As someone currently finishing his PhD, I am amazed at your fantastic and well planned methodology. If every informational video was like this the world would be a smarter place. Thank you, and keep up the good work!

This is how all internet supposed to be! Good and excellent job!!

Wintergreen oil (Methyl Salicylate) is an actual plasticizer, and used in many rubber formulations so it can renew properly many types of rubber. Other fluids like brake fluid etc instead contain oils that will degrade plain rubber (that is why there are particular oil resistant rubbers used in certain applications), the temporary softening is just due to the solvents in the fluids. Avoid boiling the rubber, the temperature is too high, for large parts just use glass beads to fill the voids when soaking and change position of the part every so often.

Used the 3-1 mix on carburettor intake stubs. They swelled up slightly at first, but softened up nicely, about 10 days later they were back to their original size, and were ready for use. The softening effect lasted about nine months, then the returned to being rock hard.

Best example of perseverance I have even seen! This guy sure can get the job done with enthusiasm. Great video.

This video deserves a million likes and views. Thanks for the Great Job.

This is the best comparison I have seen. Everyone is mostly just recalling what grandpa did in 1950s nascar. Thank you!

Great work, intensive attention to detail with each test given fair & objective due diligence... and most importantly, a generous disclosure of very useful information for anyone who is invested in a project, facing similar issues with material in similar condition. Thanks so much for your service.

Back in the days of cassette decks and VCRs, I used ATF as a cheaper alternative to Rubber Renew. Wipe down every new belt or rubber roller, make sure you wipe it clean. Gets rid of the wax and dust from manufacture, gives the surface good grip without soaking into the body of the rubber. Much, much cheaper for a quart of ATF than for a tiny 4 ounce bottle of Rubber Renew.

This is an excellent video because it is so thorough and meticulous. Thank you for taking the time to put this together in such a detailed manor. You've helped more people than you think.

I watched a windshield replacement on a vintage Jeep. Varsol which is a paint thinner was used . The old gasket was cleaned and reused. The appearance was amazing. I am not having success finding Varsol locally . I appreciate your presentation and wish every KZfaq video had the same quality.

This is a very well shot video with great experimental lab techniques. The voice over is straight forward and well descriptive. The conclusion made sense. He gets FIVE ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you that's a good methodical approach, you have dispelled a few myths and shown which solutions work and don't! Many thanks JD

Thanks for taking the time to run these tests, this has helped me out. Good work.

Excellent! Very nice job. You must have some experience in carrying out scientific experiments because of the way you handled this investigation. As someone who has been involved in such endeavors for several decades, I'd say you did a great job here.

This experiment was amazing I have been able to restore and modify a lot of plastic or rubbery materials and its truly great information to have. Thank you so much.

This is Project Farm levels of commitment. Well done, sir.

Lol, this was perfect timing. I told you all my rubber pieces were bad on my kart. Great tips friend : )

That was a comprehensive comparison, well done, thanks.

Thanks for taking the time and doing this. I restore old typewriters. They have rubber platens,rollers,and feet. They are very difficult to find replacement. Expensive. I'm going to try this. Thus video could be invaluable to saving pieces of history. Thanks again,very appreciated!

Your scientific method here is outstanding.

Thanks for sharing your findings and recording the details of your experiment. Very informative.

Very very well done. Thank you for your thoughtful and methodical approach. Very helpful.

Well run experiments! Am looking to soften small parts, so I'll use the 3:1 alcohol/wintergreen mix. Thanks.

one of the best videos i found on youtube so far..no words to thank!

Excellent video presentation.and comments. Its great when people work together. Thank you

You did such a wonderfully thorough job on this vid! Thank you so much!

Excellent execution and scientific. This is the kind of content people look for. Useful, interesting and well edited. I want to rejuvenate some cassette deck idlers from 1982 that are impossible to find, and this may do it with the 3:1 alcohol wintergreen solution. Thank you.

Excellent. I just went to utube to find out if smearing some brake fluid on the outside of my brake cylinder piston boots would help keep them pliable and make them last long. After see this I don't think I'll try it. Thanks.

I wish someone from the Nobel Prize committee was interested in rejuvenating rubber.

Very well done. Excellent test procedure and A/V documentation. Nice job.

Awesome detailed job ! Great explanation of the different process !

Thanks for this! Your review is more credible and relevant than many of the others I have run across. Your experimental conditions are controlled and identical. I ran my own experiment last month with three solvents and wintergreen oil using a 3:1 ratio by weight. I am rebuilding a grey-market Honda RVF400. Parts are expensive and hard to come by in the US. Anyway, I have some old rubber parts to try my own experiment with. After reading many articles and postings online about the magic of methyl salIcylate were true and I wanted to see if the solvent used made a difference. The three solvents I compared were: 1) Xylene (Renue Rubber product MSDS says this is the solvent they use). 2) Denatured ethanol 3) Acetone RESULTS After a 24 hour soak the acetone parts swelled the most by far 22%! Ethanol and xylene also swelled but "only" about 10%. No rubber was damaged just swollen. After 24 of drying out the Acetone part was most flexible. The Ethanol part a very close second (almost the same as acetone) The Xylene part was least flexible but definitely better than untreated. After 2 weeks of airing out they all essentially returned to the original and all the same size but are still flexible thought they are hardening. I do not (yet) have factory OEM parts to compare with. DISCUSSION If I wanted to use this technique to soften some rubber parts I would choose 100% denatured ethanol or acetone. Both are readily available. I believe the solvents help swell the rubber allowing the wintergreen oil to penetrate into the parts more easily. SUMMARY I agree with 990GTVert's recommendation: buy replacement parts if you can and reserve this method for hard to find or unavailable parts. This is simply a back-up technique if you have no other options.

To control temp of the water & Winter Green tests, try using a double boiling method. That is a pot inside a pot. They use this method in cooking/heating candy. Outer pot is water only, inner pot is the solution. The water in outer pot more evenly distributes the heat.

Fantastic video! Just subscribed. Nice methodology and narration.

Great experiment. Thanks for the information, and for taking the time to do and share.

Thank you for taking all the time to make this informative video!

Well done mate.. so very nice of you to take the time in this experiment.. many thanks,I'm off to get some Wintergreen oil .

great classical experiment, thank you

Thank you for your experiment, I have learned something.

Absolutely beautiful experiment thank you for your help

Very well done. So thoughou in controlling the variables. Applying this to my Roland v drum pedal rubber notoriously known for hardening. Much appreciated.

wow what a thorough test, thanks for your help

Informative and to the point. 10 out of 10

Nice work, your experiment and information helped greatly with an issue I've got with my vehicle transmission :-)

Outstanding video! Well done and thanks

Great comparison! Thank you very much!

Always wanted to know what to soften rubber with, VERY Interesting, Thanks

A very good experimental review, thanks for sharing.

That is pretty scientific, well done and very informative!

This is awesome. Probably saving thousands of dollars for people combined!

Thank you I'm looking to preserve some old gas masks I recently bought and this is very help ful

I found your video while researching ways to soften the hard rubber seals on my collection of Sunbeam C30 Coffeemaster vacuum coffee pots, but I also have a collection of old cars and bikes so I ordered 32 Oz of wintergreen oil from Big Dee's vet supplies for 12.95/16Oz + $6.50 shipping (which was the best price I saw in a short search). Thanks for your well thought out approach. The wintergreen oil cost about the same as one new seal for these coffeemakers, so I hope it works for several of them. If not, I'll have it on the shelf for my rubber car part needs. Thanks again

I like the fact you didn't quit , well been two days I wonder what a week will do, still not the result you were looking for so lets add some heat. Very well done. I have expensive rubber boots, the rubber is starting to crack , looking for a way to soften the rubber back up. I don't think this will help but it was fun to watch. I think I will try the heat and the wintergreen oil, with controlled heat.

GREAT video. Thanks for your time and effort and the info.

that was a great comparison test, thanks for making things clear for all of us

Am trying the 3:1 Rubbing alcohol/wintergreen oil this weekend for my hard-as-nails carburettor boots.Thanks for all your hard work

Damn! you are extremely thorough! Great video. thank you

Outstanding experiment. Thanks!

very informative and interesting thank you. I am wondring about silicone spray

Very understandable experiment. I have an old toy fire truck (50+years) that has hard rubber tires. I will try your method on them.

Well done. Excellent use of the scientific method. I appreciate the information.

SUPERB!!! OUTSTANDING !!!! BEAUTIFUL JOB!

Great video! This will help if anyone is in a pinch and needs to reuse some rubber that has hardened. Also, one thing to note, wintergreen can be extremely dangerous and fatal, so use caution, especially around children whether it is ingested or absorbed topically.

I have vintage sneakers whose rubber soles have hardened. I'm going to try this. Thanks for the video!

Dude you have videos on everything! I was looking up tire softener and came across this.

Well done. I'm going to try this on the rubber intake manifolds on my 1975 Honda CB 360t. I've restored it from the ground up and everything is perfect. I've beat myself to death on these two parts. They have zero cracks and look factory grade but hard as heck. I hate the though of ordering new ones when these look great but air leaks on an old honda will drive you crazy (and after this full restore....it's a short drive).Thanks

Absolutely superb video. Thanks for taking the time to make it buddy. It’s take all the guesswork out of the multiple online opinions. 😄🙌

Thanks for your effort . well done.

Thanks for a very informative experiment. I need to revive two washing machine shaft seals, so your video clip is just what I needed. I read somewhere that almond oil is supposed to rejuvenate rubber, which might be a cheaper option (if it works as well as wintergreen oil)

Thank you for you test. I found the information useful.

Great video. Good info to keep in mind. Thanks!

Great testing methodology. Love all of the detail. Subscribed!

Excellent job. Thank you for making and sharing this video.

Great video! Exactly the explanation i was looking for. Thank you for sharing your knowledge

Good investigation and analysis.

Great video with outstanding scientific technique! Thank you very much!

Thank you for your effort.

Thanks for sharing.

thank you so much for this video !! it helped me a lot !❤️❤️ YOU ARE THE BEST MAN 😘✨

Thanks for sharing - very good detailed experiment, will give it a go on my window rubbers.

Great video! Thanks!

Great job !!! Usefull and interesting.

Thank you for this video. Well experimented.

Very well put together video. I found this useful to add to my own experience.

Thanks so much. Very helpful!

Very thorough and well executed. Love it

Thank you! great information.

Thanks for this work! Very helpful.

I am restoring old Volvo.. can't get bunch of parts for it.. but now i can restore them!

One time an old timer retired mechanic told me a 50/50 mix of ATF and acetone was the best & cheapest cleaner for soaking parts. So I made a 50:50 solution of Dex/Merc ATF and acetone. I made 14oz & put it in a 16oz glass jar w/lid. The first thing I tried was an idle air control valve (IACV). It had one rubber o-ring & another seal that was shaped like a figure 8. I didn't remove them beforehand since I had new ones. After letting the IACV soak for ~24hrs I found that both the regular o-ring and the figure 8 seal had swelled to triple their original size. They were huge. I had no idea it would do that.

I'm back, Lol. Man I enjoy your videos. This one was top notch, big thumbs up! I'd love to see more content of yours with tests like this. Not sure if you've made others but just to let you know you did a good job.👍

Wow you really took the time and effort to go through so many methods and i truly appreciate what you did. Your Awesomeeeeeeeee in my books brother!!

Very nice video. Please continue to give us great videos!

Very useful information, thanks!

Very well done!, thank you.

Very useful real world review thanks. ❤️

Very informative video, I only wish you would’ve added the old engine oil hack on the rubber as well.

Thank you for the information.

Thank you for sharing!