Be careful what you lubricate your tailgate buffers with!
Posted: Fri Nov 08, 2019 12:56 pm
Hi All,
I've just managed to destroy both the spring buffers on my tailgate. I didn't do it deliberately of course but I wanted to lubricate them so they'd be able to do their job of properly popping the hatch when unlocking, especially with winter coming up.
My mistake? Trusting the label on a can of Holt's Silicone Spray, marked as "safe for use on rubber and plastics".
My buffers didn't appear to be in bad shape but from the feel of them they were definitely in need of something to free them up and restore smooth and free movement, so I sprayed in some of the Holt's stuff thinking it was pretty much made for the job and wouldn't do anything nasty. I certainly thought it would be safer than the usual things people use like WD-40.
I was wrong.
The following morning I open the tailgate and to my surprise the ends of both buffers pinged off into the street, one of which I managed to find. The silicone spray made the plastic very brittle and it could no longer contain the force of the internal spring, causing the whole lot to fall apart at the first available opportunity. This bit of preventative maintenance has just cost me £25 for a new pair of buffers.
To be fair, it may not have been the actual silicone causing the damage as there are a number of other ingredients in there too, but it's safe to say this specific product should not be used on plastic components commonly found on VWs.
Having said all that I won't be throwing it away out of bad temper as it's fantastic for putting on door seals to prevent the formation of ice, meaning you can easily open doors on the very coldest of days. Unfortunately it's been an expensive lesson and I thought I'd better pass on my experience so others don't have to go through the same thing.
Cheers, DubSteve
I've just managed to destroy both the spring buffers on my tailgate. I didn't do it deliberately of course but I wanted to lubricate them so they'd be able to do their job of properly popping the hatch when unlocking, especially with winter coming up.
My mistake? Trusting the label on a can of Holt's Silicone Spray, marked as "safe for use on rubber and plastics".
My buffers didn't appear to be in bad shape but from the feel of them they were definitely in need of something to free them up and restore smooth and free movement, so I sprayed in some of the Holt's stuff thinking it was pretty much made for the job and wouldn't do anything nasty. I certainly thought it would be safer than the usual things people use like WD-40.
I was wrong.
The following morning I open the tailgate and to my surprise the ends of both buffers pinged off into the street, one of which I managed to find. The silicone spray made the plastic very brittle and it could no longer contain the force of the internal spring, causing the whole lot to fall apart at the first available opportunity. This bit of preventative maintenance has just cost me £25 for a new pair of buffers.
To be fair, it may not have been the actual silicone causing the damage as there are a number of other ingredients in there too, but it's safe to say this specific product should not be used on plastic components commonly found on VWs.
Having said all that I won't be throwing it away out of bad temper as it's fantastic for putting on door seals to prevent the formation of ice, meaning you can easily open doors on the very coldest of days. Unfortunately it's been an expensive lesson and I thought I'd better pass on my experience so others don't have to go through the same thing.
Cheers, DubSteve