cross contamination destroying plastics?

General Discussion about the Datsun PL510
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RMS
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cross contamination destroying plastics?

Post by RMS »

last week I had a request for some fresh air vents, I donned my hard hat and with flashlight in hand I went spelunking. I found one vent in a cardboard box accompanying a collection of wiper arms pivots and links. the vent was soft and supple. I pulled it, squeezed it and gave it a good fingering to knock out the dust. everything was good, one vent down, one to go. after a day digging in the towering pillars of parts in milk crated I found the second vent in a bucket of rubber bits..... this vent did not pass any test. as I picked it from the bucket it crumbled in to shards...

this got me thinking why did one vent survive when the other did not? both were stored at the same relative humidity and temp of the trailer, both were shielded from uv the only difference was that the one vent that crumbled was stored with different types of rubber and plastics.
I then remembered a buddy complaining of the smell of his snapon soft grip screwdrivers and the "must be nasty" off gasses.

I found a good paper pg 13 A safe place : http://www.getty.edu/conservation/publi ... /v29n1.pdf

now im not a chemist but it would be nice to set up some guidelines for storing and preserving plastic and rubber components for the datsun 510. I have been storing parts for 15 years and I'm afraid I've been doing it wrong. :cry:

how to identify types of plastic, vinyl and rubber.

how to store said item

what to never store together

preservation and other things to aid in the longevity of our rubber and plastic bits both on and off the car.
two_68_510s wrote:I guess our donkeys are quicker then your sled dogs!
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RMS
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Re: cross contamination destroying plastics?

Post by RMS »

found a good news letter with some handy tables and a brief run down with lots of references
http://cool.conservation-us.org/waac/wn ... 4-102.html
two_68_510s wrote:I guess our donkeys are quicker then your sled dogs!
Three B's Racing
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Re: cross contamination destroying plastics?

Post by Three B's Racing »

RMS you are correct that the off gassing of one material will permeate and possibly attack opposing elements of incapability. Best to simply store plastics and rubber separately or individually wrapped before storing. But when you think of the age of that vent its very venerable to attach because its old and very permeable, bad combination.
"Lastnight the wife said oh boy when your dead you can't take nothing with you but your soul oh "Think"
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RMS
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Re: cross contamination destroying plastics?

Post by RMS »

had a nos nissan windshield gasket fail over the weekend. the gasket was in its stock bag prior to installation back in may. only soap and water used during installation. the gasket failed along the top of the windscreen @ the pinch weld groove.

could the 3m 777 spray adhesive used during headliner installation reacted with the ageing sticky to the touch rubber gasket? could it be off gas from the new vinyl headliner ?
two_68_510s wrote:I guess our donkeys are quicker then your sled dogs!
Three B's Racing
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Re: cross contamination destroying plastics?

Post by Three B's Racing »

RMS wrote:had a nos nissan windshield gasket fail over the weekend. the gasket was in its stock bag prior to installation back in may. only soap and water used during installation. the gasket failed along the top of the windscreen @ the pinch weld groove.

could the 3m 777 spray adhesive used during headliner installation reacted with the ageing sticky to the touch rubber gasket? could it be off gas from the new vinyl headliner ?
Did it crack on the inside-outside or both? I also have an NOS front gasket I will not be using because well, it's old though it is very plyable and in it's oem bag, I'm afraid once it gets UV'd it'll harden and crack quickly as yours did. But yeah your nos gasket conferms my fear in using it. Sorry that happened but glad your issue has made up my mind up.

Heres to you..
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"Lastnight the wife said oh boy when your dead you can't take nothing with you but your soul oh "Think"
- John Lennon
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RMS
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Re: cross contamination destroying plastics?

Post by RMS »

yup datsport all the way! I was thinking ... I dont run old tires because they are what keep me on the road so why would I run old rubber to keep the windscreen in place?

the bit that grabs the pinch weld (that you can see from the inside of the car ) along the top of the window opening split. the polymers did not oxide and harden but softened weakening its bond to its self and pulled apart like string cheese. apparently something to do with increased humidity and the formation of sulfuric acid. if it had oxidized and created a hard surface it may have lasted.

im happy when others can learn from my mistakes...... but im still seeing guys use por15 on panels... I guess some mistakes have to be learnt first hand.
two_68_510s wrote:I guess our donkeys are quicker then your sled dogs!
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