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Preserving Resistol Goggles


17thairborne
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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

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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

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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.

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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

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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

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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.

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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

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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

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