90 What are the best vinyl/rubber cleaners/enhancers/replenishers?
Description
This article is from the VW Technical FAQ, by with numerous contributions by Jan Vandenbrande others.
90 What are the best vinyl/rubber cleaners/enhancers/replenishers?
A: Armor All was one of the first widely available products that would
make greyed plastic and rubber components black again.
However, it has now fallen in disfavor because of its drying out
effect on rubber components causing dry rot when the these components
stop receiving regular applications. I have used the stuff for over
7 years without the noted cracking and rot, but I may have been lucky
and I usually do not hang on to my tires all that long ;->
Currently recommended products:
Clear Guard, Black Again, Meguiar #42, Harly Tire-Nu or Lexol Vinylex.
Others have reported favorable (better) results with Turtle Wax's Black
Chrome product for black bumpers and Westley's Black Magic.
Here is a writeup sent to me by JBratek@aol.com from Larry Reynolds of
Car Care Specialties, Inc, Saddle Brook, NJ, 201-796-8300, carcaresp@aol.com
during a recent PCA workshop covering concour tips for Porsche owners:
There are two main degrading agents that attack tires. 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
sacraficial 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 sacraficial
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 silicone oil in Armour All et Al may
actually dissolve the wax and be the cause of premature tire sidewall
cracking/failure. In conclusion, any tire dressing should contain a UV
protectant to bolster the efforts of the carbon black and not contain any
silicone.
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