- Thread starter Jcrease
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The_Yellow_Ardvark
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Spark plug
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I would probably use a light oil like 3in1 or air line oil.
mrsbruce
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Yes, as said, 3 in 1 or similar light oil will do the job.
richard8166
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Don't use a mineral based oil. It rots the leather after some time. Sunflower oil or most cooking oils are ideal for leather washers.
wristpin
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So replace the leather washer with something synthetic.
jerrytug
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Is it to soften and preserve the leather, or is it strictly to lubricate it? Is it a rare original washer which you must keep, or a repaceable bit, easy to replicate with a few minutes and a stanley knife?
Castor oil, a plant product, is very slippery, the most slippery natural lube I believe.
Lanolin is made by wool sheep and taken from the fleeces, or is that too close to animal for you? Ideal for the leather but not very slippery, mix with PTFE?
How about olive oil, mixed with a spoonful of PTFE lube?
Castor oil, a plant product, is very slippery, the most slippery natural lube I believe.
Lanolin is made by wool sheep and taken from the fleeces, or is that too close to animal for you? Ideal for the leather but not very slippery, mix with PTFE?
How about olive oil, mixed with a spoonful of PTFE lube?
Been given a vintage air gun dont think its been used in 20 years so want to soften and preserve the leather washer and lubricate I suppose.It works perfectly surprisingly, so dont want to replace the washer. As for animal products I am a vegetarian so dont want to use products made from dead animals.
Thanks for the input everyone.
Thanks for the input everyone.
bigegg
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"leather" washer?
or is it a synthetic? which might change the answer to your question.
Seadog
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Leather washers used to be very common. Blowlamps and tyre pumps to name just a couple of uses. Oh, my old garden hand pump as well.
I think chrome leather would be original .
Migmac
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brightspark
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leather is from animal pelts
jerrytug
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You would be safe with lanolin, the sheeps isnt killed, just gets a nice haircut
DAPPH
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Pop it in a small baby food sized tin and add a three or four teaspoons of Vaseline then stand the tin in some boiling water with any flames turned off.. It will soak in the leather , re warm it with more boiling water a few times . It will stay really soft .
The other alternative is to use dubbin in the same manner but that might upset your sensitive side of things as it is made with fish , mink & mutton fats & oils .
richard8166
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Mineral oil promotes the degradation of leather. Leather will usually still last years in mineral oil, but it will last longer with other types of oil.
I found a reasonable explanation at: http://oldleathershoe.com/wordpress/?p=608
I only got looking at this in the past due to needing to make some new leather washers for old foot pumps and finding a website all about it: http://www.vintagepumps.co.uk/
Some nicely fixed up foot pumps on there. Caused me to buy a few more
I found a reasonable explanation at: http://oldleathershoe.com/wordpress/?p=608
I only got looking at this in the past due to needing to make some new leather washers for old foot pumps and finding a website all about it: http://www.vintagepumps.co.uk/
Some nicely fixed up foot pumps on there. Caused me to buy a few more
