Has anyone tried using Armor-All on the XC's plastic "cladding" trim. Any caution needed here--will it do any harm???

Mothers back to black works really well. I had some black plastic trim similar to that on the XC on my LX Accord. If you want it to be black and shiny thats the stuff to use.

Then again why would you want it to be shiny? The XC is a "rugged" volvo and not supposed to be "pretty" the black plastic cladding is utilitarian.

There are two main degrading agents that attack tires and rubber trim. They are UV light waves and ozone. Both of these attack the long hydrocarbon chains of the rubber and by breaking these bonds, shorten the molecules with resulting loss of elasticity and other problems. Tire manufacturers add two primary sacrificial protectants to the rubber. To protect against UV, they add carbon black. This is why tires don't come in designer colors to match your paint. The carbon black will turn white/gray as it absorbs the UV and dissipates the energy as heat. Thus the basis of rubber parts turning gray as they age. To protect against ozone, tire manufacturers add a wax based sacrificial protectant. The ozone attacks the wax and depletes it. As the tire rolls, additional wax is forced to the surface of the tire. This is referred to as "blooming". This blooming refreshes the surface wax protectant. A tire that has not been flexed will have the wax depleted by the ozone and thus begin to degrade and suffer "dry rot". The raw silicone oil that is the main ingredient in most of the nationally advertised over the counter products may actually dissolve the wax and be the cause of premature tire sidewall cracking/failure. The quality tire/rubber dressings should contain a strong UV protectant to bolster the efforts of the carbon black and not contain any raw silicone oil. Many of the nationally advertised rubber and vinyl products also contain formaldehyde. If you plan on having a funeral for your dash, then you may wish to use one of these products.

My personal favorite tire and exterior rubber/vinyl trim protectant is Black Again. It is, in my opinion, the best non-silicone oil based product to restore the jet-black patina to tires and exterior rubber/vinyl. A white creamy polymer emulsion, with a heavy duty UV protectant, it works equally well on all colors of exterior trim. (They tried calling it Any Color Again, but the name didn't work). If raw silicone oil based products have been previously applied to the rubber/vinyl, the raw silicone oil had saturated the material. Black Again will help dissolve out the silicone oil (this is good), but does not seem to be able to do so evenly (this is bad). The finish may be slightly "splotchy" the first couple of applications of Black Again. The only solution is to apply several coats about a week apart, and the finish will eventually even out. An excellent spray on type of protectant for tires and rubber trim is One Grand Exterior Rubber Treatment. Spray on, allow to penetrate and buff off the excess, leaving a medium gloss, non-greasy finish. Harly Tire Nu is another spay on product with a high gloss finish. Meguiar #40 is a vinyl and rubber cleaner and conditioner. I feel it works better on vinyl than it does on rubber. Leaves a medium gloss finish. Sonax Trim Protectant cleans and protects exterior vinyl and rubber, producing a high gloss finish. Zymol Tyre is a new product that leaves a medium gloss and helps restore some of the black patina to rubber. Wurth Rubber Care, Sonax Rubber Care and Zymol Seal are designed for the "live" rubber door gaskets. These products are rich in glycerin and help maintain the flexibility and sealing ability of the gaskets. A nice side benefit is that they help keep doors from freezing in winter...from www.carcareonline.com....GREAT SITE!!!!

What if some detail place already used Armorall or similar on my dash, etc.? What to do? I personally hate the shiny look inside the car. Aslo, on sunny days it blinds me by reflecting off the windshield. So, how do I remove the nasty stuff and what do I do after I remove it and how do I know I removed it?

TIA

Vladimir,

Ask that question over at the detailing forum at this site....it is outstanding for all sorts of detailing questions.....and the products are for sale there also.

Armor All is not good for the exterior rubber weatherstripping. On our Maxima it caused the rubber to bleed on the sides of the car and then deteriorate. Deterioration won't happen quickly but after a couple of years parked under the sun we had to replace the weatherstripping.

I use Vinylex from Lexol and it works great. Tip: You know how sometimes the doors tend to get frozen shut (not the locks) during icy winter, well use Vinylex on the rubber stripping around the inside edges of the doors and pillars and even the trunk. It has worked great for us during the past 3 winters here in New England.

Brian M.

1998 S70GLT, 1998S70A, 1991 Maxima SE

Armor-All is not the best choice for what you are looking for but if you must use this product they have a 'satin' look protectorant made by the same company. You don't have to go with the shiny look.

Regards,

Eddie W. in FL

I agree with everyone else that Armor-All gives too much shine. It is also silicon based and generally makes plastic trim look bad. I think it would ruin the rough surfaced cladding on the XC. Based on my own experience, if you keep the cladding clean by frequent washing with a very, very soft brush and good automotive detergent, you shouldn't need to use any other product on it. IMHO, I wouldn't use Armor-all on any plastic or vinyl trim even if it was the only product available for that purpose.

Armor-All will ruin the plastic's colour and sheen by sucking out the original plasticisers and replacing them with lighter, slimier, more volatile ones. Don't do it unless you have shares in Armor-All and want to be redoing it every week for the rest of your car's life.

If you must put a "protectant" on, try a better quality wipe-on product. I only do the bumpers of our car once a year (with "Black Magic" or similar) and the last car was wrecked at 11 years old (no garage, either) with nice bumper covers.

There are way too many products out there that are much better. Give Lexol, or 303 Areospace Protectant a try.

As long as the Armor All states that it is for use with exterior plastic trim. I don't forsee a problem.

One quick note though, Armor All is known for making plastic VERY shiny. Their tire wet look makes the tires obscenely shiny. Also, their interior plastic/dash spray also makes interior dashes WAY too shiny as well. If this is a trend, I don't know if you want that shiny of exterior.

Sin,

Due to a lot of "complaints" of great product but too shiny...ArmorALL came out with a non-shine about 18months ago...