My orange rubber dive suit falling apart...

Hi all,

I bought a orange rubber diver suit from the guy in Brazile back in November of 2013... I recently noticed it's
starting to rot and fall apart... So under my conditions which was I displayed it 24/7 in
our living room which has two windows. It received No direct sunlight shining on it just reg light from one window across the room in the daytime hours... House is air conditioned in the summer so no wild temp swings. And I
put fresh Talc Powder on the Joe figure every 3 months...
So under those conditions I got 3 years out of it... I'll go back to using the Orange Lycra
suit I got off of project ARE 4 years ago...

Hi Jim, that is a real shame mate, but unfortunately, all rubber diving suits are prone to this cracking and rotting. On the upside though, the PA ones are awesome

Jim I recall sirsidney saying quite a long time back that he displayed his with a small bowl of water by the figure so that moisture was close to the suit. That's not going to save it now I know, but it may well pre-long the process. Shame to hear of & I hope you find a happy medium.

ghost recon wrote:

Jim I recall sirsidney saying quite a long time back that he displayed his with a small bowl of water by the figure so that moisture was close to the suit. That's not going to save it now I know, but it may well pre-long the process. Shame to hear of & I hope you find a happy medium.

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I put some water by Joe to maybe prolong the process a bit...Thanks GR!

Shame about that Jim, it's gutting having that unwanted problem.

You should research on the web for a rubber preservative spray. Boiled linseed oil might also be a good way of preventing further deterioration of the rubber, you should find some helpful advice on the web, but it will take quite some time to get the helpful info you require.

You can always go for a frogman wetsuit from a Timeless Joe set for that original vintage look, the rubber is much thicker and should last quite some time, plus what Dal has already said. There's also this option which you have already seen: a MAM lycra style wetsuit: https://actionmanmobileops.forumotion.co.uk/t2217-mam-scuba-diver-an-in-depth-walk-around?highlight=scuba+diver which appears to have been designed for the slimmer modern joes, it's available in the modern Joe range in different colours i think, try the GI JOE Club shop to start with, you can then use some of your vintage frogman parts to kitmix your own unique hybrid diver, just my opinion.

clivvers wrote:

Shame about that Jim, it's gutting having that unwanted problem.

You should research on the web for a rubber preservative spray. Boiled linseed oil might also be a good way of preventing further deterioration of the rubber, you should find some helpful advice on the web, but it will take quite some time to get the helpful info you require.

You can always go for a frogman wetsuit from a Timeless Joe set for that original vintage look, the rubber is much thicker and should last quite some time, plus what Dal has already said. There's also this option which you have already seen: a MAM lycra style wetsuit: https://actionmanmobileops.forumotion.co.uk/t2217-mam-scuba-diver-an-in-depth-walk-around?highlight=scuba+diver which appears to have been designed for the slimmer modern joes, it's available in the modern Joe range in different colours i think, try the GI JOE Club shop to start with, you can then use some of your vintage frogman parts to kitmix your own unique hybrid diver, just my opinion.

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Hi Clives, I'll check into a rubber preservative spray... Thanks...
I do have a orange LYCRA Dive Suit I purchased from project ARE 4 years ago
Clives I can always use that if needed...

I decided to just put my Lycra suit on Joe tonight. I will experiment with the rubber
suit...

Sorry about the suit, Jim, but the lycra is looking pretty good!

The lycra suit looks great Jim!

Nice piece of kit Jim, it looks really good, i bet it would also look good on paintheads.  I also like the look of your hippy robot with the purple beads

clivvers wrote:

Nice piece of kit Jim, it looks really good, i bet it would also look good on paintheads.  I also like the look of your hippy robot with the purple beads

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Thanks all!

The robot is one like I had as a child... (69ish) called Happy Harry (Laughing Harry)

Out here we have a product called "ArmorAll" designed for plastic surfaces in cars such as dashboards.
I have used it on all sorts of things and it seems to work well.
Worth a try?

The culprit is probably formaldehyde, ...notorious for its effect on anything rubbery. Its given off by chipboard, craftwoods and just about all modern furniture. Is your display area made of wooden veneers or chipboard ? It's lethal to those wetsuits, as is old acetate such as those see-thru boxes figures came in.

LeStryge wrote:

Out here we have a product called "ArmorAll" designed for plastic surfaces in cars such as dashboards.
I have used it on all sorts of things and it seems to work well.
Worth a try?

Never thought to try "ArmorAll"...Thanks for the suggestion...

My gijoes were displayed on a wooden desk...Yep probably ate the rubber...
I have the eaten suit in a glass jar to hopefully keep it from further damage...

That's the trouble with damned formaldehyde. It's in just about everything. Even if you think your item is made of solid wood, parts of it may still be veneered over chipboard. Even the lacquer may contain the stuff.

Ha! Looks like a pickled specimen in a carnival sideshow!