Ok guys, back in the day I always made sure I had a job at one of the local gas stations, as I am sure many of you did. Of course I always liked the evening shift and one of the reasons was to have access to the wash and lube bay and rack. Back then I used a rubber treatment on all the exterior rubber to reduce the squeaking. If I am not mistaken it was called Rerobie Rubber Treatment in gallon jugs. I can't find any reference to it online so it may or may not be right. I know the rubber being used today is different than back then. for example we use to make sling shots from old bicycle tires but the ones today don't stretch like back then. Anyway, I have seen several suggestions online from brake fluid to 303 Rubber treatment. I know Armor All actually dries out rubber if not used very regular. My question is what are you using? and how is the rubber holding up? Also is there preference to rubber part manufactures for part like body to frame and front end bushing?
I've never put anything on rubber except for Armor-All. If you put brake fluid on rubber, be ready for the paint that touches it to peel off.
Gylcerin is also used in baking so you might check the fancy cakes aisle if not the pharmacy. Buy a cake,too.
I've used this stuff for more years than I would care to admit to. There used to be an auto parts store here that carried this line of products. The store is long gone . I don't use it too often but it comes in real handy at times. Is this similar to what you are talking about?
Years ago I bought the last gallon can of Ruglyde at the local NAPA store. It wasn't listed in the computer or in a catalog. IIRC, they sold it to me for 5 bucks
I just found Ruglyde online. It is used for tire mounting now. I assume it is the same stuff we used back in the day but they had to find a more prominent need. Price has gone up. $19.89 on Amazon and $11.99 at Walmart. Walmart actually had free delivery.
I made the mistake of putting the poly bushings in the front end of my '55 Chevy. They are really good as they are some stiffer than rubber bushings. The downside is that they squeak. I ended up using a silicone lube dry made by 3M. It took about three applications and some driving to work it in but it eventually stopped squeaking. I'm happy now.
Yep, bought a gallon of Ruglyde at a Napa store several years ago. It has worked well for me. It has be around for years.
A can from the early days... Hello, The little yellow squeeze can with the two blue side stripes was a staple during our teenage hot rod/drag race days. All of the cars in this era had their own circumstances and little annoying sounds came from all over in the most oddball times. My brother had this little can called RuGLYDE that was given to us from our friend in Los Angeles. When they did the full car lubrication on standard daily drivers, the final touch was squirting a dab or two of RuGLYDE on to the various rubber parts that could be reached. Wiping with a shop towel cleaned up any drips or runs. According to our friend, it made the whole car almost silent on the roads or even just getting in or out. Our hot rods were all a couple of years old, lived and drove in the salt air climate, as well as moist foggy weather. So, there were plenty of times that we would chased down the squeaks with oil or some other compound. Once we were given the little squeeze can of RuGLYDE, it was the primary item to combat any squeaks. Our teenage friends immediately went out and purchased a can or two for their own applications. Jnaki Athough it said lubricates rubber, vinyl and leather, we did not use it on the vinyl upholstery. Just a little window cleaner took off any marks or in our case, the ZINK Corp. Sure-Fit clear plastic seat covers kept our Impala /El Camino seats pristine through thick and thin. But, we did use the RuGLYDE on all of the rubber joints or spacers. The last time I used RuGLYDE, I had an extra can. I found it in a cabinet along with my Classic Car Wax, Blue Coral Wax and of all things, Pink Glass Wax. The RuGlyde was unopened and still sloshing around. These days, the modern version of RuGLYDE is sold everywhere and probably is the same formula with a few little technology changes to make things work better. YRMV
Thank you! I just bought a vintage can for my garage. Please let us know if you happen to find any more special "hot rod" essentials. Nick Sent from my Pixel 3a XL using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
As was pointed out earlier, things that might help rubber, like brake fluid or silicone, do not help your paint. Using them under the car seems fine, but I would not dress any body seals or window rubbers with these things. Brake fluid eats paint and silicone is very difficult to remove from a surface in case it ever needs to be painted again in the future.
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