preserving rubber?

[Stew]

is there a product which can be applied to assist in conserving the rubber armour caps on Kriegsmarine binoculars eg . 7x50 beh
I appreciate that the first step in conserving the rubber is to keep the binos in a contolled environment in terms of humidity and light. I look forward to your advices.

[checkit]

I use Armorall - it puts a protective film on rubber to prevent oxidation. It was originally developed for automotive use - lots of sun, heat and cold. When I get a pair of binocs, the first thing I do is carefully clean the dust and dirt off, then put Armorall on all of the surfaces - Bakeliete, rubber, paint, leatherette, and then carefully clean away anyhing that got on the optics with Windex and a q-tip.

[MaxxBrunn1938]

Id stay away from Armorall , after longterm use it breaks down an starts to destory plastic and rubber. I've worked inthe automotive business your over 15yrs and I will not recommend Armorall to my customer. I even had a bad turn with it on the dash cover of my 1972 Novs, yeah it was great for about a year but after that it started to crack....So No to Armorall IMO

Joe

[tracman]

I agree: I never use Armorall. Personally, to preserve thinner rubber, I read a tip years ago about using talcum powder and gently putting it on and working it in... I have a pre-war car, and the rubber door seals have held up very well with that sort of treatment. I'd be very curious about other products that might work.

[Dmv]

I also use talcum powder (ww2 foot powder )

I guess "checkit" has some whiping off to do?!

[Uncle Goose]

Being a Gasmask collector I know well enough how to treat rubber. The best solution is to apply nohting at all!! Just keep it away from UV rich light (like the sun) and keep the temperature quite constant. Using additives can harm the rubber on the long run, and contrary to popular believes, SO DOES TALCUM POWDER!!! on the long run it will eat itself into the rubber leaving a white unremovable layer (I saw extreme cases in some rare Italian masks who were stored for 40 years or so with talcum powder, what a shame). Talcum has been used in military storage because those never have a long storage time anyway.

It also depends on what type of rubber it is, is it natural rubber? an ersatz (like Buna) or is it really rubber made from petrochemicals?? Natural rubber is more prone to deterioration and might require strict storage away from light, more modern rubber is often a little more protected to UV but at the end all rubbers will suffer if stored in UV rich light.

[Paul R.]

Good advise guys.. stay far away from armorall, and other so called preservation wonder products. Avoid long term disappointments. I have seen it first hand.

[Me109G]

I agree with Uncle Goose. As a collector of pilot oxygen masks for over 30 years I recommend applying nothing to rubber - particularly natural rubber. The best thing to do is keep temperature and humidity as constant as possible. For example, during the hot summer months here in Australia, I take my rubber items out of my study and store them in my garage which is cooler as it is made of double and triple brick walls.

Cheers,
David