Hello, all, and my question deals with plastic/rubber materials as used
on athletic shoes and growing brittle with age even with non-use. I
recently unboxed a NOS pair of Etonic running shoes that I purchased
about 15 years ago. After I ran in them a couple of times the plastic
sides and heel split about half way across exposing the inner foam
padding material. Could I have coated/soaked the outer material in
something to prevent or discourage this cracking/splitting? Or is the
material just too dried out to resurrect? (I've had similar issues with aged/dried out adhesives but this is different.) Thanks for your time
and comment. Sincerely,
--
J. B. Wood e-mail: arl_123234@hotmail.com

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On Tuesday, January 23, 2018 at 6:43:30 AM UTC-5, J.B. Wood wrote:

Hello, all, and my question deals with plastic/rubber materials as used
on athletic shoes and growing brittle with age even with non-use. I
recently unboxed a NOS pair of Etonic running shoes that I purchased
about 15 years ago. After I ran in them a couple of times the plastic
sides and heel split about half way across exposing the inner foam
padding material. Could I have coated/soaked the outer material in
something to prevent or discourage this cracking/splitting? Or is the material just too dried out to resurrect? (I've had similar issues with aged/dried out adhesives but this is different.) Thanks for your time
and comment. Sincerely,
--
J. B. Wood e-mail: arl_123234@hotmail.com

Full disclosure: I am not a plastics expert.

I expect that it is too late. AFAIK, there is nothing to restore the flexibility back to the foam.

there might have been a way to prevent the aging of the foam, but
I don't know what that might have been. Speculations
of storage means for preventing the aging:

store them in sealed package to prevent outgassing.
(what package material? foil wrap? sealed plastic bag? vacuum bag?)

store in a temperature/humidity controlled environment
(but what are the optimum setting for 15 year storage?)

store in original packaging, but treat regularly with "moisturizer"
(what moisturizer? water based? oil based? mixture?)

I'm hoping some will come in and blow all my ideas away
with some real information.

My final remark is that I suspect that most foams have
a limited shelf life. 15 years is a long time to just
sit on the shelf.

Sorry I wasn't much help.
Ed

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On 01/23/2018 02:10 PM, Ed Prochak wrote:

Full disclosure: I am not a plastics expert.

I expect that it is too late. AFAIK, there is nothing to restore the flexibility back to the foam.

<snip>

Hello, and thanks for your detailed reply but my OP wasn't about the
condition or restoration of the inner foam, only that the encasing
plastic had cracked/split and revealed the foam. The problem was with
the plastic on the outside of the shoe. Sincerely,

--
J. B. Wood e-mail: arl_123234@hotmail.com

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On Wednesday, January 24, 2018 at 6:50:59 AM UTC-5, J.B. Wood wrote:

On 01/23/2018 02:10 PM, Ed Prochak wrote:

Full disclosure: I am not a plastics expert.

I expect that it is too late. AFAIK, there is nothing to restore the flexibility back to the foam.

<snip>

Hello, and thanks for your detailed reply but my OP wasn't about the condition or restoration of the inner foam, only that the encasing
plastic had cracked/split and revealed the foam. The problem was with
the plastic on the outside of the shoe. Sincerely,

--
J. B. Wood e-mail: arl_123234@hotmail.com

Oh.

I seem to recall there was some product discussed here from relaring
the sole of the shoe. If i think of the right keywords and find
the discussion I'll post it.

ed

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Found this from 2004:
On Monday, July 5, 2004 at 10:56:56 AM UTC-4, Jonathan G Campbell wrote:

Anyone know where I'd buy Bison Liquid Sole in UK?

And a reply in the thread mentioned Shoe Goo.

HTH,
ed

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On 01/24/2018 01:14 PM, Ed Prochak wrote:

Found this from 2004:
On Monday, July 5, 2004 at 10:56:56 AM UTC-4, Jonathan G Campbell wrote:

Anyone know where I'd buy Bison Liquid Sole in UK?

And a reply in the thread mentioned Shoe Goo.

HTH,
ed

Hello, and Shoe Goo is fantastic for re-attaching partially separated
heels and soles but I don't see it of any value in preventing the
cracked/split plastic problem with new running shoes put into storage
(cool, dry place etc) for many years. It's nice to buy many pairs of
your favorite shoe brand on sale or close-out but the lesson here may be
that NOS shoes won't necessarily be serviceable after a decade or more.
(Etonic was my favorite brand of shoe but they just couldn't compete
with New Balance, Brooks, Nike, Saucony and other brands.) Sincerely,

--
J. B. Wood e-mail: arl_123234@hotmail.com

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