Originally Posted by
merziac
So a little thread drift since the experts are present. Any one have definitive advice on preserving gum hoods that are nos including cleaning off the white coating that is sometimes present?
The white coating is mold release compound, usually some kind of silicon based material. It should wear off???
There were a number of kinds of materials used for brake lever hoods:
natural gum rubber, synthetic rubber, plastic as in the Carlton hoods Raleigh used on Weinmann levers and urethane which a company called AME used for a lot of different styles of replacement hoods some time back.
Urethane can be produced in a rainbow of colors. I suspect that many of the repop classic replacement hoods sold today are made of this material since it is very easy to cast into plaster of paris molds.
To answer your question, natural gum rubber can be preserved to some extent with glycerine. I used Armor All on tires and brake hoods back in the 1970's and some of those still look good.
Synthetic rubber is more resistant to chemical and UV exposure but a product like Armor All could help in preservation.
Not much is going to help plastic or urethane as they are much more inert than many kinds of rubber.
One suggestion, don't keep your bike where it will be exposed to UV from sunlight! Ultra Violet light increases decomposition.
Another thing, don't store your bike near any sources of ozone such as electric motors from forced air furnaces and appliances in a basement or garage. Also gas hot water heaters.
verktyg
Chas.