How does heat shrink tubing hold up over time?

[Matilo Telephones]

Every once in a while I use heat shrink tubing to finish or repair old cords or fabricate new ones.

Does anybody know for how long it still looks nice and does its job? Does it deteriorate in any way and how? Does it dry out and crack after a couple of years?

It is the rubbery tube stuff that shrinks to about half its size when heated.

See pic attached. I used a piece on the end of the cord, where it enters the handset.

[twocvbloke]

Heatshrink tubing's the name, shrink-wrap is the plastic you get around things like cans of soft drinks, similar process though of a large plastic tube that shrinks when heated...

[Matilo Telephones]

Thanks, I edited the title to the correct name.

[unbeldi]

I use heat-shrink tubing too, and often on telephone cords to keep old feathered-out insulation together, protect leads with broken rubber insulation and more.  The shrink tubing I have, I bought years ago, not sure but probably at least 7 or 8 years, as a large kit of several diameters.

I have not seen any deterioration in the material.

But I guess, it all depends on the quality purchased, I would think they are not all made alike.

Attached are some samples of which I happen to have pics.

Recently I repaired another ivory cloth cord that I just didn't want to through out, because it had to be the same year of the phone and original, painted the tubing with ivory paint in several places. Not pretty, but it had to be original to 1955.

For some reason I can't find pictures of black cords, on which these look a lot better.

Shrinkable tubing comes in colors and in clear too, clear would probably better in some cases I showed.

[unbeldi]

On my Heemaf 1955 wall phone, the rubber sleeve coming out of the handset was split, but I was fortunate enough that it only required some crazy glue to keep it together with the cord, and now it has straight posture, like yours, coming out of the handset.   I seem to sense that is where you used the tubing?  (PS: oops, sorry, you said so.)

[19and41]

Heat shrink tubing lasts a long while in storage  and after application.  I have pieces applied 30 years ago and are not much different in durability than when first applied.

[Matilo Telephones]

Thanks for your input, everyone. It was really helpful. I will use it more often in future. :-)

[unbeldi]

Thanks for your input, everyone. It was really helpful. I will use it more often in future. :-)

It is a rather ingenious invention !

[19and41]

When I started out in electronics, all we had was cloth friction tape.  Nasty stuff.

[unbeldi]

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