To rid rubber articles of unpleasant odor, cover both sides with a layer of animal charcoal and heat to about 140° F.
To prevent gas from escaping through rubber hose, cover it with a mixture prepared as follows: Dissolve 5 parts of gum arabic and 3 parts of molasses in 15 parts of white wine and add, with constant stirring, 6 parts of alcohol in small quantities. Stirring is necessary to prevent the alcohol from precipitating the gum arabic.
Repairing Rubber Goods.
| Sulphur chloride | 18 parts |
| Benzine | 400 parts |
| Carbon disulphide | 300 parts |
This is applied to the edges of the joint by means of a pledget of cotton wrapped on the end of a little stick, and press the jointed parts well together.
One may repair rubber bulbs by the following method: Put some pure gum in three times its bulk of benzine, and cork tightly. Let stand several days. Get some rubber in sheet form; it will be better if it is backed with cloth. To make a patch, dampen some little distance around the hole to be mended with benzine. After a moment, scrape with a knife; repeat the process several times till the site to be patched is thoroughly clean. Cut a patch from sheet of rubber a little larger than the hole to be mended, and apply to its surface several coats of the benzine solution. Then apply a good coat of the solution to both patch and about the hole, and press the patch firmly in place. Again apply the solution to make coating over the patch, and allow to dry till it will not stick to the finger. Do not use for several days.
Cracked rubber goods may be {621} successfully mended in the following manner: Before patching, the cracked surfaces to unite well must be dried, entirely freed from all dirt and dust and greased well, otherwise the surfaces will not combine. In case of a cover, waterproof coat, or rubber boots, etc., take a moderately thick piece of india rubber, suited to size of the object, cut off the edges obliquely with a sharp knife moistened in water, coat the defective places as well as the cut pieces of rubber with oil of turpentine, lay the coated parts together and subject them for 24 hours to a moderate pressure. The mended portions will be just as waterproof as the whole one. Rubber cushions or articles containing air are repaired in a very simple manner, after being cleaned as aforesaid. Then take colophony, dissolve it in alcohol (90 per cent) so that a thick paste forms, smear up the holes, allow all to harden well, and the rubber article, pillow, ball, knee caps, etc., may be used again.
Softening Rubber.
Glycerine has been also recommended, and it may be used with advantage in certain cases. The articles must first be cleaned with the brush and warm water, as above detailed. Heat them in water and rub them with a wad of cotton soaked in glycerine, drawing the wad over them, backwards and forwards. This wad should be wrapped with good stout wire, the ends of which are prolonged, to serve as a handle. Where possible the articles should be stricken with the glycerine inside and out, the article being, naturally, held out of the boiling water, sufficiently, at least, to make bare the part being rubbed at the time. Let rest for 24 hours, and repeat this process. With goods kept in stock, that show a tendency to grow brittle, this treatment should be repeated every 6 months or oftener. Never put away tubing, etc., treated in this manner until every particle of moisture has drained off or evaporated.
Another authority, Zeigler, has the following on this subject: Tubing, bands, and other articles of vulcanized caoutchouc that have become brittle and useless, may be restored to usefulness, indeed, to their pristine elasticity, by treating them as follows: First, put them in a hot aqueous solution of tannic acid and tartar emetic. Next, transfer them to a cold aqueous solution of tannic acid and calcium sulphate. Mix the two solutions and heat to about the boiling point, and transfer the articles to the hot solution. This treatment should be maintained from 1 day to 3 or 4, according to the nature and condition of the articles.