I will give you credit for doing something that we all will benefit from. Keep up the good work. Steven Willis The Bike Stand 1778 East Second Street Scotch Plains NJ 07076 908-332-3330 http://www.thebikestand.com
> So I have recently been buying up old-logo campy hoods to experiment
> with restoring or preserving them. the last set i got, was in bad
> shape with cracking everywhere and starting to split.
>
> i soaked them in acetone. this dissolved the outer layer slightly,
> which was good, but don't rub too hard or you can literally rub off
> the logo, which i did on one side of one hood.
>
> I tried boiling them but they just turned light yellow, rather than
> brown and apparently they did not absorb the hot filtered water, so i
> quit and cleaned them up with acetone again.
>
> I decided the main thing to do then was to reinforce the hood, so I
> have been repeatedly applying silicone to the inside of the hood
> (these ones have stretched out a little bit anyway).
>
> Overall I am disappointed but i think i have added maybe 5 usable
> years to a set of hoods that would probably have fallen off the bike
> next year, otherwise. h
>
> owever, i probably will now have to wear cycling gloves since acetone
> is a carcinogen. as a result, i am still looking for ideas for what
> can be done to preserve campy-type gum hoods.
>
> I think a better solution would be to buy brand-new dia compe hoods,
> and try adding silicone to the inside of them until they fit my campy
> levers very well. these are made of a much more durable rubber anyway
> and that seems to be the key to long-lasting hoods (together with
> frequent applications of armor-all).
>
> I have also noticed that nevr-dull (chrome polish) will lift dust,
> dirt, and oil out of old campy hoods.
>
> - Don Gillies
> San Diego, CA