When/Why would you use a Bladder Treatment or a Bladder Start-up Lubricant?

A bladder treatment is used when there is a specific objective to increase bladder life, especially where sulphur cracking is seen as an issue to overcome. Bladder treatments also assist in providing an underlying layer of slip that helps to reduce defects throughout the life of a curing bladder.

A bladder “start-up lubricant” is used as a general purpose aid to the start-up of new bladders, they help ensure good slip to help a new, and therefore stiffer, bladder comply to the contours of the inside of a tire, thus minimizing defects for the vital first few tires cured. However, they do not offer protection against chemical or abrasive attack, so their use does not lead to higher average bladder life in the way bladder treatments do.