MG Chemicals 408A-125ML Rubber Renue, 125 ml Liquid Bottle (2-(Pack))

I have a very old cassette deck. I had been searching for a product to properly clean tape oxide on the rubber capstan pinch roller. I researched this extensively. There was a product made by TEAC but has since been discontinued that was specifically formulated to clean rubber pinch rollers in cassette decks. Numerous posts on the Internet stated that Rubber Renue from MG Chemicals was the best product to use since the TEAC product has been discontinued. Other posts stated that using alcohol - even highly pure 99.9% isopropyl alcohol, will dry and ultimately crack the rubber. I confirmed this with the Tascam service/support team, but they said that since they no longer make the proper rubber cleaner, they have no choice but to use isopropyl alcohol and that it will ultimately render the rubber roller dried and cracked. So, given the large numbers of comments stating that Rubber Renue from MG Chemicals was the correct product to use, I called their sales department at MG Chemicals. They confirmed that this product can be used to clean rubber capstan pinch roller cleaners - that it was in fact ideal for this use. When I first opened the bottle and applied it, I was struck by how it smelled of wintergreen. I was also concerned by the warnings on the bottle - the product is very toxic. I cleaned the rubber pinch roller and a lot of black oxidized rubber came off of the roller. After that first application, no other black oxidized rubber came off. So I tried a second and third application because all of the oxidized tape residue hadn't been removed, but no more black material came off of the roller. I became concerned that this was likely an incorrect product to use on a rubber capstan pinch roller that comes into contact with audio tape. Upon much additional research:- In fact, no product with any oils should be used to clean rubber capstan pinch rollers that comes into direct contact with audio tape. This MG Chemicals Rubber Renue product contains wintergreen oil that is absorbed by the rubber as a way to prevent the rubber from being dried out. I confirmed with several experts that this is the worst thing a person can do to a capstan pinch roller.- MG Chemicals technical support confirmed that they were not able to recommend this product be used on rubber that contacts audio or video tape. They said that it simply has not been designed or tested for such use.- MG Chemicals was very helpful to let me know that the formulation of this product did not harm the rubber and is designed to remove oxidized rubber without leaving oxidized rubber residue, and that it does leave behind wintergreen oil.- I talked with American Recorder technical support about their head and capstan pinch roller cleaner S-721H-4. They confirmed that S-721H-4 has been safe to use to clean rubber pinch rollers for over 40 years and is the correct product to remove oxidized tape from pinch rollers. They also confirmed that I should be OK to remove the wintergreen oil from the pinch roller using S-721H-4.- I saw one post from someone that services their high-end tape deck with this MG Chemicals Rubber Renue and then uses American Recorder S-721H-4 to remove the wintergreen oil.MG Chemicals responded to my questions immediately, they were very professional, and willing to go the extra mile to get the correct technical experts involved to understand my problem. They were great.Conclusions:For cleaning audio and video pinch rollers that come into direct contact with audio and video tapes, this product should not be used according to exerts, including those at MG Chemicals. If you do need to restore rubber pinch rollers that contact audio and video tape, be careful to not use a product that infuses oils into the rubber as this can damage or destroy the audio tape. American Recorder confirmed this, and said that if you need a good cleaner that will not dry the rubber roller, use their product: S-721H-4.Jeff Blasinski

MG Chemicals 408A Rubber Renue, 125 ml Liquid BottleI recently picked up a Sony TC-630 Reel to Reel on craigslist. The guy who sold it to me hadn't powered it on in about 16 years and had no tape to test it. We turned it on and it looked like it was working okay so I took a chance on it. I picked up some tape on ebay and when I tried to record and play it back, that's when I noticed some issues with the wheels turning (or struggling to turn).I cleaned all the metal parts with alcohol and put oil in the areas specified by the owner's manual but was still seeing issues with the capstan not turning. I noticed that the rubber wheel that turns the capstan was just sliding against it and not getting any friction. After doing some research I found MG Chemicals 408A Rubber Renue. I spent about 20 minutes cleaning the 2 main rubber wheels, which you can see looking good as new in the pictures, and they are gripping very well now. I was able to record and play back on tape I have. I'm not sure how often you need to do this but for now things are working very well. I definitely recommend this product, with the caveat that I read you shoudn't use it on the pinch roller since it could leave gunk on your tape. I will be uploading some videos of the player in action so check back if you want to see how it all worked out.

Impressed with how well this works on old intake boots and hoses on older engines. Won't fix cracked rubber, but makes it much more pliable. This size seemed a little small for the application and was enough to cover half of an intake boot at a time. Nevertheless, this is expensive and it got the job done. The end result is saving a lot of money on hard to find rubber, so I would definitely recommend this product.

This came highly recommended from fine art printing forums but I was disappointed. Really didn't work well to keep my Canon Pro9000 II print rollers "grippy" while I was printing large numbers of fine art giclee on high quality paper. The smell is incredibly strong and toxic, which is to be expected from powerful products. When Rubber Renue didn't work, I tried isopropyl (ineffective), plain water (worked okay but not great), and then finally, in desperation, Tony Moly Galactomyces Essence, which is a Korean skincare product that consists of a very thin, non-oil, watery moisturizer. I have no idea why, but this product moisturized the printer rollers exactly the same way it moisturizes skin, and made them sticky again.

I used this stuff to restore the rubber on the carb boots for my 1970 Honda CB450. The stuff is super toxic, so make sure to use chem-resistant gloves. On the other hand, it leaves your garage smelling minty fresh. Just open a window before you pass out though.

Well, I haven't for years gotten rubber printer rollers, belts in tape decks, or what ever else to rejuvenate like this stuff can do. I'm impressed, and now I am going to be like a kid in a candy store and get all my stuff renewed. I have a combo VCR/VHS deck that is on the fritz and when I open it to clean all the dust out it'll get the treatment with Rubber Renue. I just fixed my tape deck that had a couple of fried parts, it'll be fun to use it again with rubber all freshened up. The stuff is odorish, LOL, but I know it's working! Did I say, it'll look like you put brand new rollers or belts in your equipment, and it doesn't soften them up like they got wrecked or anything, just makes em new. Chemistry is amazing sometimes.