17thairborne Posted September 14, 2010 Share #1 Posted September 14, 2010 I've recently acquired a pair of Resistol Tanker's goggles from a friend in Holland. They are in pretty good shape, but i am concerned about the deterioration of the grey rubber face cushion. It's mild at this point, but with the many moves I have to make from humid to dry and back again i do not want to ruin them. Has anyone discovered a way to arrest the decay of the material or found any hints for preserving? Thanks oz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabrejet Posted September 14, 2010 Share #2 Posted September 14, 2010 I've recently acquired a pair of Resistol Tanker's goggles from a friend in Holland. They are in pretty good shape, but i am concerned about the deterioration of the grey rubber face cushion. It's mild at this point, but with the many moves I have to make from humid to dry and back again i do not want to ruin them. Has anyone discovered a way to arrest the decay of the material or found any hints for preserving?Thanks oz This is one for the conservators among us. Rubber naturally downgrades over time...it's a natural and irreversible process. I have some WW2 rubberised items in my collection which have visibly deteriorated in the years that I've owned them. Some have become brittle, others a little tacky to the touch. Fortunately, not yet catastrophically so, but in another ten years or so at the present rate...who knows? By then they'll be around 80 years old with some military usage behind them! Sabrejet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kjones5452 Posted September 14, 2010 Share #3 Posted September 14, 2010 I'm glad this got brought up. I've got a pair of repros from WPG and I sure don't want to think about something happening to them,not for what they cost. Also I really don't see these as being reproed 10 or 12 years from now. So if theres any treatment other than ArmorAll (haven't tried it) then I'd like to know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peace Posted September 14, 2010 Share #4 Posted September 14, 2010 I would suggest giving them a coat of unperfumed talcum powder. I use this on all my rubber items. My mother actually suggested this to me, she said it helps preserve. I dont know what the perserving agent is in the talcum powder. Regards, Stijn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgtbrown Posted September 15, 2010 Share #5 Posted September 15, 2010 My copy is packed away right now but Sweeting goes over just this topic in his Combat Flying Equipment. He explains all the tricks of the trade the Smithsonian uses on their collection. Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt Saunders Posted September 15, 2010 Share #6 Posted September 15, 2010 Armor All is best for rubber. It's used by Automotive restorers and anyone that wants to protect rubber from ozone, oxygen and ultraviolet rays. Just use it sparingly. It's best applied with a Q-tip, working on small areas at a time. My 2c. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldfireguy Posted September 15, 2010 Share #7 Posted September 15, 2010 This might be of interest. http://www.si.edu/mci/english/research/pas...erioration.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt Saunders Posted September 16, 2010 Share #8 Posted September 16, 2010 This might be of interest. http://www.si.edu/mci/english/research/pas...erioration.html I can just see the wife's face when she goes to pull a steak out of the freezer and see a pile of vintage rubber surplus militaria! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
17thairborne Posted September 17, 2010 Author Share #9 Posted September 17, 2010 Stijn, Thanks all for the comments. I am intrigued by the talcum powder recommendation. I see two problems with the rubber. 1. It tends to get brittle and turns into a dry spongy like material similar to a maleable styrofoam. 2. It seems to get sticky in places. I had them on an original tanker helmet and they began to do the borg-meld. Had to carefully detatch them. I can see how the talc would keep the rubber from getting sticky, but it seems it would accellerate the drying process. What is your experience? Sgt Saunders, Have you encountered any degradation with the use of armor all since the items are already nearly 70 years old? Are you happy with the results? It seems AA has something that would soak into the rubber and rejuvinate the material and possibly arrest the drying. Tom, My copy of Sweeting's book is in storage too. Dang it! I'll try if anyone has an on-line recommendation. Oz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt Saunders Posted September 18, 2010 Share #10 Posted September 18, 2010 Stijn, Thanks all for the comments. I am intrigued by the talcum powder recommendation. I see two problems with the rubber. 1. It tends to get brittle and turns into a dry spongy like material similar to a maleable styrofoam. 2. It seems to get sticky in places. I had them on an original tanker helmet and they began to do the borg-meld. Had to carefully detatch them. I can see how the talc would keep the rubber from getting sticky, but it seems it would accellerate the drying process. What is your experience? Sgt Saunders, Have you encountered any degradation with the use of armor all since the items are already nearly 70 years old? Are you happy with the results? It seems AA has something that would soak into the rubber and rejuvinate the material and possibly arrest the drying. Tom, My copy of Sweeting's book is in storage too. Dang it! I'll try if anyone has an on-line recommendation. Oz I've used AA on several pieces of rubber gear and had no problems. I used it for years on automotive rubber and had great results. It seem to restore the finish. I've had great results with no problems I have seen. If your uncertain then find something rubber you don't care about and use that as test sample. Sweeting's book mentions using it but doesn't give any personal results. What I've found is the AA seams to rejuvenate the rubber and seal it. The ultraviolet rays are a killer and the AA is the sealer. As with anything your trying to restore go slow and little is better that a lot. You can always add a little more later if you like the results. All always, my 2 c. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
17thairborne Posted September 19, 2010 Author Share #11 Posted September 19, 2010 Dave, Thanks very much. I'll give it a try on the inside of the goggles on the rubber part to start. Appreciate the advice. Oz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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