Itinerant Air-Cooled

My dashboard can use a little TLC, cosmetically speaking. What's the consensus on treating the dash and other plastic bits with vinyl restorative products?

(NEVER treat a motorcycle seat this way!)

I prefer the cream based schtuff, conditions better and doesn't dry the plastic/vinyl out.

Don't use ArmorAll. The chemicals in it will actually dry out and crack vinyl and other plastics. See if you can find some 303. Good stuff.

http://www.303products.com/tech/index.c ... N=25990390

x2 ^^. I would recommend NuVinyl ... IMHO, doesn't seem to dry it out, nor does it make stuff too shiny.... been around since the 70's.

glasseye wrote:My dashboard can use a little TLC, cosmetically speaking. What's the consensus on treating the dash and other plastic bits with vinyl restorative products?

Depends . . . if it is an Asstro or a VW we're talking about here.

Because all typically available treatments *can* increase deterioration of plastic if you do not continually recondition, you just need to make an election that you will continually recondition. I average once every eight weeks or so during summer when I am continually exposed to glaring sunlight and horrendous interior temperatures, then once just before winter storage. I have used whatever falls to hand at the FLAPS, currently Black Magic Vinyl Conditioner.
Colin

Hiya All,

I'll throw my two pennies in on this subject...........

I have read in a couple of different places that the reason Armor-All is to be avoided is that acts as a solvent when applied to vinyl. It actually degrades the top surface of the vinyl and that is what produces the lustre. Continual use of the product will eventually make the vinyl so thin that it will crack when heated and cooled.

I use this stuff instead.............

http://www.zymol.com/zymolvinyl85oz.aspx

And it can found on e-Bay for a heckuva lot less than advertised on that page.

The general consensus is that ArmorAll sucks. Nothing more to say.

I have had good luck with Maguires Vinyl and Rubber Restorer. That is just anecdotal, of course. Take it for what it is worth since I am not a real car resto expert; I just play one on weekends.

Tim

OK, so it's McGuires on the Dorper, Armor All on the Asstro. Got it.

Baby Oil aka Mineral oil. Use it on rubber seals and dash board.

For a dried out "S" Boot or dried out "Y"'s, fill up a crock pot with Baby Oil and submerge the dried part into the oil and turn the crock pot to low and let it go for a few days. Keep an eye on it .

What da ya no. =D>

Any thing with UV protection is always a bonus. UV rays from the sun are damaging to everything under the sun!

AirCooledNut wrote:Any thing with UV protection is always a bonus. UV rays from the sun are damaging to everything under the sun!

Careful now.....not everything with UV protection actually protects against UV rays.
The latest of tests show that a sun screen with UV protection actually promote the absorbing of UV rays.

As a chemical coatings professional for over 30 years, the painting industry has known for years just how little the UV inhibiters that are added to the coating actually help in preventing UV from absorbing into a surface.

Also ask yourself this..........Are UV rays capeable of penetrating glass.

Robert Berglund wrote: Also ask yourself this..........Are UV rays capeable of penetrating glass.

No. Can "protein" or "Australian Sea Kelp" shampoos "nourish" hair? No. Hair is only nourished at production in the follicle.
Does creme this and food that feed and condition leather? No. It smears all over dyes that do their best to not allow anything to absorb into leather. Whattupwiddat?

Marketing is insidious and stupifying. There are no UV rays in the engine compartment either, but plastic and vinyl and rubber deteriorate in there too. We have heat, we have ozone, we have solvent vapors, we have engine oil that detergently strips plastic and dries out rubber. I have CV boots that gave me an honest 110,000 miles before I gave then to JBlair 630, and washing with water seemed to give me the best suppleness over time. Unfortunately for marketing, I used free water.
Colin

Robert Berglund wrote:

AirCooledNut wrote:Any thing with UV protection is always a bonus. UV rays from the sun are damaging to everything under the sun!

Also ask yourself this..........Are UV rays capeable of penetrating glass.

Um, it depends. Non-tinted, non-laminated auto glass does a good job of stopping UVB (the rays that cause sun-burn) but not UVA (the type that penetrates deeper into the skin and causes wrinkles and skin damage).

Things are always complicated.

Tim

satchmo wrote:

Robert Berglund wrote:

AirCooledNut wrote:Any thing with UV protection is always a bonus. UV rays from the sun are damaging to everything under the sun!

Also ask yourself this..........Are UV rays capeable of penetrating glass.

Um, it depends. Non-tinted, non-laminated auto glass does a good job of stopping UVB (the rays that cause sun-burn) but not UVA (the type that penetrates deeper into the skin and causes wrinkles and skin damage).

Things are always complicated.

Tim

We aren't interested in protecting the driver. I still remember the phrase from my cycling days, 'Skin heals, Campy doesn't'.

Is it UVA that damages my dash and interior?