hillbilly74 wrote:

Just curious as to what others are using to revitalize platen rubber? I was searching around for different rubber conditioners and read someone highly recommended a product called Fedron, but when I looked it up on eBay it's like $25 for four ounces  

If it's effective that's not bad for a reconditioned platen - if you can get four platens out of the bottle begins to seem inexpensive.

Now, not saying I would be comfortable in using any of these, but I came across these "household" chemicals mentioned:

Brake fluid
Dishwashing liquid
Fingernail polish remover

Has anyone used any of these with no ill effects on the machine?

Not sure about brake fluid, but detergent and acetone (nail polish remover) are definitely just cleaning agents.

I looked up the ingredients in Fedron and they are: Xylol, ethyl acetate, methanol, ethanol, and 4-methyl-2-pentanone. Of course I'm not sure of the amounts of each, but I looked up each of those chemicals and they all seem to have one thing in common: They are all solvents.

I'm going to put on my ultra-pedant cap (stand back! he once took college chemistry!) : for the record, a "solvent" is just a liquid that can dissolve things, so that includes water. "Organic solvent" is more particular since all are organic chemicals, but since all liquids can dissolve something (except possibly liquid helium, OK, lurking counter pedants?) all are solvents, but you may mean all of these are commercial solvents. Two are alcohols, ethyl acetate and pentanone are relatives of acetone with a few more carbons 'n oxygen 'n stuff... Xylol however is a derivative of benzene, fairly evil stuff and a welterweight carcinogen, and used as paint stripper which means it attacks set paint also! Yikes. Paint stripper is a lot cheaper than $25/4 oz, though.

[Looks around nervously to see if any real chemists about before spouting more]

The point of the cocktail may be to dilute the toxicity of the active ingredient to you and to the rubber. No, I haven't tried any of this. I want to find some wintergreen oil - used in auto racing to improve tack on tires - though think I only found a full gallon online! At least, the obligatory joke would go, the platen would smell nice. Meanwhile I might make my own toxic cocktail of nail polish remover and paint stripper. Cheers and thanks for the recipe!

Thank you all very much.

Repartee - It's interesting that you mentioned wintergreen oil. While I was googlin' around someone mentioned wintergreen oil extract being highly toxic. Your post was very enjoyable :D

Uwe - Thanks for the tips, very appreciated. I would like to use the specifically labelled stuff, but simply cannot afford what I have seen so far. My financial status at the moment makes the price of anything appear to be about 100x more than it is. Now when my novel is finished, published, and I'm rubbing elbows with Stephen King...

I have brake fluid on hand, so it's free. I also live in BFE, which means everything has to be ordered online.

I used one of those products on my Underwood a few years ago, just couldn't remember which. I finally found it though, it was dishwashing liquid. Worked like a charm. One application and it's still gripping paper nicely. Of course, my platen was in fairly good shape to begin with, just a little slick. I used some on my Adler this morning and it grips paper like a brand new machine.

I also looked up the MSDS on Blow Off, and it is a few different glycol ethers mixed with a naptha. So, that stuff is basically paint thinner.

Platenboy wrote:

Doesn't mention typewriters, but why would it? nobody in offices really uses them anymore...
 

The stuff I use happens to include typewriters in its list of uses on the back of the can, and I'm not really surprised. There must be millions of typewriters still in use the world over. Many of them are machines that never fell into disuse, but there are also those that were manufactured more recently by companies that you've never heard of. The daily use of a typewriter in an office environment is of course far more prominent within underdeveloped nations, but even where I live the typewriter never completely disappeared, it was just relegated to occasional, more specific tasks. My local office supply box store still sells Brother electronic models, and the craft supply store across the street from it recently added stacks of new mechanical portables to its shelves. And none of this includes the typewriters used by international ranks of collectors, nor those owned by the pretentious coterie who believe themselves to be trailblazers because they apparently discovered a lost technology and have single-handedly resurrected it from the ashes.