[Phil Yearout]

I found this on a rifle forum a while back. Don't know if it works, don't know if this guy even knows what he's talking about. But...

"Softening of rubber compounds, or increasing traction without softening them, is a black art discussed quietly in back rooms in auto racing circles, but discussed and practiced openly in serious kart racing circles (a cart is a handy device you push around in a store to hold your purchases, a kart is for racing), where much of the real expertise in tire prepping with chemicals lies. The simplest thing for a first try is simply to wipe the face of the pad with WD40 a couple of time over a 24 hour period; this helps restore some of what has left the pad over the years. The next step, if that doesn't work, is to drop by your local auto body shop (unless you want to spend about $15 at discount for a quart) and ask if they have any Acrysol, and if so, would they mind smearing a few drops on the working face of the pad. Acrysol will clean and open up the pores in the rubber and will often restore old rubber surfaces to like new. After about 24 hours, reapply the WD a couple of times (let it dry in between applications) and see where that gets you after another 24 hours or so with the more open pores from the Acrysol treatment. If that doesn't get you where you want to be, you need to find a serious go kart racer, as the compounds used in the various tire prep systems (you will need one that increases traction without softening, like Liquid Speed LS1 or TS1 or only softens a small amount with each successive application, like Liquid Speed LS2 or TS2) cost in the $22 to $30 a quart range, and you only need enough to saturate a Qtip once or twice, just like with the Acrysol. Anyhow, that's the simple version of how to chemically treat rubber surfaces to restore or improve traction. Late model, modified and sprint car racers will deny they know anything about such purpose compounded tire treatment chemicals as Liquid Speed, Track Tack, Hot Lap, etc. unless approached quietly, far from the race track."