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Soften those hard intake boots

Posted: Wed Feb 19, 2014 1:59 pm
by Suzukidave
Here is info on this pulled from another list i figured could be well used here also "............................ I have been using a formula for softening and resizing intake and air box boots for several years now . Here's what it will do. after a soaking of 1 to 3 days the rubber will soften considerably and expand slightly( rock hard boots turn into soft rubber again that you can fold in half with your little finger and thumb without losing their integrity). We all know what time and sun light does these rubber connections. If your carb boots are not cracked and dry rotted this works great. This formula consists of Xylol and winter green oil . The Xylol acts as a carrier for the W/G oil and later evaporates. The oil impregnates through all the tiny pores directly in to the rubber. The mix of supplies are kind of pricey but well worth it if you or you and your circle of fellow mechanics do a fair amount of carb work. The Xylol solvent can be found at any hardware or home depo type store for $5.00 a QT or $11.00 a gal . The winter green oil is a synthetic and can be had in 2 to 5 oz bottles at Walgreens or other big pharmacy .

This mix cost me about $40 to $50 to mix up a little more than 2 QT's . You may get by with less fluid using ziplock bags and shaking every half hr or so or wrapping the boots with soaked paper towels in a sealed bag. Though winter green oil smells pleasant at first it is so strong as to become annoying or sickening after time. This mix lasts for a long time so save it (I have been using the same batch for 3 years).

Re: Soften those hard intake boots

Posted: Sun Mar 02, 2014 8:07 pm
by Fritz500
Brings back memories. Back in the 70's I use to race slot cars. We used to clean the foam rubber tyres with oil of wintergreen and it used to make them hold the track a lot better. The slot car track used to really stink because of it. The big danger was rubbing your eyes or touching your lips if you had some on your hands.

Re: Soften those hard intake boots

Posted: Mon Mar 03, 2014 7:02 am
by jabcb
I've had good results Rubber Renue from MG Chemicals.
Its a mixture of xylene, ethylbenzene & methyl salicylate (wintergreen oil).

Re: Soften those hard intake boots

Posted: Sun Apr 06, 2014 3:14 pm
by celt_rock
This sure beats paying $40+ for a new intake boot. For $40 I can mix up a batch of this
and restore every piece of rubber I have? Sold. Thanks for the tip!

What's the ratio of Xylol to Wintergreen?

Re: Soften those hard intake boots

Posted: Sun Apr 06, 2014 5:48 pm
by jabcb
Mixture for Rubber Renue is listed in the MSDS: http://www.mgchemicals.com/downloads/ms ... 408a-l.pdf

I don't know what you have to do to get that mixture.

Re: Soften those hard intake boots

Posted: Thu Apr 10, 2014 3:57 pm
by Suzukidave
celt_rock wrote:This sure beats paying $40+ for a new intake boot. For $40 I can mix up a batch of this
and restore every piece of rubber I have? Sold. Thanks for the tip!

What's the ratio of Xylol to Wintergreen?
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Re: Soften those hard intake boots

Posted: Thu Apr 10, 2014 9:19 pm
by celt_rock
Funny, just found that tonight myself, thanks for the link!