Time for introductions; car-snow, snow-car

[My imp]

Just got the new project settled in at my sons house, went home. Planned on getting up & going over to begin a little preliminary assessment. But au contraries mon fraire! There's this white sh*t all over the gold paint I'd barely glanced at a mere 24 hrs. ago. Being an Arizona car, I didn't know if it had ever seen the foul white stuff. An introduction had to be made; car-snow, snow-car. Figured I have all kind of time to take pic.'s. Well, not for a few days yet. Being tax season, the wife's basically working everyday until the 15th, so my Imp doesn't go out in this unless it's a dire emergency. Goldy's going to have to sit until I can get over there. The transport company that FINALLY delivered the thing did a great job! I was able to briefly examine the underside of the car. You gotta love rust free sheet metal! The interior's a two tone brownish-tannish affair. Not bad, headliner doesn't sag, carpet looks good, door panels are MINT, along with the outside window sweeps. I plan on luring the living snot out of those things before I ever disturb them in any way. Does anyone have a recommendation? I was told by an upholsterer down in sunny Fla. that you NEVER! EVER! Use Armor All. He showed me all the boat interiors he had to do thanks to use of Armor All. He just did an interior, & the owner said he couldn't wait to get it Armor All'd. Guy told him that sun & AA will kill an interior faster than an unprotected interior (vinyl not leather). He recommended silicone spray with no additives. I know silicone spray will swell certain rubbers. I also know that once you get silicone spray to penetrate the sweeps, that everytime it rains & you open & close your window, it looks like someone spoofed all over your window! Any recommendations? As soon as the snow melts, I'll get pic.'s.

 

[slant6billy]

I've seen some vinyl plastic cleaner protector in homedepot last Wednesday on a corner display. Can't remember the name but it had a U/V protector. I saw a commercial recently on LS Chevy TV for Mothers or Meguirer's... one of the M companys. Sorry I'm bad on names if I don't say them over an over 10 times. Back in my carwash days, we never used Armorall. It was silicone and ZEP products. When I got my last sport bike, Honda had a wipe on/ wipe off wax protector that was good on everything. It was theirs and it had no gazoline smell. I know what you mean about the silicone on glass. I think a rainex treatment might prevent that prior to the plastic protector.

 

[Mr.Lopar]

yup, AA dries it out even faster.
I remember I went over to my buddies house a few years ago and his dad was wiping down the top on their sebring convertible with baby oil. the top was starting to crack around the rear window and he said baby oil will help revive/protect the material.

 

[kkritsilas]

AA works by attracting the plasticizers in the vinyl to the surface. The plastucizers then breakdown when exposed to UV. The vinyl, now having its plasticizers removed, will try to expand/contract, and crack. A lot of the time, you can see a bownish residue on cars that have had a lot of AA applied. This is the plasticizers that have been broken down by UV.

A good product for interior vinyl is Vinylex, made by tge same people who make the Lexol leatger care products.

Look up a site called Car Care Specialties for more car care information, as well as a selection of good car care products. I used to get my car care products there, but the increased shipping costs to Canada make this impossible to justify any more.

Kostas

 

[kkritsilas]

AA works by attracting the plasticizers in the vinyl to the surface. THis where the glossy look comes from. The plasticizers then breakdown when exposed to UV rays. The vinyl, now having its plasticizers removed, will try to expand/contract, and crack because of the reduced flexibility. A lot of the time, you can see a brownish residue on cars that have had a lot of AA applied. This is the plasticizers that have been broken down by UV rays.

A good product for interior vinyl is Vinylex, made by the same people who make the Lexol leather care products. Not good for exterior plastic/vinyl trim, as it can't stand up to rain.

Look up a site called Car Care Specialties (http://store.carcareonline.com/) for more car care information (in the how to section), as well as a selection of good car care products. I used to get my car care products there, but the increased shipping costs to Canada make this impossible to justify any more. There is another company, Flash Wax (flashwax.com) that also has interior vinyl cleaners/protectants. I have not used their vinyl products, but have used their Brown Royal wheel cleaner, and their Carpet/Upholstery Cleaner, and the results were great for both products. Most of their stuff is designed to be cut with water, in the case of the Carpet/Upholstery Cleaner, from 10:1 to 20:1. I cut it 10:1, and used it to clean up some really weird dried black stains from the carpet covering the transmission hump of my 1980 Cordoba. It not only got them out, it seems that the area is now newer/less faded looking (probably due to some faint stains also being removed). Follow the instructions on their site, and whatever videos that apply closely, and you won't be disappointed. Ih the case of the Carpet/Upholstery Cleaner, spray, and then blot up the stain, do not rub. A lot of their stuff is bio-degradable as well, and if you buy the bulk (1 gal. jugs) works out to be really, really cheap.

Kostas

Kostas

 

[My imp]

I use it, you're right, not for outside use. The best I've found is Collinite. Blows Lexol out of the water. Only place that used to carry it sold the company. It's 855, works on leather, vinyl, softens as well as protects leather. But I wonder if there's a specific one that works outside. I used the "Black Wax" by Turtle Wax on the bumper strips. Not impressed. I'm sure not going to use it on the window sweeps.thats the same thing the guy at the upholstery shop said about AA. The guy who just had his boat done by this guy, even after he told about AA was taking his boat home to AA the fresh vinyl. He shrugged shoulders, & said, I love repeat business. Enjoy! There are so many products out there that no matter what the company logo says, all they do is buy a formula & put their name on it. I restored a Cutlass one time that had a "Blue Corral" poly treatment on it. No wax & silicone remover, or any product I could find, would remove this film. I tried everything. Sherwin Williams chemist told me I needed a poly cracker (no b*llsh*t) to break down the polymer. I called BC to get the chemical that would break it down. They told me they had no idea, all they did was to buy a formula. Chemicals used to detail a car for resale will only destroy the material you're trying to save.

 

[kkritsilas]

Car Care Specialties recommends Meguiar's #39 for cleaning, and #40 for protection. According to them/him, #40 is tough as nails, but does a good job. You will need to find a dealer for Meguiar's Mirror Glaze (the professional line) products. The Crystal Glaze (consumer line) doesn't have product numbers, just names.

There used to be a product called "Back to Black" that was the single best bumper black vinyl/plastic product out there. Then they went out of business, and the new product with that name is just garbage. I don't know if the original products has ever re-appeared.

Sometimes, you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink. In which case, I would just blow his head off. In this customer's case, he will just provide steady income for the upholstery shop, which is good for the upholstery shop, I guess.

Kostas