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Old 04-30-2009, 05:03 PM   #37 (permalink)
Crash
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If armor-all is used on a very regular basis, it doesn't hurt anything in the short term. But what happens is that oil gets into the pores of the vinyls and plastics and over time starts a drying effect on the materials. When in constant use, the oil keeps the materials in check, but the materials then have a dependence on the oils. When you neglect the panels for a little while the drying can start to cause the panels to turn either brittle or give them a VERY dry look. After some time, the panel will eventually crack.

The best thing to do is use a UV protection that doesn't have any oils in them. Water based products are usually better. I've never used the 303 stuff, so I can't comment on them. I'm pretty OCD about my cars, and I use a slightly damp cloth (water) to wipe down my dash. I have leather protection wipes for the seats, shift boot, and e-brake boot. For the rest, damp cloth. I also I hate the glare from the shiney crap... I wear polarized sun glasses most of the time I'm driving, but at night when street lamps go over the dash, the glare is there without any way around it.

3 years of using a damp cloth. NOTHING bad so far.


BTW: Just an observation, but I noticed that when I used some cleaners, it seemed to attract dust even more... I don't know if dust was just attracted and sticking to the oil in the cleaner, or if the shiney crap made the dust more obvious. One things for sure, the way I do things now, you don't notice dust until you wipe the panels down and look at the cloth.
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