[WWI] Rubber Chemistry

[Mark Shannon]

Do not coat rubber with petroleum jelly or any other hydrocarbon solvent (or chlorinated solvents).  The rubber can dissolve into the pet jelly, after swelling up and getting gummy.  If you want to try preserving the rubber band any, something like Armor All could be used.  I would not bother.  The things that really deteriorate rubber are leaving them stretched (under tension)over long periods in a oily or smoggy area, especially if they are seeing a lot of UV light from the sun or such.

Black rubber is probably the most durable.  Usually the black is carbon black, which acts both as a part of the anti-oxidant package and as a UV protection.  That was one of the most important developments in rubber production for tires, and occurred in the OT timeframe. 

Mark Shannon
shingend at ix.netcom.com



----- Original Message ----- 
From: ernest thomas 
To: THE List!
Sent: 4/27/2008 6:05:50 PM 
Subject: [WWI] Rubber Chemistry


Dear Listeroos who are chemistry literate,
I've decided to just go with a rubber band for Henry's flintlock model. From the rubberbands I've scrounged from around the house, my choices are opague beige, a translucent-ish yellow, and an opaque green. Is one of these more resistant to rot than another? Would giving any of them a thin coating of petroleum jelly or something else make them last longer or would that cause them to break down faster? 

E.
Honor and Glory to our Ancestral Gods




In a rush? Get real-time answers with Windows Live Messenger. 
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.wwi-models.org/pipermail/wwi/attachments/20080502/ff539dcb/attachment.html