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303 on what bits?

WGalbraith said:
Dave: The last time I used graphite to lube automotive parts, I was covered from head to toe with black smears. I would not recommend it for your latex drysuit gaskets.
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LOL. Graphite is nasty that way. I really was not intending to suggest it for latex! Especially because commercial grade graphite ... stuff sold by lock shops to lubricate door locks ... is an amorphous mess of pure graphite and various lower molecular weight hydrocarbons, some able to dissolve latex, over time. Research grade stuff is clean, but just a carbon version of unobtainium, and with a cost to match!
 
The ingredients in 303 are 'secret', but one caution:
Replacement gaskets are usually glued to the (trimmed) remnant of the original gasket.
If you get silicone on the base of the original gasket, the new gasket won't stick to it.
 
Lots of 303 lore out there. Scuttlebutt in the 1990s was no silicone in 303.

Based on that, a bunch of us who owned Folbots routinely conditioned the Hypalon skins, inside and out, with it. For years. You could not get a patch to stick to the Hypalon if it still felt slick, in use, up to half of a two-week every day use trip. But, a little scuffing with 80 grit sandpaper to remove the shine, and barge cement, contact cement, and other cements all were successful in making strong patches on exposed lines: keel, chines, you nane it. I used a boat so patched for three seasons, and no delamination at all.

From this experience, mirrored by others in the Folbot fleet, I believe 303 does not have silicones in it.
 
I'm interested to hear that 303 is recommended for drysuit gaskets, I didn't know that.

I last used silicone spray on my gaskets, only for them to very quickly fall apart! Looking at the spray can afterwards, through my tears I read that the propellant was hydrocarbon! An expensive reading lesson.
 
WGalbraith said:
I use the 10oz. spray bottle of 303 protectant. At MEC it is $25.00
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Thanks! Will have to try that.
I suppose the stuff fills up micro scratches and thereby rebuilts a flat, optically better, surface. But the film left is not really hard nor scratch resistant, is-it? I understand that stuff is mostly an anti-UV agent, so I am currious to see how fast (and badly) that rebuilt surface will scratch and how often I would then have to reapply that 303.
 
Pascal said:
Thanks! Will have to try that.
I suppose the stuff fills up micro scratches and thereby rebuilts a flat, optically better, surface. But the film left is not really hard nor scratch resistant, is-it? I understand that stuff is mostly an anti-UV agent, so I am currious to see how fast (and badly) that rebuilt surface will scratch and how often I would then have to reapply that 303.
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Has someone verified this? Typically, lens coatings are extremely thin and designed to minimize glare by interference. Adding a dozen microns of any nonuniform coating would only mess that up, no?
 
Astoriadave said:
Has someone verified this? Typically, lens coatings are extremely thin and designed to minimize glare by interference. Adding a dozen microns of any nonuniform coating would only mess that up, no?
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Dave: I only refered to WGalbraith saying: (...) As the faces on my watch, gps, vhf radio age they are harder to see in bright conditions. The 303 makes them look like new and shed water much better.
I would never even think about applying anyting to a camera lens. And you are right, modern lenses have complex multicoating that could only be messed up by adding anything on the top. So again, I was intrigued by 303 on screens, not lenses. In by "optically better", I meant that the absence of scratches makes for a more translucent surface and an easier to read screen.
 
My bad, Pascal. I should have reread your post before elucidating. My fuzzy memory obliterated your very clear description. How interesting 303 can help those watch covers, etc.
 
Just tried it (303 Protectant) on my old GPS screen. Works beautifully. Scratches are not affecting screen clarity any longer when direct sun is hitting the unit. Hope it will last a while. Thanks for this tip.
 
I 303 my drysuit gaskets and the treads on the Mariner 4 inch inspection port. For the rest of the boat I do a wax at the beginning of the season and if a smudge is resistant, I use some gel coat restorer (very slightly abrasive I think - like toothpaste - just enough to clean off the marks).

For a long time, my paddling partner would struggle with the firm rubber hatch covers on her EddieLine Fathom LV. Eddieline sent us a "day hatch" replacement that was much more pliable. Too pliable in my mind. Finally someone suggested I hit the firmer hatch covers with 303 - around the inside rim. Now they pop on with ease. That is, they work like they should. They won't blow off with a dumping wave, but you don't have to drive your kayak 6 inches into the sand pushing to get them on.
 
JohnAbercrombie said:
303 is popular with sea kayakers, and Kokatat recommends it in their dry suit care guidelines:
https://kokatat.com/pdf/KokatatDSstorage.pdf

I've tried both 303 and talc on my drysuit gaskets and prefer talc.
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Just before I put 303 on my Kokatat gaskets I searched online, and there is a reasonable amount of discussion on 303 versus ArmorAll, with supporters and detractors of both.

As I've destroyed gaskets in the past I'm a bit paranoid, so keen to hear from the brains trust here their views.

Cheers

John
 
I've also used McNett UV Tech Protectant and find it and 303 have the same "feel" in use, and say they are for protecting rubber, dry suits, etc.

Suspect it is less important which of these similar products you use and more that you use it regularly.
 
Ah, the silicone spray / Armor All (AA) on latex issue. For decades, the dominant wisdom has been that Armor All contains silicone oils, and silicone oils damage "latex." I have avoided AA for that reason, have religiously used 303 in lieu, and had satisfactory service ... and now comes the important part ... storing my dry suit and paddle jackets in a house using indirect heating and having no petrochemicals in it.

1. AA may not contain silicones. The manufacturers won't tell you, either way.

2. Today's latex may be substantially different from yesterday's. Differently sourced latexes may be formulated differently, and therefore have great differences in sensitivity to silicones (see below for silicone effects on a wide variety of rubbers, aka elastomers).

3. And, the great unknown: the effect of air-distributed environmental contaminants on stored latex . Some are well known to degrade latex: ozone, petroleum oils, gasoline, butanes, natural gas, for example. (Ozone is produced by electrostatic air cleaners, such as those in some forced air heating systems.)

Because anecdotal descriptions almost never stipulate storage conditions in detail, one must always ask about that. My house is as benign as can be. My sometime paddling buddy Rich from Corvallis, OR stored his near-new 1999 vintage Kokatat dry suit in a closet, unprotected, for five years. Pulled it out in 2004, and the latex was cracked and fragile, suggesting ozone damage. I think his forced air heating system was the culprit. But, Rich has very fair skin, and liberally douses his neck and hands with sunscreen ... brand unknown in 2004. That dry suit also spent a lot of time in his RV, on trips, the hydrocarbons from vehicle fuel, stove butane/propane also perhaps a culprit.

The anecdote game is a never ending one.
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Data on silicone oil effects on various rubbers, pretty much all the common synthetic ones known, from this source: http://mykin.com/rubber-chemical-resistance-chart-5 Note that all but two are very resistant. Latex rubber was not on their list, likely because of the highly variable provenance of "latex rubber."

Silicone Oils 1 1 1 1 3 1 1 1 1 1 3 X 1

1 = no damage 4 = lots of damage X = not tested
 
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Forgot to mention: use care in wording searches on "latex rubber." There is a cadre of "latex fetish" people, quite benign folks who like to wear latex clothing (who knew?) who have tested almost everything on latex, to improve its shine, pliability, etc. Nothing objectionable, but unless you block that phrase, Google will give you a lot of fetish stuff.
 
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Pascal said:
Just tried it (303 Protectant) on my old GPS screen. Works beautifully. Scratches are not affecting screen clarity any longer when direct sun is hitting the unit. Hope it will last a while. Thanks for this tip.
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My technique for maximum effect is to wipe on a small amount of 303 with a face cloth sized piece of towel. When the 303 appears to be dry, I polish with a clean microfibre cloth. I buy them a dozen at a time at Canadian Tire and wash them separately from clothing.
 
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