Rubber Floor Mats

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Yamaha0219

New member
Does anyone dress rubber wet mats? Mine are knid of loosing their color, but they look good when they get wet. Not sure what to use on them to richen the color but not be real greasy. Anyone have any suggestions? Thanks
 
I have rubber "winter" floor mats in all my cars. I actually run them all year long, because I think they look good.....



Every week, I spray them with a water/APC mixture, scrub with a carpet brush, rinse, dry, spray with Tire Foam, brush with a soft brush, let dry 5 minutes and done.



Not greasy after the Tire foam soaks in.



floormats004.jpg
 
Luster said:
I have rubber "winter" floor mats in all my cars. I actually run them all year long, because I think they look good.....



Every week, I spray them with a water/APC mixture, scrub with a carpet brush, rinse, dry, spray with Tire Foam, brush with a soft brush, let dry 5 minutes and done.



Not greasy after the Tire foam soaks in.



floormats004.jpg
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Don't they get slippery when wet with the Tire Foam?
 
Street5927 said:
Don't they get slippery when wet with the Tire Foam?
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I never really noticed that they were slick when wet. It does soak in pretty well. I don't really SATURATE them with Tire Foam... just lightly mist and work it in with a brush... dry in 5-10 minutes.
 
One additional note.... I used to use some high quality rubber/vinyl dressings on the mats... they worked well, BUT... it just got too expensive. Especially since I do this every week... sometimes more in wet/sloppy conditions.
 
Clean them well, rinse with water and mist them with a VP such as AA or 303 (mixed 50/50 with water if you want to dilute it. Let them hang dry and if the are slippery wipe off excess with a MF.
 
303 is your best bet to dress rubber, it does not leave a greasy or slippery residue and leaves a nice finish
 
i use tire foam as well....works great and is not slippery like some dressings.





I actually use Wesley's Bleeche Wite on my mats.....really takes care of the discoloration. I just wash them whenever i wash my truck.
 
Altered-Image said:
I actually use Wesley's Bleeche Wite on my mats.....really takes care of the discoloration. I just wash them whenever i wash my truck.
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Good plan! I never thought of Wesley's! I have a brand new bottle that I use on white letter tires....



Thanks for the tip!:xyxthumbs
 
After cleaning my rubber mats, I allow them to dry, then spray them with Stoner's Trim Shine.
 
DaGonz said:
After cleaning my rubber mats, I allow them to dry, then spray them with Stoner's Trim Shine.
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Trim Shine is a good product. If you buy it by the case directly from Stoner's website, it's only a little over $3 per can!
 
I clean my rubber mats with rubber cleaner. Better rubber cleaners (like the maybe-too-gentle and oh-so-pricey) Griot's seem to "exfoliate" the rubber just enough to make the mats look OK without dressing... well, most of the time :o



Whitewall cleaners (which I can get *really* cheap from the autobody/paint supply store) clean better, but don't leave the mats looking as nice. Wonder what the supposed difference *is* between "rubber cleaners" and "whitewall cleaners", I mean...come on... :think:



Gotta admit that I don't ever dress mine. Yeah, they could use it looks-wise but I simply won't risk them getting slick when they're wet. Maybe I'm being overly cautious but, eh...they're the rubber mats :nixweiss
 
I only have rubber mats in my car. I am not a carpet guy at all.



I use a brush meant for body panels dipped in the car wash solution at the end of a wash. They're a bit softer than wheel brushes and clean the dirt and salt well. The mats are left clean and a bit dull but I do not dress them. I would expect that accumulated dressing would make them gummy and retain dirt, dust, etc... because of the stickiness factor. Sort of like tires with old dressing. From your experiences I should try it since my concerns don't seem to be a reality. I'm with Accumulator too; I'd be a bit cautious of the slippery tendencies. Knowing me I'd get it on my soles and then slip off the brake pedal!
 
It occurs to me that part of my paranoia about the slipperiness might come from training I've done in cars with rubber flooring :think: Even without dressing, once the rubber gets wet things can get a bit slick, and those flooring materials are *made* to resist that. People don't worry about such stuff and all is fine for years (or forever) until some unforeseen circumstances arise and everything changes for a few crucial seconds.
 
Well I took mine out today, used Chemical Guys Green Clean & the powerwasher to clean them. Sprayed some tire shine on them, I think it was Armoral, wiped off the excess after they sat for a few minutes; put them in the car and went to get in and they were what Dane Cook calls a 'sleep-n-bleed'. Thats what I did with my mom's mats...I sprayed them and powerwashed them again and the color look a little better (never looked that bad to begin with) and just let them dry and put them in the car.



Took my mats out too (2 months of salt/dirt/snow build up from being at school in Hazleotn, PA) and I sprayed them with CG and powerwashed. After they dried I applied two coats of CG Vinyl Plastic Rubber stuff (letting the coats dry between). They came back with a nice rich color and not real slick. I'll have to get pics up eventually. It was just too busy of a day and I didn't really think of it.
 
Besides doing a MF wipe, your feet cause enough friction to remove any slickness to the mats after a little time. Also diluting the VP will also help.



Rubber matted trucks, the ones without carpet are a different story, any mats on top will slip and could be a problem.
 
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