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[taoworm23]

Ok  haven't been on the forums for YEARS.
I just bought my second pleo 2 days ago and decided to check out the forum again.

Holy crap people. The skin is STILL a problem?
I told you all the solution years ago and my 6 year old pleo has NO holes or paint rubbing off. I was so disgusted by the reaction and distrust i received on these forums that I left and haven't been back in years.
(BTW I'm the one who saved many of the programs for pleo including dinomite and others for this website to use.)

I use Gibbs brand penetrant and my pleo from 2007 still works flawlessly.
Members at the time were not sure and never tried it or trusted me and all these years later you guys are still having problems. (Shaking my head)
C'mon. Look up my previous posts on the subject and read for your self how to apply it or keep complaining  about the rips, holes and paint peel for years to come....
For gods sake, somebody trust me on this.


P.S. Big shout out to mweed & grumpy for being so awesome back in the day. I hope you guys are still here on the forums. If you are hit me up in pm and we can catch up...

[Talon]

Hi! I must've joined after you left. I'll keep your skin treatment solution in mind. If no one has told you lately, thanks for putting up those programs. They're probably not posted anywhere else and probably rescued several people. Since I'm blind my accessible technology and most programming tools don't like each other so I've limited myself to the personalities made for the Ugobes and the last of the update files released for the RB's in... *shrug* whenever it was. Twenty eleven I think.
Talon

[taoworm23]

If no one has told you lately, thanks for putting up those programs. They're probably not posted anywhere else and probably rescued several people.

Awww no problem Talon. Very nice to meet you BTW!

Hi! I must've joined after you left. I'll keep your skin treatment solution in mind.

I hope you do. Its the only thing I found that works. My pleo from 2007 or 2008 still doesn't even have paint wear marks and have showed no signs of getting tears or holes in the skin to boot. I thought that with the Pleo RBs  they had changed the skin formula but I guess not enough to change the degrading of the skin factor...

[Crewella]

Interesting - must have been before my time!

Is this the stuff?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gibbs-Brand-Lubricant-2-12oz-cans/dp/B00AFJXIJQ

Oh .... and hi, by the way!

[taoworm23]

Hi Crewella!
Nice to meet you!
Yup that's the stuff!
Buy the aerosol version in the big can.
In the early days of Pleoworld someone posted a method using GIBBs Brand penetrate because it seals and hydrates.
They originally said to aply it with a paper towel soaked in the stuff. Not true.
Spray just a bit on the skin at a time and rub it in liberally. (Also apply enough to saturate pleos body all over but avoid getting any in the mouth or eye socket opening's as we don't want to get any on the circuits. Allow to dry after you have rubbed it in real good. (Just act like your rubbing suntan oil on your pleo.)
WASH YOUR HANDS VERY GOOD AFTER DOING THIS BEFORE YOU EAT A SANDWITCH OR LIGHT UP A CIGARETTE.
LOL.
Your pleo will be dry at the end of one day or two and not feel tacky.
Repeat the same steps every couple of weeks or months from now and your pleo will never show any signs of degrading.
Ever!


Gibbs seals in his rubber like material and protects his paint. It also rehydrates the rubber like material of pleos skin and prevents it from cracking and drives out water or humidity moisture which also degrades your pleos skin.
Do NOT kiss your pleo after treating it.
Do NOT use pledge as there are chemicals in pledge that will also break down rubber and silicone.
NEVER EVER EVER USE BABY POWDERS as this will speed up the degradation of pleos skin.

IF you follow these simple instructions your pleo will last 30 years without any sign of paint peel or rubber cracking.
(No more clothes or capes for Pleo)

[mweed]

Glad to see you back, Taoworm!   I do remember the whole skin discussion about Gibbs.  I actually looked into buying a can, but  I ended up trying the Vinylex because I actually found a local store that carried it.   I don't want to re-start any arguments.  I think back then a lot of it fell into the debate because nobody knew what the long-term effects of any of the products was going to be.  After 6 years, with your skin still holding out good, that proves Gibbs probably is a very good choice.

I end up using the Vinylex about 2-3 times a year.  It does seem to help on the older skins.  Should probably use it more frequently.  The Pleo RB skin seems thicker and has held up better.  But we still see a lot of older Ugobe and 2009 pleos showing up in the resale market with already damaged or dried out skins.

[taoworm23]

 Hey mweed!
Glad you're still here!
Yeah I just bought another New In Box Ugobe pleo from the Italian seller on ebay who refurbishes the ugobe battery's.
I should be getting him in soon and will be doing a whole slew of upgrades including getting rid of the cartoony looking eyes and replacing the motors with more expensive quieter ones as well.
I'm also probably going to be making some new skin materials for pleo to make major cosmetic changes. (See pic below)
I'm glad to back to the best Pleo site around!
Look forward to posting updates soon!

New pleo skin and facial bone bone structure alteration plan using ABS plastic


New eyes for pleo that are more authentic. ..

They are black and this will hide the fact that the eyes are connected to the eye lids andlook down when ever pleo opens and closes his eyes.
(Palentogist believe this is what dinosaur eyes looked like in reality because of there close relations to modern day birds.)
Pic is of a Troodon dinosaur

Even slit eyes like the one pictured above this picture would be better than the stock pleo eyes because it would still hide the fact that the eyeball moves down on pleo when he closes his eye lids...

If black doesn't look right on the prototype I can always fall back on more obvious eye selections. ..

[InmemoryofRomeo]

I look forwards to following your progress Love those red eyes!

[JakeLBell]

Taoworm, I am a new member myself and had no idea you had been gone for such a long time until recently. I am glad you're back though! I'm planning to switch over from Pledge to Gibbs for my RB, and I am excited to see your updates to your new Pleo! I have had several ideas to change the look to be more realistic and update the tech inside my RB, but I would have no idea where to start. Seeing someone else do just that would be amazing!

[taoworm23]

Rubber products oxidise slowly and once oxidised, they cannot be rejuvenated, because the chemical action is irreversible.

Characteristic of "aged rubber" is brittleness and inflexibility and cracking.
If rubber is cracking, it is beyond help. If it is glazed, or hardened, it can be partially restored to usefulness for an indeterminate time.

The coating of rubber with Gibbs does reduce the speed of oxidation, and the Gibbs coating can be used for long-term flexibility of the rubber parts.

Gibbs must be applied early in the life of rubber products.
Once Pleos rubber has lost plasticizing oil and has had the backbone oxidized - no amount of liquid will fix that.

Sadly,  all rubbers die. Depends on the UV stabilisers added in the mix as to how long it takes when exposed to light.

[Piggy]

Can't wait to see how your updated pleo looks !The eyes are so cool , I also like the red eyes. And where can I buy this Gibbs product? Do they sell it on eBay ?

[taoworm23]

And where can I buy this Gibbs product? Do they sell it on eBay ?

Yup!
I bought it straight from Gibbs site but there are some sellers on ebay as well.

www.ebay.com/itm/GIBBS-Brand-Lubricant-12-oz-Can-/151623576564?pt=Race_Car_Parts&hash=item234d782bf4&vxp=mtr

I squirted some in a clear cap and got a small paintbrush from Hobby Lobby (the kind used for oil painting) and "paintedthe Gibbs on.
 Be careful NOT to get any on the camera lens, ear microphones or the bottom of his feet.
The Gibbs will dry in a couple of hours.
Repeat steps. Brush on another coat once Pleo dries.
Repeat again in a couple of hours.
Wear gloves when handling pleo before he dries.
Keep away from pets or children until he dries completely.
Apply 5 or 6 times in a day. (Or as quick as pleos skin absorbs the Gibbs
Make sure Pleo is in the reset 'box mode position'.
Turn pleo off while in this position.
Apply Gibbs again with a paint brush all over his body again. (Make sure to get his tail and neck real good.)
Do this 4 or 5 times. (Again apply...wait to dry...apply again.)
Repeat this every 2 to 3 months and your Pleos paint will even be more protected from petting. But most importantly the rubber will not crack or degrade further.
If your Pleos skin already has holes in him already, superglue the holes VERY WELL and then treat Pleo.
You can even repaint over gibbs and the paint will still stick!

The lubricant soaks in fairly quickly and with no residue so it does not attract dirt. Gibbs will also not remove any paint either.

 Wash your hands VERY well before eating or rubbing your eyes or petting your cat or dog if you get some on your hands.
Your pleo will be safe once it dries COMPLETELY.


DO NOT USE PLEDGE!
Do NOT use baby powder or any other kind of powder!
(I don't care what Ugobe or Innvo said...they are WRONG)


Because Gibbs Brand is a "mega penetrant" that is thinner than water, it works its way right into the pores of the rubber.
9 years and my pleo shows no signs of degrading skin or paint.
Works best on brand new pleos new in box.


NOTE:
Thermoplastic Rubber goes bad just sitting on a shelf in the dark in a vendors warehouse. It ages/de-gasses from day one. Exposure to UV light speeds up the process big time.  You can soften the surface/protect it with Gibbs but essentially once it's shot, it's shot. When buying a Ugobe Pleo, start protecting it asap cause though new to you, it may(likely?) have already sat on a shelf somewhere for 6 to 9 years.

[Piggy]

Wow  that sound great that you have a pleo that is 9 years old an has no signs of degrading ! I Will definitely try this . IT is quite expensive to ship to the Netherlands but the product Will last for a long time. Thanks for the desciption on how to use it . And please post some photo's when you start with upgrading your pleo  Thank you for your advice 

[Crewella]

That's really helpful, Taoworm, thank you.

I've repainted a couple of my Pleos with a mixture of acrylic ink and latex paint.  I wondered if you had any thoughts on how the Gibbs would work over my paint job?

This comment:

"DO NOT USE PLEDGE!
Do NOT use baby powder or any other kind of powder!
(I don't care what Ugobe or Innvo said...they are WRONG)"

.. really made me laugh as I got really cross when they first recommended Pledge - it made no sense to me at all, which is why I went searching for things like Vinylex and Autoglym.

I'm sure there are bits of my old 1950s Ford Popular that will appreciate a bit of Gibbs as well!

[taoworm23]

I've repainted a couple of my Pleos with a mixture of acrylic ink and latex paint.  I wondered if you had any thoughts on how the Gibbs would work over my paint job?

Hi Crewella!
It should protect your paint just fine.
I never understood why Ugobe and Innvo used the paint they did. (They used REALLY cheap paint.)
If I was running Ugobe or Innvo I would have used thermoplastic paint for Pleo.
Thermoplastic paint can be applied cold. As you can denote from the name, this type of paint is not your normal paint. It actually contains plastic and once it drys, can withstand a lot more abuse than your normal paints. (Its what they use to paint the white and yellow lines on roads and interstates. ) So, the upside to thermoplastic paint is it's durability. The only major downside, is the cost.
Since Pleos skin is made from thermoplastic material it would have bonded VERY well and never wore off.
They should have used Teflon spray in the neck and tail cables as the micro particles of Teflon would fill the small gaps in the cable wire and would have reduced friction to the point of never having to replace the cables EVER.

(Sigh) Corporations. ..can't live with them , can't live without them.

[Crewella]

Yep ...... when I tried to google 'thermoplastic paint' it came up with paint for road marking!  I'm guessing it's not something that's easily available in small quantities for amateur use (like the amount I'd need to repaint a Pleo!)! 

I don't think it went as far as built-in obsolescence, but I don't believe that longevity in general was one of the things they put a lot of time or money into. 

Thanks for all your help.

[PleoAibo29]

Wow- those eyes are amazing!

Yeah. Unfortunately those skin problems happen all the time. I wouldn't stop buying Pleos just because of that though.

[taoworm23]

Ok I have some facts about pleos skin...please make note of it.

Pleos skin was made by GLS using the Dynaflex™ Thermoplastic Elastomer brand process contains a block structure of Styrene-Ethylene/Butylene-Styrene (SEBS).

A company named APEX worked with UGOBE Inc and JETTA on the paint project for the PLEO dinosaur skin which is made of elastomeric paint.

Gibbs contains no silicones ( Teflons or otherwise)
The three main components in Gibbs are:
iso-propanol (an alcohol)
heptane (a hydrocarbon solvent)
petroleum distillates (CAS no.64742-54-7, which is a paraffin) a heavy solvent refined paraffinic (read waxy oil).

(The abnormally highly refined paraffin oil in Gibbs is used as the extender oil to replace the plasticizing oil in Pleos skin)

[Crewella]

That's really useful to know, thanks!

[taoworm23]

I just heard back from GLS about using Gibbs on our Pleos since they made the skin.
They said A Paraffin oil carrier like Gibbs is the most compatible, and that it will have a plasticizing effect and can soften the TPEs and restore missing plasticizing oil."

I told them that's perfect since we want our pleos to feel like skin. (This means it will restore dry pleos and make them feel new again.)

When I asked what NOT to use they said " Aromatic carriers cannot be used because they will attack the materials styrene end blocks in the Dynaflex™ Thermoplastic Elastomer.

[Talon]

Okay. I need a little clarification here. Is this breakdown of skin components for the Ugobe pleo, the RB, or both? Also when you're referring to "Aromatic carriers", you're talking about products like Pledge, right?
Talon

[taoworm23]

They made the skins for both the Pleo and Pleo RB. So it pertains to both.
Aromatic carriers I would also assume to be pledge and pledge like products.

They also warned of Armor All.

The solvents in Armor All draw out chemicals like paraffin which are in the rubber to keep it from drying out over time, and Armor All leaves a layer of silicone on everything within a 12 inch radius (including glass) which traps minute dust particles. Silicone also damages pleos skin. Gibbs helps put paraffin back into the rubber. Ozone is hard on rubber, causing the long chain hydrocarbons to break up, which results in cracking and crumbling. Ozone exposure mainly comes from bright, unfiltered sunlight (think of Arizona) but can also be a result of electric charges in the air from things like welding and high voltage power lines.

Also paraffin oil is also used in thermoplastic rubber compounding as a softening agent. Paraffin is also used in TPEs for its ozone protecting properties.  So double win for Gibbs.

(Note: Gibbs is not just a paraffin oil. It is the most HIGHLY REFINED paraffin oil in existence! Its thinner than water and is one of the reasons it leaves no residue.)

 This explains why my Pleos skin kept drinking this stuff up for weeks. His skin is swelling a bit from being so "full" and supple.
I would rather have that than dry shrinking and cracking. Lol
It also explains why it protected the paint since they used elastomeric paint.

In short, this is EXACTLY what Pleos skin needs. (Literally)


My new recommendations for the application of Gibbs on Pleo would be to apply it only in Reset box mode position. (Neck and tail straight.)
Apply multiple times a day for a week or 2. (This may seem overkill but will future proof it.)
Allow to dry 1 week (Even though Gibbs dries with no residues , you will have force fed pleos skin so much needed Paraffin that it will feel slightly tacky for a day or two. The excess will soak in fairly quickly.)
Repeat every 5 months to a year depending on climate.

[JakeLBell]

I recently ordered Gibbs after taoworm suggested it, and today I put the first coat on my 1 month old RB. It was much easier than I expected. Since it is so thin I used a cheap foam brush to "paint" it on and that seemed to work fairly well. I'm really hopeful that I won't have to worry much about paint wearing off and tearing of the skin now. Thanks again taoworm!!

[taoworm23]

Your welcome Jake

[JakeLBell]

I am planning on applying the Gibbs every day for about a week, but I'm not sure how many times each day I should apply it?