Overseas Versus Local Manufacturing: Industrial and Manufacturing Blogs

Santoprene rubber is one of the most popular products used in appliance fabrication. It is used to make parts such as window and door seals, oven seals and gaskets, hose connectors, tool grips and tennis racket grips, knife handles, cabling, and many other domestic tools. The material is ideal for this purpose because of its insulating properties and also because it is durable and waterproof. With time and constant wear, the material starts deteriorating and may need repair. Follow these steps for restoration if you have TPV Santoprene rubber parts that have worn down over time.

Selecting the right restoration products

There are some restoration products that you will need to handle the procedure. The wide range of products in the market may be confusing, but make sure that your repair kit contains the following elements:

•    A dry cloth made of absorbent material and a sanding fabric

•    A scrubbing brush

•    Rubber solvent

•    Rubber conditioner

•    Tongs

•    Protective gloves

•    Diluted bleach

Clear any debris and gunk that may have formed on the surface of the item which you need to restore. Clean off any paraffin wax that could have leached out on the surface of the rubber. Use the rubber solvent to simplify the removal of the paraffin wax.

Cleaning and conditioning

After clearing the excess gunk from the rubber, you have to give the rubber seal a thorough scrub. Warm water and mild soap will do well for mild levels of dirt. On the other hand, if the dirt has accumulated for a while, a better cleaning alternative will be a mild bleach. Once the rubber is clean, proceed to the next step, which is the application of the rubber conditioner. Work the conditioner into the rubber until it is well saturated and wipe off any excess.

Replacing excessively damaged seals

If the deterioration on the rubber is minor, conditioner will restore it to a reasonably good state. However, if the seals are severely damaged, and they cannot be enlivened by conditioning, the solution will be to remove them and replace them with new parts. Ask the home appliances store for a suitable rubber seal replacement and bond it to space the previous one occupied using super glue or contact adhesive.

The beauty of Santoprene rubber is that it can be brought back to its original beauty after years of use by directly applying conditioner on it. If there is a part of the process you find complicated, call in a restoration expert to assist.