Date:         Mon, 5 Feb 2007 04:45:22 -0500
Reply-To:     Bill Glenn <idahobill@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Bill Glenn <idahobill@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Rubber conditioners & lubricants

Two recent threads, one about lubricating window seals, and another about
lubricating some gas tank grommets, included postings recommending the use
of Vaseline, WD-40, and silicon (sic; should have been silicone) as
possible rubber lubricants.  Additionally, on eBay is a listing for Vanagon
window seals "reconditioned" with Vaseline.  The rubber on our vans has it
tough enough defending itself against ozone, ultra-violet light, etc.,
without deliberately subjecting it to petroleum distillates, which in
general are not friendly to rubber.  That leaves out Vaseline and WD-40,
and in using a silicone spray, one would want to be aware of the make-up of
the carrier.  Better to use a product specifically formulated for use on
rubber, as some have suggested.

If you don't have immediate access to such a product, I seem to recall that
glycerin, available in small bottles at any drug store, was sometimes
recommeded as a rubber conditioner--someone please correct me if I'm wrong
about this.  Glycerin is slippery enough to serve as a lubricant for the
rubber in the situations being discussed.  Another lubricant that can be
useful on rubber, though perhaps not in these circumstances, is talc.  For
example, a door seal into which talc has been rubbed, is less likely to
freeze to or otherwise stick to the door frame.  If you only need a small
amount, rub a piece of welders chalk (soapstone/talc) against a piece of
sandpaper.

The posting that suggested the use of KY jelly was spot on, especially
since it's rubber friendly :) and is water soluble; if it starts to dry up
before you get your parts assembled just re-wet it. (Then again, you knew
that).

On the subject of KY, I'll tell you a true story.  Years ago I needed to
produce some decorative, architectural plaster moldings.  I carved the
positive images, applied the rubber mold material, successfully removed the
molds, and was ready to cast the plaster in the molds.  However, I needed a
mold release material, to promote the easy removal of the hardened plaster
from the rubber molds, since I needed to make multiple castings. Being
hundreds of miles from even a third-tier industrial city, I could not find
mold release.  I thought to use glycerin, but only a small quantity was
available at the local drug store.  I next thought that perhaps KY jelly
would work; being water soluble, it could be somewhat diluted with water,
it could then be brushed on the rubber moulds, it would not contaminate
either the molds or the completed plaster castings, and again, being water
soluble, any residue could be washed off the plaster castings.  A bit of a
stir was occasioned when I asked the druggist for every tube of KY that he
had, which was about twenty-five tubes, and I told him to be sure he re-
ordered in case I needed more.  I heard later that there had been no small
amount of humorous conjecture in the store as to the use to which such a
quantity of KY was being put.  However, that was nothing compared to what
followed.  Imagine walking onto the construction site later that morning
with a box full of KY jelly under my arm, and attempting to explain what it
was for.  Well, the wisecracks that followed, both clever and crude, mostly
at my expense, were merciless and non-stop. I still occasionally bump into
someone who (thanks a lot!) remembers "Billy the KY Kid", a moniker it took
some time to shake off.  The stuff worked, the job got done, the customer
was happy, and all concerned had a funny story to add to their personal
archives. Isn't life grand?