OT for home repair -- armor all on tires

[Smarty Pants]

Four campers? All your wives won't stay in the same trailer when you go camping? ;-)

[Stormin Mormon]

Nope. Want to guess again?

. Christopher A. Young Learn about Jesus

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[clare]

Basically it is OZONE that damages rubber, much more than UV. UV is involved in producing ozone.

[clare]

Glycerine works too - lasts almost as long as AA. Keeps weatherstripping from freezing/sticking.

[clare]

Gotta remember, the rubber and plastic today are MUCH different than they were 20 years ago too.

[clare]

Just don't plan on painting anything within 100 yards after using spray silicone. That shit makes painting impossible for a year or more

-you get fisheyes everywhere. I won't ever use a silicone polish on a car. It can hang around for YEARS and is virtually impossible to totally eliminate without stripping the car (if even then)

[clare]

Bleach is NOT good for tires or rubber on the whole - particularly rubber with lamp black in it (virtually all black rubber)

[Stormin Mormon]

I'd not heard that. Thank you.

. Christopher A. Young Learn about Jesus

.

[Nate Nagel]

That's a joke, I say, that's a joke, son!

if you didn't get it (best watched with the sound LOUD!) it's at about 0:30

nate

[clare]

You really needed to see Gene Snow at Toronto International Dragway back in about 1971-ish on the 24th of may weekend. A genuine "snow burnout" - no bleach required!!!!

[WW]

re: " Well, DO NOT use Armorall or anything resembling it, because that can cause major problems when leaning in a curve."

What "major problems" will be caused when leaning into a curve? Are the sides of the tires going to be so slippery that the driver will lose control? That's some serious leaning!

It is slick. When it first came out years ago I used it on my motorcycle seat ONCE. Hit the throttle hard and slid backwards off the seat and ended up on the rear fender. Had a hard time removing it from the seat. WW

[gregz]

I have used Lexol leather conditioner on leather and vinyl. Never tried it on tires.

Greg

[gregz]

That reminds me of the time I was spraying waterproofing from spray gun. My brother was trying to paint car with same gun. Oh boy.

Greg

[Ashton Crusher]

Armor all ru>I've been searching usenet since I initially posted and their is a

OK, if you want a detailed chemical explanation, here goes. Soft vinyl plastics (as opposed to things like PVC pipe) contain a large amount of plasticizers. The one that is almost universally used is dioctyl phthalate. It is a relatively high molecular weight, water insoluble, nontoxic compound. Over the course of time, the plasticizer will vaporize and leach out of the vinyl causing it to become stiff and brittle, which is when it cracks.

ArmorAll is an emulsion of dibutyl phthalate in water. Dibutyl phthalate has a lower molecular weight than the dioctyl phthalate in the factory soft vinyl. While it will plump up and soften the plastic (good) the lower molecular weight means that it is more volatile and more water soluble. Therefore it will be lost more quickly to the environment via vaporization and leaching. A nasty side effect is that it will take the original plasticizer with it as it is lost.

What this means to the end user is that if you start using ArmorAll you had better continue to do so, or your vinyl will degrade much faster than if you had done nothing.

Ordinary glass blocks UV anyway. Ever try to get a suntan through your windshield? Doesn't work. That is not to say that maximum tint is a bad idea. UV damage is not the only light-related way to destroy plastics. Your plan is a good one.

[Stormin Mormon]

Ah, it provides short term benefit, but it's wicked addicting? What great marketing and packaging. Love it!

. Christopher A. Young Learn about Jesus

.

[Ed Pawlowski]

Details snipped.

I don't completely agree. I've only ever used Armor All on one car dashboard. On that particular car, the dash was getting splotchy looking and needed something. As soon as I applied it, the appearance was as good as new and remained so until I traded the car about a year later.

As for the addiction: When the plastics are first formulated, it does contain some additives that gas off over time. When you apply a topical coating, it is on the top surface and does not penetrate as the original mix had. It just will not last as long so yes, it will have to be re-applied at some interval.

In my opinion, if it does not need it, why apply it? One it does need it, you will have to do it periodically forever. It is a coating, not a plastic additive. Once the original plastcizer is gone, you will never replace it. Just as you have to paint y our house every dozen years or so, a bad dash will need some help.

[Stormin Mormon]

I figure that addicted or not, the spray helps keep things good, and not sun-cracked. I'm OK with that, in any case.

. Christopher A. Young Learn about Jesus

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[clare]

Used to thin it 25/75 with water to use on seats, floor mats, and dash. Thats 1 part AA to 3 parts water. Gave a bit of a sheen without being dangerously slippery. That was 30 odd years ago,

[clare]

But iff the rubber is "oxidized" the tires will still dry a charcoal gray. These guys want a "spit polish" on their "boots".

[DerbyDad03]

Sure, I can see it being an issue on a seat, but that doesn't explain how it's an issue on the side of a tire when leaning into a curve. I'm having a problem imagining it being so slick that it causes the tires to slide on pavement when cornering.

Cloth or leather pants on a slicked up motorcycle seat could be an issue, but hundreds of pounds of pressure on the tiny bit of an Armor All'ed side wall vs. the dirty, rough blacktop? I'm just not seeing it.