Is it possible to soften dried out and hardened rubber feet?

[Bartonpipes]

Has anyone here found a good method for rejuvenating rubber feet, specifically the round kind used by Western Electric on the 500 around 1964?

I have heard of a few methods like soaking the rubber in silicone lubricant for a couple days, or doing the same thing with WD-40. Supposedly submerging it in boiling water might work too.

Any thoughts?

[Phonesrfun]

Short answer in my book is no.  You may get some softening, but I think you will be disappointed, and risk having the feet become oily and do more damage to table surfaces than you get from untreated feet.  Those feet get pretty nasty and even the off-gassing can severely corrode the steel base around which the feet are attached. 

I think Ma Bell really botched it with that design, but I don't think they ever envisioned there would be phone collectors 50 years down the road.

[Sargeguy]

You could try soaking it in ammonia overnight then rinsing.  This restores pliability to rubber but I am not sure how permanent it is.  Acetone does the same thing but the effect is short-lived.  NOTE: I have not tried this on rubber phone feet.  PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK!

[baldopeacock]

I have not tried this, but -- brake fluid might work.  DOT 3 type, not synthetic.   It keeps rubber parts pliable in brake cylinders.

It will also remove paint, so a thorough rinsing after would be advisable.

Come to think of it - has anyone ever tried brake fluid on Polane?   That just hit me.   A quick read of car forums says it'll remove two-stage automotive urethane paints right to the metal.   I've seen it strip enamels and lacquers, the paint just comes off in sheets.

Further searching turns up this:  the plastic modeling hobby people use brake fluid to remove paint from some plastic models.   Maybe it would be worth dipping a trashed Polane-painted housing in the stuff to see what happens.

[Bill]

When my 2-year-old Hewlett Packard printer stopped picking up paper from the feed tray, I wrote to HP and asked what to do. They steered me toward something called Rubber Renue as a softener for the pinch rollers. I ordered some, but before I got it, the printer completely died and I chucked it in disgust.

There is also a product called Rubber Renu, but it seems to be appearance thing for car tires and the like.

Bill

[19and41]

I use this on door seals, tubing, idler tires, drive belts and other rubber items.  I apply a coat of it to the rubber item and let it absorb it, and repeat it a couple of times.  It won't restore rock hard rubber, but it will bring a good bit of the rubbers' litheness and suppleness and make it grip better for an extended time. 

Super-Lube-3-oz-Tube-Synthetic-Grease-with-Syncolon-PTFE

[Sargeguy]

Maybe if you used acetone to soften them you could apply a grease to them to keep them soft?  I will see if I can find some junk feet to experiment on.

[19and41]

They sell that Super Lube at Harbor Frieght also.

[podor]

I have not tried this, but -- brake fluid might work.  DOT 3 type, not synthetic.   It keeps rubber parts pliable in brake cylinders.

It will also remove paint, so a thorough rinsing after would be advisable.

Come to think of it - has anyone ever tried brake fluid on Polane?   That just hit me.   A quick read of car forums says it'll remove two-stage automotive urethane paints right to the metal.   I've seen it strip enamels and lacquers, the paint just comes off in sheets.

Further searching turns up this:  the plastic modeling hobby people use brake fluid to remove paint from some plastic models.   Maybe it would be worth dipping a trashed Polane-painted housing in the stuff to see what happens.

Be careful with brake fluid. It can destroy some rubber and plastic. It does remove paint, but any left over residue will cause the new paint to not adhere. Check this website. It is useful for other chemicals as well.

http://www.efunda.com/designStandards/oring/oring_chemical.cfm?SM=none&SC=Brake%20Fluid

[19and41]

Be careful with brake fluid.  It will permeate and craze plastic before you know it.  I wouldn't trust the stuff with anything besides the containers it comes in or the reservoir you pour it into.