Speaker rubber surround maintenance?

[whazzup]

Like caring for leather, is there anything we can do to prolong the hardworking rubber surround material? Or there's no need to bother?

 

[steve59]

Other than keeping them away from eroding chemicals they should last the life of the speakers.

 

[Katji]

Rubber or foam rubber?
Old-school rubber surrounds last, foam does not - imo it makes speakers semi-disposabl, except that you can get "re-foam" / surround replacement kits.
Problem is UV light, and drying out /evaporation/"de-gassing" of plasticisers. There is stuff that helps with preserving and restoring vinyl and plastics, I have it for motorbike seats and plastic parts...not a consumer product, comes in quite large containers. ...I can't remember the name...
...303 Protectant. I see it's now available in spray bottles, even Amazon.

 

[somebodyelse]

That depends on the types of rubber and foam you're talking about. I've seen cracked 'rubber' surrounds, and foams that have lasted 20+ years without visibly aging. I expect you need to know the details of the material to know best how to preserve them, but that's not information that's often available.

 

[whazzup]

Thanks for all the replies! No I have no idea the specific mix of rubber. The question popped into my head when I was thinking about how I'd like to preserve some speakers I have, but when not in use, do I just wrap them in plastic and reduce exposure to the environment? I did see some online videos on soaking some rubber grommets or something in various substances, but there doesn't seem to be a more general form of maintenance that I could find.

I don't think I have any speaker with foam surrounds, so wasn't thinking about that.

 

[egellings]

I have a pair of speakers that are about 21 years old, and what looks like foam surrounds seem to be in excellent shape. I make it a point of keeping direct sunlight off of them.

 

[Ron Texas]

I had Snell and Phase Tech foam surrounds go out after about 5 years. Surrounds on my large advents lasted a little longer, but less than 10 years. I never bothered to fix any of them.

 

[Killingbeans]

is there anything we can do to prolong the hardworking rubber surround material?

If I was going to experiment, I would probably try Krytox GPL 105. I wouldn't put it on any rare or expensive drivers though

 

[Mr. Speakers]

I have a small subwoofer made by Carver / Sunfire. Honestly I don't know if the surrounds are a very dense foam, or if they're rubber etc. but either way they're stout. In the manual it actually says to treat the surrounds 1-2x / year with Mink Oil. Not sure if that would help with other surrounds, but it's the first I'd seen that called for re: maintenance.

 

[somebodyelse]

It seems an odd suggestion, but a web search confirms it's in their manuals. Are they using leather surrounds?

 

[whazzup]

Sorry to resurrect my old thread, just amused that Dynaudio released this.
There's probably no real data to suggest that car rubber seal products really extend the life of rubber (not foam) surrounds on speakers, but I guess it shouldn't hurt.....? Of course, no real data to suggest that said products actually hasten rubber's demise too.....
Maybe a worthy topic for all the online audio influencers to investigate / prove / disprove / sell more snake oil