What can I use to swell rubber?

Reagents which cause rubber to swell but which do not attack or react with rubber include various hydrocarbons, ketones and lactones. Specifically useful are benzene, cyclohexanone, cyclohexane, toluene, xylene, hexane, heptane, acetone, gasoline, paramethadione, ethyl acetate, methyl ethyl ketone and amyl acetate.
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Does acetone make rubber swell?

Almost every gasket material has a fluid that will make it swell to some degree. To give one example, an Acrylonitrile Butadiene Rubber (NBR) gasket swells significantly when exposed to acetone or methyl ethyl ketone yet shows almost no growth in the presence of vegetable or mineral oils.
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What liquid makes rubber expand?

Cast rubber part must be submerged in water to grow. Parts with a thin cross section will expand faster then thick parts. Once parts have expanded completely, they must be molded immediatly. Once removed from water they will begin to shrink as they dry out.
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How do you expand hard rubber?

  1. Spray the rubber with silicone spray. ...
  2. Keep the rubber in the plastic bag for three to seven days.
  3. Lift the bagged piece of rubber and bend it to check for pliability. ...
  4. Heat some water in a stew pot on the stove. ...
  5. Set the stew pot in the sink and submerge the rubber in the water to soften it.
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Does brake cleaner make rubber swell?

It make them swell and eventually disintegrate. The rubber used on the brake seals is resistant to this but eventually it wears them. Other seals are likely corroded by brake fluid. I've had a lot of problems with carb O-rings ruined by carb cleaner in the past.
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What is Rubber Swell? Things you must know about Rubber Chemical Compatibility.



How do you make rubber flexible again?

If the component is already beyond its expected life span, you can use a hair dryer, set the rubber in an oven at 100 degrees Fahrenheit for roughly 10 minutes or even submerge the rubber in boiling water for 20 to 30 minutes to restore flexibility to the rubber and extend its usefulness.
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What can I use to rejuvenate rubber?

A bent coat hanger works well. Heat up the rubber piece in a pot of boiling water. Pull the rubber out of the boiling water, then dip the cotton wad into some glycerine, and wipe down the rubber item with it. Let it dry for 24 hours, then heat the rubber again and wipe it down with more glycerine.
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Is wd40 good for rubber?

WD-40 Specialist® Silicone Lubricant safely lubricates, waterproofs and protects metal and non-metal surfaces such as rubber, plastic and vinyl.
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Will vinegar soften rubber?

As a general rule, wherever you find rubber, keep the vinegar away. The vinegar's acid can eat away at rubber just as it does natural stone. Soap and water or a solution of soap and baking soda are the best grime busters for rubber parts.
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What chemicals will eat rubber?

There are a variety of acids, including acetic, hydrochloric, hydrofluoric, sulfuric, and benzoic. Acetic acid is an organic acid that is especially harmful to Viton ad Buna-N rubber seals. Organic acids are made up of carbon, and mineral acids are made up of mineral elements.
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Does gasoline dissolve rubber?

Tire compounds are made up of a combination of natural and synthetic rubbers, as well as carbon black and other chemicals. This makes their rubber compounds susceptible to damage from direct contact with gasoline, oil and antifreeze, as well as solvents often found in family garages.
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What can destroy rubber?

In general, the majority or rubber types can be affected by: strong oxidizing agents (to the extreme of being irreversibly destroyed); aromatic and chlorinated hydrocarbons (both have a tendency to soften rubber).
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Is olive oil good for rubber?

If your rubber wellies get chalky after a few wears, rub them with olive oil to erase the white marks. Avoid getting oil on the soles, though; it may cause you to slip next time you put them on.
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Is vegetable oil safe for rubber?

Vegetable oil should NEVER be used to lubricate mechanical parts. It always leaves a solid deposit which later will be stuck to the parts you wanted to lubricate.
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Is Vaseline good for rubber seals?

This would include Vaseline. While Vaseline and other petroleum products may degrade real rubber (actually made from the rubber tree), current o-rings technology does not use natural rubber.
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Does acetone soften rubber?

Acetone will evaporate very quickly so what ever happened probably just affected the outer surface unless you actually soaked it in the liquid. Acetone will eat rubber and certain other plastics.
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Is transmission fluid good for rubber?

While ATF may not be corrosive to the bands, clutches and gaskets in an automatic transmission, it is corrosive to carbon (which is good, and why it cleans the engine) and has been shown to affect the rubber O-rings used to seal the rotor housings together, as well as the o-rings used on the oil seals.
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Does carb cleaner eat rubber?

PJ1 Carburetor Cleaner is specially formulated for cleaning varnish and tough deposits out of your carburetor, freeing stuck components, allowing your carburetor to function like new! This cleaner is also safe for rubber, vinyl, and neoprene.
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