(Need Help) restore vintage Campy brake lever hoods
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(Need Help) restore vintage Campy brake lever hoods
Hi. I have got a pair of vintage campagnolo brake levers with original hoods on them. Hoods are in generally great shape,but very very dry ,because of many years' storage. What should I do to them? Thanks a lot in advance for sharing any advice.
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I have found "303 Aerospace cleaner" to be very effective in rejuvenating and or preserving the vinyl and rubber parts of old Mercedes/BMW automobiles. It lists rubber as one of the materials it is recommended for. Maybe others will know of other products. Don
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No harm trying some 303 for sure. But in my experience, once natural rubber has dried to a certain point, there's no bringing it back. Worth a try rejuvenating them, though. It's worth remembering, however, that the "rubber" used on autos is a compound, not pure, natural rubber like I'm pretty sure they used for old Campy hoods.
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As above^^^, real rubber just dries out after a while. Try the 303 sure, but realistically just buy yourself some Rustines Campy compatible hoods. They are the only real gum rubber hoods available, and look and feel just like old campy hoods. It wouldn't surprise me if they made the original brake hoods under contract.
There are also people making fake logo campy hoods in various garages around the world using synthetic molding compounds, but they don't look the same.
Rustines on my Masi.
There are also people making fake logo campy hoods in various garages around the world using synthetic molding compounds, but they don't look the same.
Rustines on my Masi.
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303 will do wonders but you also need to be careful you do not overtreat. And there is, as indicated by previous posters, a point of no return. If you plan to ride, then get some good repops. If you want to show and be able to brag about having the original hoods, then try the 303.
FWIW, I wet a paper towel with 303 and wrapped it around the hood and placed it in a plastic bag for a week. If you do this, check it daily. I once forgot about a hood and left it for over two weeks. Hood was unusable after. That's when I started checking daily.
FWIW, I wet a paper towel with 303 and wrapped it around the hood and placed it in a plastic bag for a week. If you do this, check it daily. I once forgot about a hood and left it for over two weeks. Hood was unusable after. That's when I started checking daily.
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The Campy black hoods last much longer than the gum hoods. I paid $50 for a pair at a bike swap, but I got SR levers with them.
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