Best dashboard protectant?

Personally, I find that Armor All is heroin for plastic. Once you start using it, you must continue using it, and using progressively more, or the plastic will crack and turn white.

I've found that the best medicine is to keep the dash board clean.

"Jeff Strickland" wrote:...

JoshIII comments: Armor All seals whatever it is applied to. This prevents the dash from expelling clorine (contained in foam plastisizers) gas. When chlorine gas comes in contact with water vapor it forms HCL (hydro chloric acid). Armor All is only ok if you live in a dry climate like the Sahara Desert.

Using Armor All is like closing the window in the bathroom.

I like to use "Lemon Pledge" made by Johnson & Sons (used for protecting furniture, leather, and vinyl)

joshiii josh3i at hotmail . com upstate south carolina

"Jeff Strickland" wrote

My thoughts exactly.

I've had good luck with 303 Aerospace Protectant and Harly PolyGuard.

Pete

Must not make smart-assed remark -- must not make smart-assed remark

-- aaarrrggghhh!!!

-- Larry

ahahahahahahaha!

Then don't apply Armor All to your eyes. ;-)

However - why do you want to make the surface of the dashboard shiny and gleaming when car manufacturers go to great lenght to try to remove as much as sheen from the dashboard as possible to avoid reflexes etc.?

I like that approach also. Aside from keeping the dash board top non-shiny, it also reduces the amount of outgassing "stuff" in the car that eventually finds it way to the windshield.

I polish the car with UV protection products to protect the paint. I figure the same should be done for the dash. Not to mention we have all seen dashboards which have cracked.

To all the comics out there responding to getting into my eyes, I notice after a while Armor All will also pr

To all the comics out there responding to getting into my eyes, I notice after a while Armor All will also produce a grey cloud on the windshield so something is air borne.

There was a month long discussion about this a few years ago and an organic chemist chimes in and explained it all.

Armor all and the like all work the same way, they contain oils that prevent UV from hitting the plastic; UV is what makes plastic harden and crack. So you glop on this stuff and for a while the plastic won't age. Now, in Texas in summer this mat last a day. In New York in winter maybe a couple of weeks.

They're all the same. Doesn't matter what brand you use it's just an oil barrier to block UV.

Suntan loti>Personally, I find that Armor All is heroin for plastic. Once you start

Not a problem with any newer BMW - it's a solid composite dash, made of recycled rubber products. It will never crack.. It also is somewhat porous, and slopping some silicone goo on it probably is not a good idea

- just 'cause that crap is going to outgas for the rest of the car's life on the inside of the windshield. The old dashes with vinyl over a base material (usually a dense foam rubber) did dry up and crack, unfortunately - it didn't matter much what you slopped on them, they all did it anyway. I think the last of these was in the E28/E30 series cars. I know by the E34 - the problem had been resolved.

A clean damp cloth is all it needs.

Which reminds me about a great tip: Do not use suntan lotion before riding a bike using full face helmet.

It stings like hell as you start to sweat and the lotion runs into your eyes. It is downright scary riding a bike blinded.

BTDTGT.