they'll hold up?

[TexTJ209]

I've heard soaking in that 303 Rubber Protectant stuff works well.