Dry Rotted Rubber--can it be softened?

[69 Rustang]

I am working on some model cars that have rubber tires but the tires are all dry rotted to the point they are fragile or cracked. Does anyone know of a way to get the rubber to soften up again? I had read something on the internet about using cooking grade silicone spray, but not sure if that will work.

I am building metal Model A Fords from kits called Hubley's for a race at a Model A meet next Summer. I need to assemble several sets with good tires so I have to figure out a way to salvage these tires or I guess my other option is to figure out how to make new ones--anybody ever molded their own rubber parts before?

[nba1341]

pb bolt blaster is my only suggestion which is essential a silicone spray but the best one ever made. Works well on dry rotted washers

[Hemikiller]

I've used lacquer thinner to soften aged rubber, just be careful.

A good friend of mine does a lot of custom molding for train and plastics guys. If you have no luck, I'll put you in touch with him.

[66sprint200]

Soak them in baby oil, but not for too long. This was a tip in Mustang Monthly several years ago.
Hey, I have a Hubley also, matches the big one in my garage. I know several guys who race them. I don't race mine. Dean

[mustangsurfer]

Lestoil floor cleaner softens up stuff like rubber body plugs and hard rubber. It soaks in and they will expand, but let them drain out and it does soften them some.

Dave

[79cobraII]

we used to soak, rubber toy car tires that dry rotted in a bag of vinyl restore, they would regain some of there elasticness and swell up a little bit, but the effect would wear off as the liquid dried out of the tire again. boiling doesn't help it just softens the rubber while its still hot as is cools it becomes hard again.
silicon oil, won't do much either it will soak into the rubber a little but the effect will wear off.

one guy experimented with a pressure cooker and vinyl restore he thought that if you heated it under pressure it liquid would infuse further into the dry rotted tire and maybe bring it back to life. it didn't really work i think the rubber proved to be a lot less porous then was thought and the effect wasn't any better then leaving the tire submerged for a week in a baggy.

If you just want the tires to look good and not use them for actual driving around. you can use black shoe polish. Push the polish into the cracks of the tire, let it set for a few minutes then start buffing out the tires like an old leather shoe. The tire will be nice and shiny and a lot less cracked. works on toy rubber also.

i have molded rubber parts, however they were small scale. it is possible to cast a mould of one your tires and use a 2 part type of silicon rubber epoxy to create the rubber. you can mix the epoxy to either be from soft to hard. one problem is air bubbles so the trick we used was to microwave the mix before it sets, this expands the water in the mix which helps release the air bubbles trapped in the mix. the largest rubber tire i cast was about 4" square.

basically something like this
http://www.oldweirdherald.com/scales...silicones.html

obviously real tires are made of sheets of rubber bound together then cooked under pressure in a mould to fuse into one huge rubber doughnut.

[Ponyman66]

Dave just make sure the tires you need to renew are indeed rubber, if you're using some of the tips for rubber. A lot of model car tires are molded in vinyl.

If you want to try molding new sets, Eastwood sells a rubber molding kit. It's offered in hard or soft compounds. It's intended for making items such as brake and clutch pedals, but may give you an option! Just a thought!

[69 Rustang]

Wow--so many great suggestions. I'm not sure where to start! I have one or two tires that are just absolutely trashed. I may cut them up and try several of the suggestions on the pieces to see where I get the best results.

The Eastwood rubber molding kit is definitely something I have to check out! Thanks to everyone for the ideas