so something spilled onto the soles of my shoes....

i'm presuming it was motor oil, and now one of my soles is like disintegrating, i can seriously rub substantial amounts of rubber off with my thumb. do i need a re-sole or so i just let it dry?

YUR gonna die ...

Motor oil wouldn't eat the rubber - You're asking a lot of random people a question w/out giving a whole lot of information. Take pictures, tell people what really spilled on the rubber(KY), or make an educated guess yourself.

For the sake of other climbers, it would be best, however, if you kept those shoes off the rock.

what I really meant to say is "if you're questioning your gear, retire it. is your life worth the $80 you paid for your old Boreals?"

I dont trust most of my gear...

I don't trust most of my partners.

Price wrote:I don't trust most of my partners.

have them bring the test results next time ;-).

OP. If its just on the soles, see if you can sand it down using some fine grit sandpaper. If it reached the actual leather on the bottom of the shoe then toss them, whatever it is will probably affect the glue, if not then resole.

T

Whatever it was I hope you didn't get it on your rope.

Price wrote:YUR gonna die ... Motor oil wouldn't eat the rubber - You're asking a lot of random people a question w/out giving a whole lot of information. Take pictures, tell people what really spilled on the rubber(KY), or make an educated guess yourself.

KY, and the equivalent, have no deleterious effects on polymers like climbing rubber. However, most anal lubes add a polyethyleneglycol to increase lubricity, and it can react as a solvent on some of the adjunct chemicals in specialized rubbers like Stealth or Trax.

I got diamonds on the soles of my shoes once....
youtube.com/watch?v=OafqYNC…

Ryan Kelly wrote: KY, and the equivalent, have no deleterious effects on polymers like climbing rubber. However, most anal lubes add a polyethyleneglycol to increase lubricity, and it can react as a solvent on some of the adjunct chemicals in specialized rubbers like Stealth or Trax.

Your knowledge of anal lubricants is both astounding and unsettling. I'll be very wary if we ever wind up as tentmates.

ok, so a bit of an update....

i really think it was motor oil because they were in the trunk of my car, right next to a bottle of a bottle of oil that had some oozing out of the cap.

i went to that huge boulder at catherdral and did some bouldering there (not knowing the grade was like V8) and i wore the shoes on the drive there and walking through the woods, and now the rubber is back to normal...so i guess whatever it was got absorbed by the ground/shoe sole..either way their back to normal now.

way to leave an oil spill behind man...

nah man, the rocks are good, i checked to make sure the soles of my shoes didnt have the consistancy of play-doh before i set foot on the rock.

ha man it was a legitimate joke sorry I was just poking fun, I"m sure there was absolutely no harm done :) pardon my humor

yeah, i was legitimately concerned because my soles were literally like playdoh, but their back to normal now.

trade shoes with the tree-sap guy. otherwise, my stock answer for shoes is: use 100% acetone.

Woodchuck ATC wrote:trade shoes with the tree-sap guy. otherwise, my stock answer for shoes is: use 100% acetone.

seriously, not a bad idea.

hey tree sap guy, got a right foot La Sportiva Nago size 9? i'll trade ya motor oil for tree sap.