Taking Care of Your Dash

[mgmshar]

I recently received some information from a friend that the group may find helpful. I thought I'd pass it along.

I recently asked a friend (a friend who works for one of the Big Three in their Engineering Department) about how to take care of my car's interior. Specifically, I was wondering about Armor All. I have heard from some people that Armor All can actually cause dashboard panels to crack. My friend talked to the engineers who are responsible for the design of interior parts for cars. They had some advice for the best way to take care of our dashboards. Here is a clip from her emailed response...

"The two recommended practices are 1) diluted ammonia 2) Murphy's Oil Soap in warm water. Murphy's Oil Soap will leave a bit of a shiny film (similar to the Armor All look) and the diluted ammonia won't. Armor All will allegedly attack and eat your plastic. They said that diligent use of Armor All over a 5 - 10 year period can reduce the life of your IP by about 50%."

DISCLAIMER: The engineers in question were talking about dashboards in modern cars, not 1987. I don't know if the materials used for dashboards have changed since 1987.

For me, I'm going to try the Murphy's Oil Soap to see how it looks. The idea of putting amonia on my dash scares me - does somebody have an old dash panel that they'd be willing to experiment on?

For what it's worth...

 

[2QUIK6]

Anything petroleum based will slowly deteriorate plastic and rubber. I believe Armor All is or was petroleum based. STP is silicon based and is better for plastic but still attracts dust, which will also deteriorate plastic. I use LRV protectant from the Wax Shop, leaves a glossy look with no petroleum and does not attract dust and it lasts much longer than anything I've used before, several weeks usually. Always clean everything with mildly warm water and towel first.

 

[tom h]

personally, I've never liked the "slimey" look & touch of Armorall.

I don't even use Armorall on tires any more, I prefer the harder-to-find 3M rubber penetrant product, 3M looks more natural. Never tried 3M on interior vinyl, nor do I know if it's recommended for that purpose. Might be worth checking, 3M makes good products.

For interior vinyl I prefer to wash with mild dish soap solution (eg Dawn) , and always keep the vinyl out of direct sun. I use one of the custom fitted "velour" dashboard covers on my vehicles, and a sunshade in the windshield if car is going to be parked in sunlight for long periods.

I'm too lazy most of the time, to use a sunshade in my daily driver 1994 Chevy Blazer. But have always used a dash cover, and it still looks darn good after nearly 10 years!

Interior vinyl, like human skin, holds up better with less sun and less UV.

 

[WakkoSS]

Yes, STP, Armor All, they all ruin the rubber/plastic. Know what works? Lemon Pledge! Lemon cause it smells nice. Pledge furniture polish allows the plastic to breath.

 

[Jerryl]

Anything new out there? Did Armorall change their formula?
With the summer comming up, I will need some protection. :biggrin:

 

[WHEEZER]

Pledge here too. :biggrin:

 

[Gary Wells]

Might find a lot of answers to these questions over on
www.autopia.org
Better Car Care
Detail City
or any of the auto care sites. I use a good leather conditioner by any of the top name leather care/auto care manufacturers.

 

[tom h]

I have used "3M Leather and Vinyl Cleaner - Restorer", catalog # 39040, for about a year on my vehicles. Nicely cleans out the greasy, dirty grunge in the crinkly texture of interior vinyl, that builds up over time. Leaves the faintest hint of shine, and no greasy residue. Havent used it enough to discern what the long term effects are.

I only use "3M Rubber Treatment and Tire Dressing # 39042" on exterior rubber, much nicer appearance and longevity than the hideous Armor-all . I've never been disappointed with any 3M products so far.