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MJTRENDS
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apprentice

Cleaning Silicone lubricant off of Latex

Posted by Charli on: Apr 17th 2017 8:37:08 pm

How can Silicone lubricant be cleaned off of latex to make sure there is a Clean latex to re-glue the seams? I was thinking of acetone, but not sure if it will take all of the silicone off so that I can repair seams that came apart.

Any help would be gratefully accepted. I thought of using benzine but not sure if it would break the Latex rubber down.

4

Response by: JP, July 17th 2017 9:10:34 pm

I usually use xylene, since I have gallons of it around for painting.  Note that xylene will cause temporary swelling/curling, so you'll want to let it all evaporate thoroughly before joining seams.

Heptane works well, slightly less aggressive, but causes less swelling. 

Acetone does work if you already have it. 

Whatever you use, use it twice, with a fresh rag the second time.

Response by: Charli, July 17th 2017 9:43:14 pm

I finally got a hold of some Bestine now that "Speedball" is making it after buying out US Rubber. Bestine is the trade name for Heptane. I will be trying it soon on a seam that came apart on an old catsuit. The problem I had with Xyline was the evaporation rate was bery slow and it took so long to dry and well as the curling it created. I noticed that it also made the latex rubber weaker. Thanks for replying. 

Response by: JP, July 18th 2017 12:41:36 am

Testing on scraps, xylene doesn't appear to weaken the latex after it evaporates and the swelling goes down, it's just a short-term effect while the latex is swollen by the solvent.  Also doesn't appear to degrade any faster, I've done some accelerated aging in my uninsulated attic, doesn't discolor or deteriorate after cleaning with xylene, heptane, or acetone,

Response by: Charli, July 18th 2017 1:03:40 am

Thank you for the information.