Restoring dry Nylon
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Restoring dry Nylon
A lot of you probably already know this but for those who don't Nylon has a water content that dries out over time , when it dries it becomes more brittle and hard that originally intended . Now many of the cars we collect and restore used a lot of Nylon parts , gears , suspension arms etc were all quite commonly made of nylon , this represents a problem for those of us that still wish to drive our cars as they have had 30+ years to dry out and become brittle .
I did a bit of surfing to see if nylon could be rehydrated , I'd previously heard that you could boil old nylon parts to restore them but never tried it and now I'm fairly pleased I didn't , what my reading up taught me was that yes nylon could be rehydrated to restore its original property's and that hot water would be absorbed quicker , however the water should be no more than 60°C or you could detemper or warp the part , also the time suggested was in the order of 24 hours , 48 hours in cold water .
I recently received a set of BNIB Yokomo ZY-834B gears and want to use at least one of them so I thought I'd have a go at rehydration , one web site suggested sharing the parts together and listening to the sound they made in order to assess dehydration so I gave it a go and it was a very hard sharp rattle , after 30+ years I'm not surprised .
I don't have a method for heating water to 60° for 24 hours so I used hot tap water that I changed as it cooled while I was about the house and just left them cold soaking when I was out , I gave them 48 hours ,dried them out and repeated the rattle test , I was quite surprised by the difference , much duller and even the feel of them , they had that slightly greasy feel of new nylon , I was genuinely supposed , hope this helps someone .
I did a bit of surfing to see if nylon could be rehydrated , I'd previously heard that you could boil old nylon parts to restore them but never tried it and now I'm fairly pleased I didn't , what my reading up taught me was that yes nylon could be rehydrated to restore its original property's and that hot water would be absorbed quicker , however the water should be no more than 60°C or you could detemper or warp the part , also the time suggested was in the order of 24 hours , 48 hours in cold water .
I recently received a set of BNIB Yokomo ZY-834B gears and want to use at least one of them so I thought I'd have a go at rehydration , one web site suggested sharing the parts together and listening to the sound they made in order to assess dehydration so I gave it a go and it was a very hard sharp rattle , after 30+ years I'm not surprised .
I don't have a method for heating water to 60° for 24 hours so I used hot tap water that I changed as it cooled while I was about the house and just left them cold soaking when I was out , I gave them 48 hours ,dried them out and repeated the rattle test , I was quite surprised by the difference , much duller and even the feel of them , they had that slightly greasy feel of new nylon , I was genuinely supposed , hope this helps someone .
If a jobs not worth doing then its certainly not worth doing well.
A problem shared is a problem halved but an advantage shared is no advantage at all.
A problem shared is a problem halved but an advantage shared is no advantage at all.
- GoMachV
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Re: Restoring dry Nylon
That’s great to know, thanks for sharing!
It's time to stand up to the bully. Support the companies that support the industry, not the ones that tear it down. Say no to Traxxas
Factory Works website
Factory Works website
- XLR8
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Re: Restoring dry Nylon
If you have a method of keeping to 60° or under it should be fine , I considered aquarium heaters or baby bottle warmers but in the end it only speeds things up , cold water just takes longer . If you knew the exact formulae of nylon then you can find the absirbsion rate , it basically depends on thickness ,temperature and grade but leaving it longer is not detrimental so if it's a thick piece then just leave it in for a few days to be sure , it's only 1-3% by weight depending on the type of nylon .
I should mention this has no effect on colour at all so the parts are still tan in colour , I have no idea how peroxide soaking to whiten nylon affects the strength , my gut says no don't whiten if you want to use the car but that's just my gut feeling .
I should mention this has no effect on colour at all so the parts are still tan in colour , I have no idea how peroxide soaking to whiten nylon affects the strength , my gut says no don't whiten if you want to use the car but that's just my gut feeling .
If a jobs not worth doing then its certainly not worth doing well.
A problem shared is a problem halved but an advantage shared is no advantage at all.
A problem shared is a problem halved but an advantage shared is no advantage at all.
- XLR8
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Re: Restoring dry Nylon
Thanks. Those are good suggestions.
I could imagine us storing our spare vintage nylon parts in old pickle jars filled with water.
I could imagine us storing our spare vintage nylon parts in old pickle jars filled with water.
Doug
- TRX-1-3
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Re: Restoring dry Nylon
: The "next level" of R/C OCD!! Someone is filling pickle jars right now.
Hope you're doin' something fun.
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Re: Restoring dry Nylon
He he ! Seriously though once rehydrated they should be good for years unless you live by the sea where salt can leach the water out quicker .
If a jobs not worth doing then its certainly not worth doing well.
A problem shared is a problem halved but an advantage shared is no advantage at all.
A problem shared is a problem halved but an advantage shared is no advantage at all.
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