Do rollers melt?

I got a C&P off ebay—shipped to my door. It came with a set of rollers rapped in plastic. They look like they have melted. They were made of a Blue Green stuff? not sure what. Very sticky stuff.

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I had an old set for my small Kelsey tabletop press that turned to jelly …I had hoped there might be a way to reverse that, but folks here told me there wasn’t any way to solidify them again.

I believe the material is urethane — I had a set like that that melted and made a terrible mess. You’re lucky they were in plastic and not mounted on the press! The cores may be salvageable but cleaning them is very difficult. You are better off buying new cores with Ramco rubber rollers on them — they will likely last forever.

Bob

Some roller materials melt, it can be a difficult cleanup too. I bought a press on which the rollers had melted, thankfully in a wooden box and not on press… still took me a lot of work to get the cores nice and clean for recovering.

I am luck they were not on the press. Urethane, I believe you right, looks like window/gutter sealer. Shame too they look like they were never used. I think the advise on the Ramco rubber rollers is the way to go—-will look into it when I get the press moved into my shop and set up later this year.

Hi friends, I found this thread because I discovered that my 10 year old rollers have slowly turned to goo! thankfully inside a box and not on the press. Does anyone know what kind of goo this is? Is it urethane? Would an acetone bath and a paint scraper do the trick? Thanks!

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fiftyfootgirl, I’d freeze them and cut off the goo.I’ve seen composition rollers do this, quite nasty.best james

Thank you, James— I will give that a try :-)

I had some of this goo. It came in blocks almost like a large lego brick. The guy who gave them to me said they’re supposed to be melted in a double boiler then poured into the mold with the roller shaft in them.

Having set the stuff aside for a moment (well, 5 years give or take) part of it “melted” (probably actually just absorbed moisture) and a little bit of it grew some mould.

I’ll just set it aside for another moment before I chuck it out.l

I inherited a Pilot from a studio mate many years ago. It came with 3 rollers that were made of a jell-like substance. The mice loved it and then my cat started chewing on them. I now have two brand new rollers I got through Perfection Type in Minneapolis.

If the mice love it, or it melts in water/high humidity/high heat, it is “composition”, a mix generally of gelatin, glycerine, and sugar, adjusted to suit the expected temperature and humidity conditions in use.

If it turns to goo and resists water entirely, it is urethane which has become partly depolymerized.