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How to preserve rubber speaker surrounds ?

V

vintage4

Active Member
Banned
What can you use to keep the rubber surrounds on loudspeaker woofers from cracking . A good preservative for rubber . I have a pair of Dynaco A25's and they are pretty old . Any suggestions that you've tried is welcome .
 
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Silicon emulsion paste, comes with its own brush. Sold at auto supply stores. It is mainly used for keeping car door and window seals pliable. Works wonderfully and only costs a couple bucks.
 
sealy said:
Silicon emulsion paste, comes with its own brush. Sold at auto supply stores. It is mainly used for keeping car door and window seals pliable. Works wonderfully and only costs a couple bucks.
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+1

I purchased an aerosol can of rubber conditioner at an auto parts store for this exact purpose. It's plentiful and cheap.

Just be sure to buy a product that is specifically made for rubber.
 
It's cheaper to replace them, after 20+ years, than to buy stuff to try to get them to last another few years. And it's got to be easy to do, because I did it.

I restored 8 pairs, in total, of EPI 100s, for less than $30, and they're good for another 20) years.
 
I have a pair of Kinergenic subwoofers (two 10 inch butyl-surround woofers per side) since 1990. Twice in 20 years I've cleaned the surrounds with Armorall and they look shiney, pliable and as new as they did in 1990. I think Armorall contains silicon.
 
I often wondered how talcum powder would work . I know it will save rubber belts and door seals and such .


Barney
 
Oerets said:
I often wondered how talcum powder would work . I know it will save rubber belts and door seals and such .


Barney
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Good point! I also fly model aircraft and use talcum to keep contest rubber pliable. The rubber can last for years with a bit of talcum sprinkled on it. It should work, although it may be a bit messy.
 
The rubber surrounds on my Speakerlab 3's are something over 30 yrs old, and aside from a soft cleaning with soap & water if something has been spilled on them ( they were used as end tables in my grandmothers living room for years ), have never been touched. They are like new. A dressing like armorall might work, but I don't know if it's needed. I don't think the rubber will break down unless exposed to UV light. Foam surrounds on the other hand....
 
Rubber breakdown

Think tires and windshield wipers... Ozone will attack rubber, a good (wax-type) product or rubber treatment as mentioned in previous posts is probably a good idea. Some air purifiers produce ozone, and combustion will form precursor to ozone, nature does the rest. I imagine that if you live in an area with high air pollution your surrounds will decay faster. However, butyl rubber surrounds outlast foam by leaps and bounds! I must admit that I haven't done anything to my speakers that have rubber surrounds and they are aging well with benign neglect...:scratch2:
 
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