Deteriorating Rubber

[Tony B]

The oar locks on my inflatable dink are a hard black rubber kinda stuff. The color comes off easily on your skin and clothes. The dink is about 20 years old. Can I do anything to stop the deterioration and more importantly, can I stop the black color from coming off?

[FSMike]

20 years old? I can't think of anything besides possibly ArmorAll or something similar.
Warning: I have no idea whether this will work or cause instantaneous
disintregation of your oarlocks or even the entire dinghy.
Good luck.

[SailFastTri]

After 20 years your best tool is your credit card. You can probably buy a suitable replacement set for the rubber oarlocks, and glue them on with contact cement.

BTW related: Does anyone have a remedy for boat shoes when the rubber soles dry out and become less grippy? I've tried exposing new material using the sanding belt, with no improvement. The material gets degraded throughout.

[model 10]

Of all the, spray on/wipe on materials, Aerospace 303 seems to work the best. Tire black also works but does not last as long.