Just wondering what is recommended for protecting /winterizing door seals and protecting trim. I used to use silicone for rubber seals, but I hear that that may dry them out. For trim I've used Armourall but over the long term it has not impressed me.
TIA F.Plant
Armor All contains silicone oil, and silicone is perfectly fine for virtually all types of rubber and plastic, as this chemical compatibility database will show:
Rubber weatherstrip is made of EPDM rubber, the same material used for radiator hoses, and it's resistant to about everything (even sunlight and ozone) except fuels and oils used in cars, which are very bad for it. Silicone oil has virtually no effect.
Vinyl (PVC) is also unaffected by silicone oil, and instead of causing vinyl to dry out it actually slows the evaporation of its plasticizers and keeps it flexible.
Not all preservatives for rubber and plastic contain silicone, and even among those that do, some last much longer because they contain heavier silicone oil. You can also apply silicone grease to weatherstrips, Dow Corning DC 22 and DC 4 being two suitable products, even though they contain some zinc oxide (so little it's invisible).
I've always rubbed brake fluid on rubber seals. Because it must travel through rubber lines, it has an additive to preserve rubber.
Ambrose
Don't think I'll risk this with my car. Paint + brake fluid is not a combination I'll mess with, even if it helped protect the seals (which I doubt -sorry if I'm wrong).
F.Plant
I don't know about that. All rubber is not the same (just look at how the O-ring seals used in the engine are fine with engine oil, but it will wreck the kind of seals used in the brake system).
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