RC Tank Warfare community hobby forum

Had a look around but cannot see anything about refurbishing rubber wheels. I have some rubber wheels that are over 40 years old. Although not broken some are a bit tired, anyone got any experience of refurbishing the rubber?

I wondered about seeing what vaseline might do.

Many thanks

ScipioAlba

Not sure if this is the same problem, but I had some old RC semi truck tires that stained your hands black when you touched them. I was looking for a way to recondition them, and did a search for products that might do that. Several people suggested looking at auto parts stores for tire and rubber window seal chemicals. I did that, but nearly all of them just promise to "shine" the rubber. I had thought that Armor All might work, but most people say that it will cause rubber to eventually break down. I ended up buying a product called 303 Protectant. I hand washed all of the tires with dishwashing liquid, (very messy - a LOT of black stuff came off them while washing), let them dry completely, and sprayed the 303 on. It says to just wipe them dry right away. I only did this last week and it seems to work so far, so I'll wait and see if I need to reapply at some point in the future.

303 products are known in the car world to be pretty good. A lot of the Miata (or MX-5 for the other side of the pond) folk (since I'm a Miata owner) swear by them.

When the rubber tyres on my old slot cars have hardened, and given less grip, I've coated them with my bearing oil, but there is oils on sale specifically for this.

This type of stuff.
NSR NSR4605 Brand "Tire Oil" Rubber Conditioner for use with any type slot car rubber tires
https://www.professormotor.com/product-p/nsr4605.htm

Obviously whatever you use, it'll be too late if the tyres are cracking.

Gents,

Just what I am learning to expect here, helpful guidance and advice.

Many thanks

ScipioAlba