Lightsaber Maintenance Questions

[AimlessWanderer]

Here's the frazzerlackerly stick in question ...



A Master Replicas, Force Fx Luke Skywalker EpIV Ltd Edition



It was a gift about 7 years ago from a good friend of mine after I was his Best Man when he got married in France. It doesn't normally live on my coffee table  but I got it out the other day for a quick pic on a different thread and noticed the rubbery inserts on the handle have started to go a bit ... tacky.



I'm concerned the ... whatever material it actually is ... has started to perish and break down. It's not something on it, it's the material itself. I'm looking for suggestions of how to stop/reverse/overcome this as I don't want to let it get too bad, or paint some kind of preservative coating on, only for it to attack it and to make it worse



Anyone know anything about this kind of stuff ... I haven't got a clue 

[Pacu]

maybe rub some silicone lubricant on the grips with q tips to halt/limit the degradation of the rubber?

rubber sometimes gets nasty when it gets old.

maybe someone else will chime in here

[tattoosteve99]

Try vaseline. Petrol products actually loose it's "petrol" over time. Vaseline helps put some back in. I use it in vinyl, rubber, stuff like that.

[Whoey]

the oil bath seemed to work good for the droids in EP IV...

[AimlessWanderer]

Thanks guys, don't petroleum products attack rubber? 
Silicone lube - yeah, that might be worth a try 

[bushidomosquito]

Has it been handled a lot? It may just be a low grade rubber who's time is up. I'd say Armor All or other automotive vinyl/rubber preservative but that stuff works best before the decay sets in. If it turns out to be non-reversible you could always replace them with G10 or carbon fiber. 

[Grant Lamontagne]

I don't have much to add to the above, other than to say I love how this is the only forum I've ever encountered where you can actually have a serious discussion about the real maintenance of an actual lightsaber! 

Def

[MultiMat]

Al I am shocked  , A BLOODY shelf queen  .

I say just give it a wipe down & go find some Sith  , maybe have the wine after you have dispatched the Dark Side dwellers though  , Don't drink & use the Force 


Sorry Def I could not help myself 

[sawman]

Try vaseline. Petrol products actually loose it's "petrol" over time. Vaseline helps put some back in. I use it in vinyl, rubber, stuff like that.

I thought that was a big no no.  Won't that cause it to deteriorate even faster?

[Syph007]

Try vaseline. Petrol products actually loose it's "petrol" over time. Vaseline helps put some back in. I use it in vinyl, rubber, stuff like that.

I thought that was a big no no.  Won't that cause it to deteriorate even faster?

Ya didnt they tell you that in health class to not use vaseline with condoms!?!? 

[Neil]

I've never had any success is preventing this kind of breakdown in rubber coated items, always ended up either dumping the item or removing the rubber entirely.

I'd be tempted to remove the rubber parts and use them as a mold to make new parts.

[nuphoria]

I've never had any success is preventing this kind of breakdown in rubber coated items, always ended up either dumping the item or removing the rubber entirely.

I'd be tempted to remove the rubber parts and use them as a mold to make new parts.

Now that's a man with integrity.... strong the force is with him.

[Beerplumber]

Has it been handled a lot? It may just be a low grade rubber who's time is up. I'd say Armor All or other automotive vinyl/rubber preservative but that stuff works best before the decay sets in. If it turns out to be non-reversible you could always replace them with G10 or carbon fiber.

+1, automotive products are the only thing I can think of made to protect that kind of material. The damage is hopefully just on the surface of these parts, clean them up and slap the armor-all on them. Or commission bushido to make carbon fibre parts which is without a doubt how a true Jedi Knight would roll. @ BushidoMosquito - "you WILL produce Carbon fibre lightsaber parts..."




Stay multi my friends

[bushidomosquito]

 Or commission bushido to make carbon fibre parts which is without a doubt how a true Jedi Knight would roll. @ BushidoMosquito - "you WILL produce Carbon fibre lightsaber parts..."




Stay multi my friends

Oh, I'm already more than halfway there. I had a titanium and carbon fiber light saber phase before I got into the SAKs. I still have a box of titanium and carbon fiber tubing light saber parts that I've worked on here and there and decided to set it all aside until I got a lathe and could make solid aluminum cores that would hold the fiberglass rod for real action. Just a holdover from my SCA and kendo days to want to be able to use them for real.

Yes, the nerd force is strong with this one.

[AimlessWanderer]

Thanks guys, I'll check out the automotive stuff and see what I can find. I might see how easy the inserts come away and treat a couple of them to see what happens. I had considered G10 (or similar) replacements too, but I'm not sure where to get that in the UK ... I'll have a search round 

I don't have much to add to the above, other than to say I love how this is the only forum I've ever encountered where you can actually have a serious discussion about the real maintenance of an actual lightsaber! 

I still figured it was safe to not bother running a search to check for similar threads first 

Al I am shocked  , A BLOODY shelf queen  .

I say just give it a wipe down & go find some Sith  , maybe have the wine after you have dispatched the Dark Side dwellers though  , Don't drink & use the Force 


Sorry Def I could not help myself 

Who says it's not a user Mat? 

Used for giggles and general silliness that is 
Alcohol is mandatory BTW 

[jzmtl]

I've had that happen on various things and I'm afraid once the rubber starts to go there's nothing you can do.   

[AimlessWanderer]

That's two rather definitive votes for replace, and a few slightly more tentative nods towards treatment ...  I suspect shopping for alternate materials might end up being the key to this one 

[Sparky415]

Sugru any good?  it goes hard and rubbery

http://sugru.com/

[AimlessWanderer]

Hmmm .... the material might work, only concern is whether I can make the profile uniform enough so it doesn't just look like I've blobbed plasticine all over it 

[Sparky415]

I just had another look at the pic 

Are they held on by hex screws? so the stuff must be quite solid for example harder than the rubber mats from a car 

I think you are right Al it might be better getting something machined

[AimlessWanderer]

Yeah, they're quire a sturdy material. I'll take some measurements with my calipers later so I know what I'm looking for

[Sparky415]

I don't have much to add to the above, other than to say I love how this is the only forum I've ever encountered where you can actually have a serious discussion about the real maintenance of an actual lightsaber! 

Def

+1   


   

[Stazi]

I don't have much to add to the above, other than to say I love how this is the only forum I've ever encountered where you can actually have a serious discussion about the real maintenance of an actual lightsaber! 

Def

+1   


 +2  That's  what I like about this place 

[bushidomosquito]

If you're not too concerned with it staying original I can cut 6 strips of carbon fiber and sand them on the back side to have the same radius as the tube they'll sit on. Drill a hole for the screw and some epoxy will hold them well. All I'll need is one of the rubber bits to measure dimensions and hole placement and the diameter of the tube for the radius. It won't have the fin sticking up but that would make for a more comfortable grip. I have black peel ply G10 too if you really like to swing it around and want a good grip. It would be cheaper and will probably look more like it belonged there than the CF.

Should be a quick and easy job.   

[AimlessWanderer]

Bah! They're not allen screws - they're hollow rivets 

Thanks for the offer bushy, I might just take you up on that 

In the meantime I think I will try a "clean and preserve" option first. There's a couple of decent auto parts places not too far from here, so I'll see what they've got. Even if it means I'll get some extra time before having to mess around with a switcheroo. 

[Heinz Doofenshmirtz]

 Or commission bushido to make carbon fibre parts which is without a doubt how a true Jedi Knight would roll. @ BushidoMosquito - "you WILL produce Carbon fibre lightsaber parts..."




Stay multi my friends

Oh, I'm already more than halfway there. I had a titanium and carbon fiber light saber phase before I got into the SAKs. I still have a box of titanium and carbon fiber tubing light saber parts that I've worked on here and there and decided to set it all aside until I got a lathe and could make solid aluminum cores that would hold the fiberglass rod for real action. Just a holdover from my SCA and kendo days to want to be able to use them for real.

Yes, the nerd force is strong with this one.

Totally OT, but I can't resist...

I'm not surprised to hear you're a former SCA-er...  In my teens and early 20's I was squire to Duke of Havn, one of the very first kings of the West Kingdom.