Restoring rubber stair treads
Bob
with many ribs on each tread(very very narrow space between each rib). They
are in excellent condition but although I vacuum and mop(with ammonia
solution) them often, they never really look that good.
I am going to be repainting the wood portion of the stairs and would like to
have the rubber treads look a lot better than they do. Removing them and
going to new ones is not an option, so any ideas about how to clean them,
restore them,etc would be much appreciated.
Thank you,
Bob
charlie
"Bob" <bri...@spiritone.com> wrote in message
news:4af1f27f$0$86452$39ce...@news.twtelecom.net...
what about the stuff they spray on tires at the car wash?
RicodJour
> "Bob" <brin...@spiritone.com> wrote in message
>
> >I have rubber stair treads on my back entryway steps. They are black rubber
> >with many ribs on each tread(very very narrow space between each rib). They
> >are in excellent condition but although I vacuum and mop(with ammonia
> >solution) them often, they never really look that good.
>
> > I am going to be repainting the wood portion of the stairs and would like
> > to have the rubber treads look a lot better than they do. Removing them
> > and going to new ones is not an option, so any ideas about how to clean
> > them, restore them,etc would be much appreciated.
>
>
That was my first thought as well, but isn't there silicone in there?
It would affect repainting and would might make the treads more
slippery.
R
Bob
Thank you very much!
Bob
"charlie" <chan...@nospam.yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:hcss4c$8ne$1...@news.eternal-september.org...
dpb
...top posting repaired--don't do that... :(
> Great idea
...
see another's poster's comments on that before get _too_ excited...
--
sa...@dog.com
wrote:
Just about any product used to "restore" rubber is also going to make
it slippery as hell.
EXT
There is an industrial product called "rubber rejuvinator", very volatile,
but it cleans rubber very well. Years ago I worked in a autobody shop and we
used "tire paint" to refresh the tires after we painted and cleaned the car.
It was thick out of the can, you thinned it to water consistency and painted
the tires, rubber car mats and foot pedals to make them all look new for the
used car lots that were our customers.
I saw some many years ago in an auto parts store, so I don't know if it is
still available now.
Jim
Why not try rubbing alcohol and a bristle brush? I use it to
rejuvinate the rubber ball on my mouse and the rubber comes back to new
again.... Jim
Nate Nagel
That sounds like a bad idea... I think that's mostly silicone and while
it does an excellent job of making rubber look good and protecting it,
it also makes it slick...
nate
--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.
http://members.cox.net/njnagel
aemeijers
armor-all or similar. Then to restore the non-skid properties, buzz the
non-skid bumps with a scraper and a rag dampened with alcohol. You want
to protect and shield the rubber surface everywhere except the high
spots where the smooth shoesoles hit.
At work, a few years ago, they put that non-skid decking stuff in all
the elevators. The next week, the cleaning crew waxed it. Those little
raised dots became like walking on marbles in wet weather. So the
trimmed a huge commercial doormat to fit and laid it over that. A few
months later, they ripped all that out, and put in indoor-outdoor carpet
squares. (Don't laugh too hard- your taxes paid for all of it.)
--
aem sends...
--
aem sends...
Smitty Two
wrote:
Sorry, I have to disagree on that, Salty. Rubber rejuvenator was
commonly used on VCR tires that had begun to get hard and brittle. It
restored, to a degree, the resilience and grip of the tires. Not every
product is as useless as Armor All.
Joe
Check out the products at an autobody supply store. Second source, the
catalogues of auto restoration companies like Eastwood. 3M has a large
listing of amazing stuff available at such places. Janitor supply
stores should also have things that might do what you want. Good luck
shopping.
Joe
sa...@dog.com
I'll have to disagree with that. Re-Grip, which is the product you are
referring to, would make for a very slick walking surface. It was only
a temporary fix for VCR tires, anyway. It also comes in a very tiny
bottle for several dollars. To use it on an entire stair tread, you
would spend hundreds of dollars, befor discovering just how slick a
surface it would leave.
WW
>off the oxidized rubber and they are soft again and look good. WW
Larry Fishel
> Jim wrote:
> Brush with a stiff brush, clean with spray cleaner, and treat with
> armor-all or similar.
Danger Will Robinson!!!
Don't use Armor-all unless you have a pair of golf shoes to wear while
climbing the stairs. (I've never tried it on stair treads, but I've
made the mistake of putting it on a motorcycle seat before. It made
riding "interesting".)
Smitty Two
wrote:
> On Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:30:47 -0800, Smitty Two
> <prest...@earthlink.net> wrote:
>
> >In article <9614f5pia91kqk6qr...@4ax.com>, sa...@dog.com
> >wrote:
> >>
> >> Just about any product used to "restore" rubber is also going to make
> >> it slippery as hell.
> >
> >Sorry, I have to disagree on that, Salty. Rubber rejuvenator was
> >commonly used on VCR tires that had begun to get hard and brittle. It
> >restored, to a degree, the resilience and grip of the tires. Not every
> >product is as useless as Armor All.
>
> I'll have to disagree with that. Re-Grip, which is the product you are
> referring to, would make for a very slick walking surface. It was only
> a temporary fix for VCR tires, anyway. It also comes in a very tiny
> bottle for several dollars. To use it on an entire stair tread, you
> would spend hundreds of dollars, befor discovering just how slick a
> surface it would leave.
Ha. Well, I wasn't advocating trying to restore the rubber treads with
anything. I think the OP should live with them or replace them. I was
just taking exception to your blanket statement about slipperiness and
restoration. Two observations:
1. I never walked on a restored VCR tire, but if it were slippery, it
wouldn't pull tape. You're meant to saturate the tire, allow it to soak
in some, then wipe off all excess. It always worked well for me and
didn't leave a slick surface.
2. Anything that comes in a two ounce bottle originally came in a 55
gallon drum, and the price difference is not proportional by volume.
Most of the price of liquids is packaging and distribution, not
ingredients.
WW
"Larry Fishel" <ldfi...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:37dcf771-18c2-497a...@s15g2000yqs.googlegroups.com...
Danger Will Robinson!!!
Hey Larry...I did that years ago. Bike moved out with out me. WW
charlie
"WW" <cc...@nospambresnan.net> wrote in message
news:fKmdnZzkRsGTg27X...@bresnan.com...
everyone does that.....once...
aemeijers
something, and scrape them, to take the sheen off.
That would still leave the anti-skid properties of the rubber, but make
the rest look not so nasty.
But yeah, the proper cure is replacement.
--
aem sends...
Smitty Two
wrote:
> On Thu, 05 Nov 2009 09:05:24 -0800, Smitty Two
> <prest...@earthlink.net> wrote:
>
> >
> >1. I never walked on a restored VCR tire, but if it were slippery, it
> >wouldn't pull tape. You're meant to saturate the tire, allow it to soak
> >in some, then wipe off all excess. It always worked well for me and
> >didn't leave a slick surface.
> >
>
> What can I say, other than that you are wrong. Re-Grip leaves the
> surface wet and sticky just like honey would.
Sure. Then you wipe it off. You keep ignoring that step. But please,
make up your mind. Does it leave it slippery, or sticky? You seem to be
waffling on your own assertion.
>
> >
> >2. Anything that comes in a two ounce bottle originally came in a 55
> >gallon drum, and the price difference is not proportional by volume.
> >Most of the price of liquids is packaging and distribution, not
> >ingredients.
>
> I assume you have a contact where I can order a 55 gallon drum of
> re-grip for a price that would make it economically feasible to use
> for rejuvenating some stair treads that really should be replaced?
I agree the treads should be replaced. But if I needed a 55 gallon drum
of re-grip, I could find it quite easily.
Ed
probably caused permanent color change to the rubber. Contact a
janitorial supply store for the proper products. A cleaner called
"Profi" is recommended for cleaning rubber. Then there are specific
coatings for rubber that won't crack or flake like those made for
vinyl tile floors. Rubber generally doesn't have a high shine but more
of a satin sheen. If rubber needs to be stripped of coatings be sure
to get a stripper made for use on rubber.
mm
wrote:
>I have rubber stair treads on my back entryway steps. They are black rubber
mAYBE YOU'D HAVE luck at a janitor supply store. I went to one when I
heard they sold stuff that removed soot. They told me what they sold
me was what janitors used, but it didn't work in the place I tried it.
Maybe becaues I'd already tried something else.
Now I see someone sells treated sponges for soot. Maybe that will
worrk better.
But that I had bad luck, doesn't mean you will. The place in
baltimore is called Sterling Chemical. No mention of janitors, but I
think that's who they sell to, and janitors with longer names.
sa...@dog.com
<prest...@earthlink.net> wrote:
>In article <9926f5p6hooj2o31q...@4ax.com>, sa...@dog.com
>wrote:
>
>> On Thu, 05 Nov 2009 09:05:24 -0800, Smitty Two
>> <prest...@earthlink.net> wrote:
>>
>
>> >
>> >1. I never walked on a restored VCR tire, but if it were slippery, it
>> >wouldn't pull tape. You're meant to saturate the tire, allow it to soak
>> >in some, then wipe off all excess. It always worked well for me and
>> >didn't leave a slick surface.
>> >
>>
>> What can I say, other than that you are wrong. Re-Grip leaves the
>> surface wet and sticky just like honey would.
>
>Sure. Then you wipe it off. You keep ignoring that step.
No, I am not ignoring that step.
>But please,
>make up your mind. Does it leave it slippery, or sticky? You seem to be
>waffling on your own assertion.
>
I'm not waffling at all. spread a gallon of Re-Grip on a rubber floor
and walk on it. I think you will find that it is sticky, but doesn't
exactly enhance traction. The slight stickiness of partially dissolved
rubber left by RE-Grip is what temporarily makes a glazed rubber wheel
able to move mylar tape.
>>
>> >
>> >2. Anything that comes in a two ounce bottle originally came in a 55
>> >gallon drum, and the price difference is not proportional by volume.
>> >Most of the price of liquids is packaging and distribution, not
>> >ingredients.
>>
>> I assume you have a contact where I can order a 55 gallon drum of
>> re-grip for a price that would make it economically feasible to use
>> for rejuvenating some stair treads that really should be replaced?
>
>I agree the treads should be replaced. But if I needed a 55 gallon drum
>of re-grip, I could find it quite easily.
I've challenged you to prove that, not speculate.
Smitty Two
wrote:
I'm not interested in proving it to you. And, I'm not speculating.
Here's a little story for your amusement, while you gum your soggy toast:
A multi-national corporation decides to build a large new manufacturing
plant. They want to generate their own power onsite, and they want to do
it using generators that burn used tires. A half dozen or so of their
top lackeys spend three months searching the internet, calling and
emailing everyone they can find, and turn up empty handed.
Finally they call a guy who says he can find things. A professional
researcher, who has spent his entire life in the field. Sure, the guy
says, I can find that. It'll cost you $3500. Agreed. The guy spends 1.5
hrs. on the project, and returns the names of 3 companies, along with
the phone numbers and email addresses of the president of each company,
who manufacture generators designed to burn used tires.
The guy, by the way, works at home, in his underwear. And that story
isn't unique, it's just representative. So, if I needed a 55 gallon drum
of regrip, which I don't, I'd just call him, since he's one of my
closest friends. The info would probably cost me lunch.
Smitty Two
wrote:
> On Fri, 06 Nov 2009 06:36:59 -0800, Smitty Two
> So, now you are speculating that for $3500, someone will tell you
> where to find a 55 gallon drum of Re-Grip that you will still have to
> pay for.
>
> Game, set ,match. Don't bother with any more lame responses that don't
> actually prove anything. I think I now know where to look if I need an
> endless supply of hot air.
Do you work at being a knothead, salty, or does it come naturally? What
part of "the info would probably cost me lunch" didn't you get? I didn't
say YOU could find a reasonably priced drum of regrip, I said I could
find one. I could, you couldn't. See? Game, set, match my ass.
And while we're on the subject of hot air, please link me to your
thesaurus that lists "sticky" as a synonym for "slippery," as you've
repeatedly claimed.