What to clean rubber with?

[sunfire]

What is a good cleaner to clean rubber hoses like the air intake hose before the throttle body? Or tires? There is this brown stuff that comes out of the rubber which I understand is normal.

Chlorinated sprays like throttle body cleaner and dish detergent can dry and crack rubber. I've always wondered what people used to clean / condition rubber so it lasts longer and help resist cracking.

Meguiars sells a VINYL & RUBBER CLEANER/CONDITIONER (M4016). But is there something that less expensive that can be used to clean / condition anything made of rubber?

 

[FL_Rob]

Silicone spray to keep the rubber conditioned,a brief cleaning with mild dish soap is ok, just be sure to rinse well then apply the silicone spray.There's this thick pure silicone stuff that comes in a tube,not the adhesive type,its a lube only.We used to sell it for replacing seals on pool pumps.If you can find that stuff maybe at a hardware store its good for any rubber,weatherstrip,etc.Engine compartment too.

 

[Steve S]

Black Magic tire shine or their vinyl stuff works super.

 

[sunfire]

Originally Posted By: FL_Rob
silicone spray to keep the rubber conditioned,a brief cleaning with mild dish soap is ok just be sure to rinse well then apply the silicone spray.There's this thick pure silicone stuff that comes in a tube,not the adhesive type,its a lube only.we used to sell it for replacing seals on pool pumps.If you can find that stuff maybe at a hardware store its good for any rubber,weatherstrip.


I've used Liquid Wrench silicon spray. It caused rubber caskets to swell and stiffen. But then I left the gasket in silicon spray for about a day. I'll keep this silicon based pool seal in mind.

 

[sunfire]

Is there anything I can spray on the the rubber boots on brakes and wheels so they remain clean and flexible?

 

[JimPghPA]

For industrial applications we use to soak large rubber pieces in hot water (hot enough that you can put your hands in it with rubber gloves, but not want to leave them in it for long) with a strong solution of laundry detergent (we used Cheer) for a few hours and then scrub with a coarse yellow bristle brush while it was submerged in that same water. Then we rinsed the parts. Then soaked for a few hours in cold water with a strong solution of Johnsons Floor Wax. The tank held about 100 gallons and we put one 5 gallon bucket of Johnsons Floor Wax in with the water. Then removed and let air dry. The Johnsons Floor Wax rejuvenates the rubber and add useful life to it.

You could try FUTURE FLOOR WAX 27 oz available at ACE hardware for about 9.17 per bottle. I would go with the same ratio of 19 parts cold water to one part floor wax.

 

[bretfraz]

To clean tires, I use a dedicated tire cleaner or an all purpose cleaner diluted for the task. Either product will work fine on hoses and other rubber parts.


I would think most underhood hoses fail from the inside out than from cracking and weathering. You can use some tire dressing to spruce up hoses if you want, but the best thing to do is change them when they begin to show signs of wear.

 

[labman]

I like the soap andwater idea. If it won't do it, acetone cuts a lot of stuff but is too polar to harm ordinary rubbers. When I was making paint resins in the lab, I would throw the natural gum rubber hoses I used for sampling in a can of acetone to clean them up for reuse.

 

[bigmike]

Originally Posted By: sunfire
What is a good cleaner to clean rubber hoses like the air intake hose before the throttle body? Or tires? There is this brown stuff that comes out of the rubber which I understand is normal.

Chlorinated sprays like throttle body cleaner and dish detergent can dry and crack rubber. I've always wondered what people used to clean / condition rubber so it lasts longer and help resist cracking.

Meguiars sells a VINYL & RUBBER CLEANER/CONDITIONER (M4016). But is there something that less expensive that can be used to clean / condition anything made of rubber?


In the engine bay, I use WD-40 or a knock off brand. My engine bays are cleaner than any other part of my vehicle.

For tires, I tend to stick with a AAP pump spray tire shine.

 

[Georgiadave]

I use Aerospace 303.

 

[chief]

+1 on the Aerospace 303.

 

[strat81]

+2 to 303 Aerospace Protectant.

 

[rotorhead]

simple green to clean (i used 50/50 with water), a brush with long soft bristles to scrub tougher spots, a low pressure rinse, and 303 aerospace or stp son of a gun for shine. basically, once it's all dry, i just heavily misted the engine compartment with the shiner. then run the car a few minutes to dry it all out. it's quick, easy, and for me made my engine compartment look new again.

 

[gofastman]

+3 on 303, super dirty rubber gets cleaned with simple green EXTREME (not the green poo) there is a cleaner called Amazing Roll Off thats supposed to work wonders on rubber