NOS No.5 Buttpad Grunge (not cosmo)

[tj214]

I previously posted a request for help with removing old/caked cosmoline from the supposedly new No.5 buttpad I received from Apex. Although the suggestions y'all gave were quite helpful in removing that particular grunge, it turns out Apex had sent me a hard-used pad with all sorts of gouges, deep slices, etc., and was also hard as a rock. This is not the first problem I've had with products shipped by Apex, but they've always made good.

The replacement pad is supposedly WW II (or thereabouts) NOS. I've heard "aftermarket" pads exist and hope this is really is NOS as represented by Apex.

Anyway, it is a pliable black rubberlike material, but the black rubber is covered with a thin whitish or pale gray cast to the surface on all sides. No cosmo on this pad. See the pics for details.

Attachment 110921Attachment 110922Attachment 110923

I tried washing it with several kinds of soap (hand, dishwashing, etc.) and although the original black surface returned, the whitish cast reappeared by the next morning. Since I don't know what it is I'm at a loss on how to permanently eliminate it and get back to the original black.

Suggestions on how to remove the cast and protect the surface so it doesn't recur?

Information

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[GeeRam]

That looks exactly like the one I got from Apex which arrived here in the UK yesterday, but I haven't as yet done anything with it......actually your's look like it's less white than mine, but I'm happy with the fact that its not worn away and not as hard as concrete...so its looks are not as important to me, just as they wouldn't have been to a British Army armourer that pulled it off a stores shelf to fit to a rifle while in service.

[tj214]

Point taken. I wonder whether this whitish sheen was present when the No.5 was an active service rifle, or is it a function of age of the rubber?

At least you didn't have to go through the gyrations of Apex sending you an old one when you ordered NOS!

[GeeRam]

Point taken. I wonder whether this whitish sheen was present when the No.5 was an active service rifle, or is it a function of age of the rubber?

At least you didn't have to go through the gyrations of Apex sending you an old one when you ordered NOS!

How they been stored for the past 70 odd year most likely.

I've seen similar on old unused rubber face masks of the WW2 British Army gas respirators......they go exactly the same way if you look at one of those that's been in storage for 70 years, and possibly as result of the way the rubber was made originally.

Yes, I was lucky, as I had to get a mate of mine who lives in California to order it for me, as Apex won't sell to UK, and then put it in a box of vinyl LP's and vintage 45's that he was posting here to another mutual friend here in the UK, who then posted it on to me........but my mate in California opened it when he got it from Apex and sent me a few photos of what it looked like, and felt like, so I knew it was as yours is before it was sent onto the UK.

[RobD]

Often rubber products are dusted with talc to prevent pieces sticking together. If its just talc you are seeing, it will disappear with use and handling.

[browningautorifle]

Suggestions on how to remove the cast

Try some acetone? Brake cleaner? You can wipe it as many times as it needs.

[WNO1958]

I offer two explanations but no data. First, if its a NOS part, it is possible that the white material is mold release for when the made the part. Generally, the mold releases are metal soaps that are not soluble on the alkaline side. Use vinegar and a squirt of hand dishwashing detergent and see if the.

The other possibility is that after 70 years the rubber matrix is breaking down. The rubber is naturally white and carbon black is added to give it color. Its all uniform at the start but over a looong time the natural rubber migrates to the surface. You cant do a lot with that.

Walter

[Havenot]

It's not a reproduction like the Numerich No.5 butt-pad. The Numerich pad I got a few months ago is hollow internally with reinforcing ribs inside for cushion....like a recoil pad on a shotgun sort of. Lot softer than the solid rubber thing I removed which looks like the Apex part pictured

[tj214]

Good to know this is NOS OEM. Also good point about rubber's natural white color, although when I scratch the surface with a thumbnail I can see black underneath, so I don't think this is a matter of the carbon migrating off.

I already tried dishwashing detergent; will try vinegar tonight. Thanks all for the info & suggestions. I'll let you know if anything works--it's not the end of the world if I can't return this to pure black.

[Bindi2]

We all go grey and white with age so why not black rubber.. Have seen the same thing on old tyres in the back reaches of dark sheds.