OK supposedly Armour All isn't good. I'm not sure why because Its worked OK for me for years. Does anyone have a better alternative? and why?
If it's worked for you for years, why change? I use it on rubber and small stuff. On my dash and interior plastic, on the rare occasion that I actually clean it, I use lemon Pledge. I still use shoe polish on my tires, Kiwi or Shinola, and buff them with a soft shoe brush. Oddly enough, I use Armorall on the one pair of dress shoes that I own. Bought them, maybe, 20 years ago for weddings and funerals. After I got out of the military, I vowed to never shine shoes again. I used to have a gallon of "universal dressing" that a detailer gave me. It seemed to work well
I've never used it, but I was just on the POR-15 site and saw their product. They claim it's "not like the other products" meaning Armorall. ...again I know nothing about it, so I guess this post is kinda useless...
Mothers Back to black. For any vinyl,rubber etc. Looks like factory new not greasy. Not just for black,any color.
Kevlar is probably better protection... It depends on what you want to us Armor all on. For a padded dash...Mink oil, rub it in, then take a clean cloth to go over it and finish. The mink oil, will keep the pad soft and won't crack like Armour All will. Tires....Black tires, Black paste shoe polish. Put it on with the shoe dabber, it gets in the cracks, for the bigger areas, just an old sock. Then use the shoe brush to buff. It makes the tires look like new tires, instead a painted tires look you get with some of those other tire cleaners and Armour All. If you have white wall tires, you can still do the black part of the tires. The shoe polish will also help tires from cracking. For you guys that have flat black paint, but want to spiff it up a little, use Pledge. Spray it on, then buff it with a clean towel. Pledge also works on the front bumper for getting bugs off, but that stuff that is made by Rain-X is probably better. Cleaning windows? We all know vinegar and newspapers works, but get a plastic ketsup or mustard bottle, that you can buy at any Wally World. Mix 50/50 water and Turtle wax. It's good for the inside of the windows, for you who smoke, or "Fog up the windows with your gals". I like it because when it dries, and you take it off, if you miss taking some of it off, then then haze is still there to tell you where you missed. Also, doing the outside windows, it not only cleans them, but the windshield will bead water, for those of you without wipers. That mixture can also be used for getting bugs off the front. Got road oil on your wipers and they streak the windows when you're driving in the rain? Use rubbing alcohol on the rubber blades. It'll clean off the oil and your wipers will work like they're supposed to. Steering wheel oily from driving with greasy hands? Rubbing alcohol again. HellRaiser HellRaiser
Armor All is crap. It makes dust and dirt stick like a magnet. After you get a dirty brown scum all over everything just try cleaning it. Throw the armor all in the trash or leave it on the store shelf there are plenty of better products available.
Anyone that rides Hondas, and has frequented the Honda shops, knows about Honda Polish & Cleaner in the aeerosols....It'll soften sticker sticky, soften and remove bugs, repels water better than Rain-X (without the hard work).....whatever! Give it a try!
Yep... as said by others throw the Armor All in the trash... gonna dry out any vinyl, rubber, and plastic you use it on. A great all around dressing for interior or exterior vinyl, rubber and plastic is Meguiar's #40 Vinyl and Rubber Cleaner and Conditioner. It is actually going to condition the surface rather than dry it out and does not leave a greasy mess. Also works great on tires if you just want a clean black look rather than a greasy, shiny tire. And as far as the shoe polish for tires, it may have worked for Burt Monroe to fill the cracks in his Indians tires but come on guys, use a product thats designed for tires that is going to do a much better job and take you a quarter of the time. Oh and yes... I work for Meguiars. http://www.meguiarsdirect.com/product_detail.do?q=4747
What product are u using & what are u using it on....I know one of their chemists and can get some answers.
Production detail supply out of California makes a ton of excellent products. I used to use them exclusively when I was a detailer. Google them for more info
X2 Nothing worse. "Detailers" spray that crap all over an engine bay, Looks like crap and just attracts dirt.
Took out a wasps nest with Armour All this past weekend, it's about the only thing that stuff is good for in my eyes. Never tried it but a ton of folks have told me the best product they found on the market is Zymol Tyre. It's 100% chemical free. Bottle of it goes for about $30 but from what I am told, it is well worth it, a little goes a long way, and it does a great job of cleaning and protecting tires.
I like Meguiars Hot Shine for tires. They come out a little too glossy but you just go over the tires with a towel a time or two and the shine flattens out just right. This stuff lasts forever, even through repeated washings. They used to make a low gloss version but I cant find it anymore.
I just clean stuff occasionally with water and a mild soap, and keep the car in the garage (out of the sun) when I'm not driving it. I'm not much good to the snake oil marketing people.
the SUN dries and cracks stuff... not Armorall. add a new one to the list: 1. sbc's are boring. 2. red wheels are not cool 3. radials suck 4. Armorall destroys everything it is applied to.
Proven by whom? I used Armorall for years until I discovered Pledge (it's cheaper). I never had any problems with goo, destruction of parts, catastrophic failure, erectile dysfunction or loss of the ozone layer due to my use of Armorall. It did haze the inside of my windshield, But a quick wipe with glass cleaner solved that. What ever happened to Glass Wax? Haven't seen it in years.
Me and the others who don't like the residue it leaves, don't like silicone on our clothes, and don't like sliding around on the seats.. I don't know first hand whether Armor-All causes this, but many cleaners and treatments effect the plasticizers in vinyl. Over time that causes deterioration. I agree with what "squirrel" said, in most cases just a cleaning with something mild is all that's needed. Some don't care for that artificially shiny look. I finish tires with a solvent on a rag. That makes them look like rubber instead of pimp shoes. As of a couple years ago Glass Wax was still available. The last time I bough it was from a hardware store. I like the way it smells. Some plating shops use Glass Wax to remove chromic acid stains from newly plated parts before shipping. Using it on the outside of the windshield affects the ability of the wipers to clear the windshield. I tried past wax once and it did the same thing. Rain X makes water bead on the windshield too, but it doesn't impair the effectiveness of the wipers.
I guy I worked with for a short time owned a motorcycle repair shop when he was younger. He told me that if a customer brought a bike in to have a performance part installed, they always made sure to armor-all the seat when they washed the bike. Shawn
Me and a buddy used to armor all the back seat of my GTO, then take his kid brother for a ride. I'll never forget him screaming as he slid around back there. Ended up with him on his head against the passanger side one time... oh, and the seat was so hard and dried out, I had to recover it later. Couldn't swear it was the Armor All, but....
I use Poorboy's World "Natural Look" , It is not ... shiny , greasy , destructive to stitching etc , etc . it's not cheap nor too pricy , unless it's leather , I use Meguiar's leather conditioner or good old fashioned mink oil , which works on vinyl also , but requires a lot of rubbing in . I'll do a x2 on the 303 aerospace protectant , it is also in my arsenal of detailing products .
I live in the delta region. The boaters all seem to use Aerospace 303 on their boats vinyl interior. Its like sunscreen for your stuff. Easy to use. I've used it with good results on two ski boats.
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