Leather seal

[kiwi]

Just pulled a S2 air pistol down that I picked up at a sat morring
fla market  for $2. When I was shooting  it sounded like it was dry fireing
so I did dry fire it and the noise was just the same.
The thing was totaly dry/rusty inside pretty shaw it NEVER got any grease/oil
when it was assembled at the factory.
Any way the seal was a drop in fit - dry & hard  have tryed to moisen it
but it softens up and swells to a good fit but drys out and becomes hard/dry
again " have a synfetic seal that fits but its a $2 gun to much hassel to go down
that road if I don't need 2.
So how do yer soften up a leather seal so it stays soft/usable ?
Thought of trying Dubin?..use it on boots to keep the leather
soft so it dosn't crack etc  any thoughts?

[mikeiniowa]

leather seals require a good soaking to absorb the oil to soften them, I drop them into a container of denatured alcohol and let them soak for about 1/2 hour then let them dry over night and then soak them in a softener for about an hour or so, then dry them off with a rag and let them sit for another hour in the air...if you change it over to a synthetic seal make sure the cylinder is true and size it correctly. Count on doing it at least twice as the weak spring makes it a bit tricky to get a good fit the first time.....I converted one and had the seal sized like I do for a rifle and it was to tight and would not fire the pellet, after reducing the diameter slightly it worked.........

[scotsman]

would making a new one from fresher leather do any good? I would have thought that Dubin or Sno-seal or some such would last awhile.
 ...offtopic, but I just remembered...would you post a pic of one of those pretty possums sometime...ours all look like big rats. I only saw your kind from a car window at speed.

[shadow]

I do as Mike does to clean em and to condition it I use 1part Neetsfoot oil, the stuff they use on saddles etc. and 3 part's delectric lube, the stuff they use on spark plug cables found in auto part's store. Mix em up well and after cleaning the leather seal apply this mixture and work it into the seal. I put the seal covered in this mixture over a heater vent or in the sun for a hour and let it soak in then wipe of the excess and install. All my B3's have leather seals,I break the gun down every couple month's for inspection and the seals are perfect.

[kiwi]

Thanks guys..let your know how I get on