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My car door seals keep freezing up on the colder days, I keep thinking I should try and lube them with something to help alleviate the issue. I've heard of folk using vaseline but I wasn't sure if that'd get quite messy, perhaps silicon spray for suspension or would that not be persistent enough?
What does STW do?
£5 to the first person who tells me I need new door seals*
*not really
Silicone Grease sparingly.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Servisol-701-143-Silicone-grease-50g/dp/B000L97ZPI
(other vendors are available)
Gummi Pflege Stift - soft tops, door seals, window seals etc
Pricier, but easier to apply:
Halfords own Silicon spray lube
https://www.halfords.com/motoring/engine-oils-fluids/grease/halfords-silicone-spray-lubricant-500ml
As mentioned above, Gummi Pflege.
Another one for Gummi Pflege
Minus 12c here in Sweden today.
Most use slicon spray, spolarvätska (sorry forgotton the english name, the stuff you spray on to the windscreen from the wipers) on a rag then rub it in the rubber, or listskydd, "car rubber door protector"
Silicon grease from Screwfix. I bought a pot for lubing brake pistons and have used about 8 babybuds worth in 5 years so it’s good to find another use.
Duck fat and brown paper; or is that for children, can't remember....
All the suggestions above are good. I use cheap silicone spray and it works just fine.
DOW CORNING DC4 (Silicone compound)
If it is good enough for A320 doors it good enough for my van doors 😉
Would any of the bike lubes be suitable (thinking GT85 or some other 'wet weather' chain lube I will have somewhere cluttering up the garage).
And I find it weird that my Volvo XC60 is the first car I have ever owned to suffer with this problem so badly given it is a Scandi-designed car!
Yeah it would ..also wd40 ..if you don't mind the initial smell..
Please do not apply wd40 to "rubber" unless you know exactly what kind of "rubber " you are dealing with. I use quites vecasue we use rubber to describe a number of rubber like compounds.
Wd40 like most oil based things can damage rubber (rubber came out of it and wants to go back to it) it will shorten the life of it and cause it to swell. Just like plumbers grease is only for use on the metal parts not washers and seals.
Use silicone spray, preferably sprayed into a cloth and then wiped as some of the carrier fluids can be bad for rubber.
Or use the aforementioned silicone plumbing stuff. Little pot goes a long way.
I was asking as I would rather use something I have rather than something I need to buy, use once or twice and still have cluttering up the garage in 20 years time.
Just found the GT85 spec. sheet - I don't think I'll be using that near rubber...
• LOW BOILING POINT HYDROGEN TREATED NAPHTHA - NAPHTHA (PETROLEUM), HYDROTREATED HEAVY 30-50%
• PALE SPINDLE OIL 10-30%
• BUTANE 30-50%
Great, thanks everyone, I'll check out the sugguestions above!
Sudocream.
Cough cough...
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[url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/156204930@N03/32866806258/ ]Screenshot_20190114-174526_Google[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/156204930@N03/ ]Neil Hodgson[/url] - [url= https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dariogf.flickr2BBcode_lite ]Flickr2BBcode LITE[/url]
Sudocream
No, you’ve got the wrong ‘S’. It’s ‘superglue’.
A rub with a bar of soap along the rubber works just as well, and no fear of contaminating the paint with silicone
+1 for Halfords Silicone Spray mentioned above.
Spray onto a cloth and wipe onto the seal. From experience don't spray onto the seal...no matter how careful you are it'll go everywhere you don't want it to.
Ah the infamous "my brothers uncle's stepsisters mechanic said"
From wd40
Is WD-40 ® Safe to be used on rubber?. Certain types of rubber will swell upon prolonged immersion. There are applications involving rubber and some plastics, which should be approached with caution or avoided when using WD-40 ®
Or from some if their more detailed data sheets
-40 demonstrates none to negligible deleterious effect to .... Acetal, neoprene/hardrubber, HDPE, PPS Copolymer Polysulfone, Teflon, Viton, steel, galvanized steel
hot dip, electroplated, copper, brass, magnesium, nickel, tin plate, titanium,
Nearly all surfaces interact with WD-40 as they would any high grade ali-
phatic petroleum spirit. Certain types of rubber will swell upon prolonged
immersion. Wax polishes and certain wax coatings may be softened by WD-
40. Clear polycarbonate and polystyrene may stress craze or crack. A
Cough, cough like i said, you need to know what the "rubber" really is.
@cromollylolly...
I'm not sure if it was yourself who italicized " neoprene & hard rubber "from the facts provided above ..but It does mention that it has a negligible effect on this type or rubber ..
If the company themselves are promoting the fact that it is safe on rubber car door surrounds then I'm happy enough to follow that advice ..but take on board yours in terms of application .
Thanks
Me. To point out that even they are particular about different types of rubber. They specifically mention it is negligbke in those types of rubber but say nothing about the numerous other ones. Vaseline is safe on most substances but put it on your condoms...
The main reason to choose silicone over any oil, even if that out is safe on rubber, is the way they work. Oil softens rubber because it soaks into it, forming a mixture of oil and rubber, much like a sponge and water. It doesn't replace the natural oil from rubber that evaporates, like moisturiser on skin doesn't. This does nothing to stop the rubber drying out and ageing and becoming weak, just like sponges go old and weak, no matter how wet they are. So you end up with rubber that feels good but is in fact old and weak and soft, maker it even weaker.
Silicone is essentially an inert, hard to remove coating. It preserves the rubber by reducing the amount of air, U/V, pollutants etc from causing the natural oils to evaporate. Like wrapping a sponge in Saran wrap. So the rubber stays closer to it's original state much longer. This is obviously more desirable. If you have old cracked rubber you want to soften so you can remove it for instance, go oil. If your seals are in good nick and want to keep them that way get some silicone.
Ok ..I'm sold 😁
And sorry for taking up so much of your evening
Cheers
Neil
Just checking back in to say I bought a bottle of Gummi Pflege (I'm pronouncing it Gummy Pledge in my head) and it seems to be doing the trick in this recent cold snap. Thanks!
A jug of warm water over the door seals and handle worked at opening my door this morning.
Only froze because we had heavy rain followed by a sudden temperature drop.
They never normally freeze.
qwerty
Member
Sudocream
The OP was about a caR
and to open an old wound, that WD40 data refers to prolonged immersion causing swelling in some types of rubber. Does "prolonged immersion" mean something different in this context (I'm imagining submerging the material in a bath of the stuff) and does "swelling" also imply weakening?
<takes WD40 out of "special" bedside drawer>