Rubber repair opinions needed

Electro-Voice shock mount pieces, 50-60 year old rubber parts.  Still very pliable, starting to tear at the encased metal ring.  I need to shore these up before they tear off completely, curious what the best rubber repair method might be for a part like this that lives under tension. 

New one? You could find a suitable 3D printer to do it for you or cast some as you do have the originals. Materials wouldn't be exactly the same but you can probably get away with some of the gummy 3D printing materials or molded silicon.

JS

Definitely try gluing it first.
The flexible filaments can be very challenging to work with but, if need be, are always worth a try.

I have never tried this but Loctite makes quality adhesives

Super glue ultra gel control

http://www.loctiteproducts.com/p/sg_ug_cntrl/overview/Loctite-Super-Glue-ULTRA-Gel-Control.htm

The video, fwiw, looks more than entertaining!

Oliver Archut turned me on to clear E6000 for building tube mics. No silicon, it's a rubber based product so high impedance. But it's also just a terrific adhesive. I use it all over the place. Bonds real well to rubber. And you can get it in black. Home Depot or an arts and crafts store like Michael's.

The Loctite and E6000 both look like good starts.  Anyone  have experience with both?  Similar?  Any notable differences?

emrr said:

Electro-Voice shock mount pieces, 50-60 year old rubber parts.  Still very pliable, starting to tear at the encased metal ring.  I need to shore these up before they tear off completely, curious what the best rubber repair method might be for a part like this that lives under tension. 

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Use the stuff designed to keep shoe soles attached to the rest of the shoe.

Shoe Goo?  Just fixed one of my flip-flops with that.

Shoe goo....I wear that shit out pretty fast on shoes. 

I can't speak about a specific adhesive but I use the Loctite line of epoxies. They have a large selection like 3M but the adhesives and applicator are much less expensive than 3M.

I believe Shoe Goo is the same product as Eclectic 6000. It dries hard, good for gluing capacitors to PCBs because it won't vibrate as much as silicone sealer. I repaired my plastic radiator shroud with E6000. You might be able to use a small amount to repair the rips if the area around the patch can flex enough after it dries.

If it is rubber I believe you can vulcanize it - the same way one used to repair a bicycle tube.  obviously you need to do a test run, with whatever glue you are going to try.

a quick search revealed that you might pull it off with a cyanoacrylic glue. but  again, (natural) rubber comes in many different flavours, and requires a matched glue.

- Michael

I was going to say the above - bike puncture repair kit.  It you carefully cut the patch, then you can put it over the split to hold it all together.

I think sticking the surface down to the metal (?) core may prove difficult - better to just repair the surface.

I gave E6000 a try, looked promising, but it stretched and tore under tension at the rubber tear, after which it all very easily peeled right back off the rubber.  Back to the drawing board....

emrr said:

I gave E6000 a try, looked promising, but it stretched and tore under tension at the rubber tear, after which it all very easily peeled right back off the rubber.  Back to the drawing board....

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Thanks to this thread, I picked up some E6000. Very good stuff for what I used it for, but not for this, it sets too firm. Thanks to whoever recommended it, as it has it's uses. You likely need something more flexible.

If you want to possibly waste 6 bucks, try this stuff on one of them:

http://www.loctiteproducts.com/p/pl_seal_rf/overview/Loctite-PL-S30-Polyurethane-Roof-&-Flashing-Sealant.htm

Inconvenient caulking tube, but it may be close to the resiliency of your substrate, it is "stretchy and boingy" if that makes sense. How well it sticks to your substrate, I don't know, but it may be worth a try. Under the "not recommended uses", was "butyl caulking compounds", your mic suspensions may be some form of butyl, I dunno.

But it is black. Available at the usual big box hardware stores, Loews, Home Depot.

I got it to experiment with adhering foam on painted steel speaker grills, squeezed some out on scrap plywood, and rolled it on the steel with a 3" paint roller, worked great. Looking at the scrap plywood later, it would make an excellent pickup truck bed liner, except for the high friction, nothing slides over this grippy high-friction surface. So I will use it on a walk ramp next.

Note that it takes a day to not be tacky, a week or so to really set up. It is polyurethane based, moisture curing, and once the tube is opened and even properly sealed, (tight fitting cap over the nozzle, petroleum jelly to seal leaks) you still need to use it up in a couple weeks.

Good luck with it,
Gene

Thanks Gene!