Before I go using the router on the slide tracks, does anyone know how to make the tambour doors slide a bit better? It would seem that some of my doors were replaced with the cloth backing, and it's a bit thick...makes opening the cabinets a real pain in the butt. I bought some silicone lube, but haven't tried it yet, since the rig is still at South Jersey RV. Would opening up that track be my best bet? Thanks in advance for the replies.
Frederic, the traditional remedy for stiff drawer runners is to rub an ordinary wax candle on the rubbing surfaces. Silicon lube on the canvas could be a bit messy. Nick.
__________________
Nick Crowhurst, Excella 25 1988, Dodge Ram 2500 Cummins Diesel. England in summer, USA in winter.
"The price of freedom is eternal maintenance."
My recommendation is avoid the wax........with the dramatic changes in temp that occur inside, it's going to get really "gummy".
Thoroughly clean out the channel and then apply liberal amounts of silicone spray to the channel and the tambor edges. I'll bet you'll see a significant change.
I've seen posts talking about the candlewax solution not working that well. It doesn't distribute very well but I have no doubt that it'd work great if it would. WD-40 -- bad (petroleum based). LPS -- good (stands for 'Liquid Polymer Silicone'). Any use of my work's silicone (always water based) sprayed in proximity to linoleum floors results in break-neck slipperiness!! Okay -- promising so far. This stuff is awesome if you can apply it into a place that matters! That brings us to 303 Aerospace Protectant. This is a similar product to what I have used as far as I can tell.
I spray it in the long track that tambour runs along -- that works only partially. The bottle in the link above is a bit tall. I use a bottle that holds 4 oz. at most and is fairly short. Maybe look at Home Depot for smaller spray bottles. I close the tambour onto the thinnest part of my wrist and spray into the spiral uptake tracks of the tambour. That works every time! I can't say how bad the plastic-on-plastic would not glide until I invented my own trick this way. And the effect is durable and lasting -- what else could you want?
I really doubt it is your canvas backing causing the problem. We all take many weeks to tweak our trailers -- so ordering another product isn't too bad (when will it end?!?!).
Post again if you have problems.
(BTW -- LPS seems a little too light oil base for use near canvas, adhesives & plastics. I certainly would recommend the 303 first!)
__________________ Bob
Last edited by CanoeStream; 09-02-2005 at 07:18 PM.
How often can I expect to reapply the candle wax, to keep it working properly?
Frederic
Once a year works for me. 303 protectant is great stuff. It's expensive, but it's the right product for your tire walls, plastic on the tow vehicle, plastic kyaks, etc, so you wouldn't be spending the money for just one small job. Nick.
__________________
Nick Crowhurst, Excella 25 1988, Dodge Ram 2500 Cummins Diesel. England in summer, USA in winter.
"The price of freedom is eternal maintenance."
__________________
Nick Crowhurst, Excella 25 1988, Dodge Ram 2500 Cummins Diesel. England in summer, USA in winter.
"The price of freedom is eternal maintenance."
I live in the sandy south, and most bicyclists down here won't use a "wet-based" chain lubricant. Instead we use wax-based lubricants. Specifically, I treated my tabour tracks with "White Lightning" chain lube and have minimal problems with them since. Works for me (and it's cheap).
You can find it at any good bike dealer. Here's what the bottle looks like:
Now I'm not using the 303 but I believe it to be very near the same thing (nice minty taste, as used in dentistry.... another story I guess).
It's hard to beat petroleum base lubes for metals -- especially if exposed to weather. We're talking plastic track and the tambour is usually plastic too. This silicone spray works miracles if it can be introduced into the spiral uptake tambour track. The issue with rubber window gaskets is to overcome the tackiness that comes with age, summer heat, etc. Water based silicone dries as fast as the water film can evaporate, without residue to capture dust and dirt. It imparts great slipperiness long after drying. Waxes? Maybe fine, but would they change with time and temperature, maybe collect dirt after a while? On another track I'd worry about an oil based product deteriorating the surface..
My front gaucho has been very balky to pull out. There is an aluminum channel as a guide on either end. The sit-upon part of the gaucho slides in that channel with some nylon guides at each end. After probably 30 years of neglect the movement is jerky and needs strong persuasion to move -- all the ingredients to tear it apart. I sprayed this product and presto!
I have been using silicone grease or paste as lubricant for over 30 years and never found a better replacement. I just bought a new Chevy and was surprised to see they recommended silicone paste for rubber, plastic etc. which i have always used. It is very expensive ($18 for 8 ounces) but it goes a long way. A thin coat will lubricate for a long time. You can buy 3M silicone Paste (Part No 08946) in some auto parts.
I replaced them with new maple vaneer and they were to thick to work with the tracks, so I used a drill bit and ran it back and forth through the track to widen it. I did this with seven doors on both sides and they all work fine now. After using the drill bit you will need to use a file to smooth them out. It takes some time but you shouldnt have to worry about and oils or residues.
When I replaced my disintigrating and missing tambour with fabric backed tambour the new tambour was also too thick for the tracks.
Instead of widening the tracks, I removed the fabric from only the portion of the tambour that slides in the tracks. Works beautifully now. An added benefit (at least in my mind....) is that with no cloth in the tracks there is no fuzz build up in the tracks from the fabric.
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