Flyingboy

Ok, this may seem silly, but after all these years (read decades) of using Armor All Protectant I wonder if it really helps surfaces. Does it really moisturize? Or is it just for looks? Can it harm in the long run?
If not, what can I use to moisturize sun baked things like dasborad and door pannels?
I'm not trying to single out Armor All, but about all equivalent brands too.

ALLT4

I've had some success with Mothers Back to Black, I wipe it on, let it dry a bit then wipe it off. It's not a shiny as Armor All and sometimes that's a good thing. Also it dosen't attract dust the way Armor All does.

Sam Lam

The best thing I have done with this stuff.....is to put it in the trash can! I would not recommend using this on your Vette!
SAM

bugman

Well, I'm like you -- I don't know a damned thing about the science of this. But I can tell you that I've used it for about 15 years, on two cars. Pretty much would put this stuff on exterior trim and the inside on dash etc. kept one car 5 years and the other car 10 years and in both cases at the time I sold them each one looked like it had just been driven off the lot.

The experts here may point out some minutia here and there and tell you that if you use armor all , somehow your nuts will shrink up and turn purple. But it's really tough to argue with actual experience.

Have been using it on all the trim on my C6 also, and plan to keep doing that. I've tried "back to black" and one or two similar products, but the armor all seems to work best for outdoor trim.

One vote for armor all . Though I know people love to bash it in favor of newer magical stuff. New doesn't always mean better. Just me spouting off again.

cv67

I've only used it on 2 cars i had, and both of the dashes developed cracks within weeks of using it. I was always warned about that happening unless you use it all the time, but chalked it up to til it happened to me. Could be coincidence, who knows.

jabez

Armour All is something you have to keep using if you use it.

I used a couple of bottles on a Ford Tauras and it looked nice. Stopped using it when 2 bottles was emptied. After 6 months , the dash got all hard and flakey and started to crack. so if you use it keep using it or don't use it at all.

C5VetteLS1

That's right, nothing is better than Armor All ... and I'm mean exactly that! Doing nothing at all, is better than a treatment of Armor All. Armor All has a very high silicone content which actually accelerates the deterioration of everything it's to be used on. My company manufactures a Vinyl/Leather/Plastic/Rubber Protectant that we compared with the infamous Armor All. Being that I was replacing the 3 tires on my aircraft due to dry-rot, I decided they would be perfect for a test platform. I wired these tires to the roof of my hangar and painted an identification on each of the tires. NA for the tire that would remain untreated. W/W for our brand of product, and A/A for Armor All. I would set up a ladder once a month and go up on the roof with a paint brush and the two products, and just brush the products onto the tires. After one year we took them down and folded the sidewalls over to measure the depth of the dry-rot cracks. The funny thing is that in the conclusion of this test, we clearly found that the cracks in the untreated tire were only 1/2 of the depth of the tire treated with Armor All. In short, the product is total crap and I will never use it on anything I own. I've owned a national aircraft detailing company/body shop the past 16 years and we're consistently testing such products. This information is not an assumption, it's the reality of the Armor All product.

Steel Blue 91

I've been using AP 303 since I flew ultralight aircraft back in the 80s. It's a little on the pricey side but worth it to me. My $0.02.

myvettesblue

armor alls nice shiney look attracts heat. using it on your weatherstripping is a definite nono rubber works is a great product for the weatherstripping it cleans it and treats it.

69er

Go 303.
Been using 303 for over 10 years.
No problems.
I love the stuff.

Blue Lion

I use Armor All b/c that's what I have here. When it's empty I may try something else, but so far no problems.

91C4

91C4

91C4

If you research the threads you will see that 303 wins hands down. This is a proven product that doen't have petrolem distiletes or silicones. These 2 things are very bad on vinyl plastics. Corvette people forever want the very best for their cars and 303 is a product that wins most surveys hands down. Try it you will love it.

PierEagle

Who's to say what's better than another. All I know is once you start using Armour All, you're hooked. If you stop using it (frequently) everything turns a funky color. Most noticable is the tires.

Corvette_fetish

How about Vinylex by Lexol? Bad like Armor All, or good like 303 Aerospace Protectant?

Flyingboy

Thanks for the input guys, it confirms my desire to try something better. I'll wash off the current treatment and start over.
Yes, what about leather treatment products like Lexol, or ironically Armor All leather treatment? They have moisturizers that might be good for treating the weatherstripping, moldings and dash.

beachcat

I am sure there are other products that work well, but I use 303 now. I stopped using AA in the 80's.

VettePower

Uhh, silly question, but why did you wire the tires to the roof of the hanger???????????????????

bugman

my guess is because that's where he knew there would be high heat, to accelerate any dry rot damage.

That's some pretty persuasive experience. Tough to ignore my own fantastic results with 10 years of Armor all use on my Mitsubishi 3000 GT -- all surfaces outside and inside.

I'll check on this 303 stuff . Never heard of it before. Good thread