I have a dumb question for the "small" airplane guys. What do you use for Rubber motor lube? I know this is an R/C site but like most old timers I started out building rubber powered stick and tissue models. I have not built one for over forty years but I bought a Gullows kit for my grandson's first airplane kit. I remember rubber lube, Glyserin & Green soap. Is there a substitute available. What in the world is "green soap"? Would dish soap work?

I remember how much fun I had building and crashing those little airplanes. They started me on a liftime of kit building. I only hope the do the same for him.

Thanks,

Hi Roger. Not a dumb question. Slick-Lube is popular. You can get it here:

http://www.faimodelsupply.com/FAI3.htm

Sig sells lube, too. But they want $6.49 for a 4oz bottle.

Or, you can add glycerin to some dish soap and make your own "green soap."

BTW, Tan Super Sport is currently the best rubber around since FAI Tan II disapeared:

http://www.faimodelsupply.com/fai2.htm

Avoid dish soap. It's a harsher detergent.

Get some glycerine and castor oil from the drug store and pick up a container of the thickest liquid hand soap you can buy. Mix the glycerine and soap 50-50 then add about a a tenth again of castor oil. This makes a nice slick lube that can be washed off easily.

Some of the guys use the silicone spray called "Son Of A Gun" but I don't like it because you can't easily wash it off or ever again tie a knot in the rubber if required.

Free Flight Forever Dude...

I'ed check the MDS on those silicone lubes, most if not all silicone oils and greases are highly carcenogenic.
Stewart

I read somewhere that WD-40 works well.

Hint: Tie all your knots BEFORE you lube it.

George

Bruce, Stewart, George,
Thanks to you all. I think I can get started now. I might just have enough of the required ingrediants to concoct my own lube.

The problem I had with the soap mixtures was the mess it made to my always perfect tissue finishes in peanuts and Bostonians if I got just a little too much on the strands. I remember spraying something from the "normal" stores - was it Armorall?

Dad coated his in some kind of powder i think it was corn starch for some reason.

Tiny bit of Armorall worked for me.

Likely talcum powder. BUt that's for storage only. In use you need something greasy to let the rubber slide around on itself to avoid ripping and tearing and thus bursting.

Just remembered another option that some folks use. Rubber grease. You may be able to get it from some auto outlets.

WD40 is not a good idea if you want the rubber to last for longer than a day. WD40 has petrochemical solvents in it that will attack the latex based rubber..... although come to think of it there's a chance that the new tan stuff is synthetic and may not suffer like the old stuff would have. Still, if you want to talk about harmful to the operator and flicking around in the model then WD is a good thing to avoid.

If you have the time then using the lube and then laying it out for a few minutes to dry a bit helps limit the fling. Also blotting off any gross excess with a paper towel helps with whatever lube you use.

My mind is still as sharp as it ever was - even after all these decades since my indoor rubber days. Yes, it's a source of great joy to me here in my 'golden years.' Well, I suppose I ought to admit that there is a very rare situation when my memory is not as pefect as the rest of my faculties. For example, in the case of talcum powder for rubber motor storage - I'm thinking that baby powder was bad because of the perfumes used - but I'm darned if I can remember what the source for unscented talcum was. Well, if the right neuron fires you'll see "edited" at the bottom of this post.

raymond,
I beleive some health food stores and fiberglass suppliers have uncented(raw) talc.
Stewart

peck polymers sells rubber lube , its the one I use for peanut planes.