Would you apply a vinyl protectant to the dash of your new car?

I'm sure it has been sitting around for a while and the viynl oils /plasticisers will have started to dry out.



That being said the answer to your question is 'yes'.

Iz einzett Cockpit



JonM
 
Now for the opposing view ;) Not that you should deliberately neglect anything....



Nah, I woudn't treat it. I seldom treat the dashtops of my recent-vintage cars (maybe once-twice a year) as even the "matte finish" dressings impart more sheen (hence reflections in the windshield) than I like. I haven't treated the one in the S8 yet! But then I don't park them outside for extended periods either. But even the '84 Volvo, which was parked outside 24/7, didn't get treated very often, and its dashtop was fine. Today's plasticisers/whatever seem to be pretty good.
 
It depends on the car. BMWs for example, have an intentionally matte finish to reduce glare. On vehicles without a matte finished dash, I'd use regular Armor All or Meguiars #40.
 
On a new car I'd not bother with protectant. My preference is for a matt look. I haven't found any that are perfectly matt but the 1Z comes the closest.
 
My Avalanche has a lot of plastic on the exterior. I found that certain protectants can actually accellerate the aging process of plastic (due to the types of silicones and/or solvents used). I've done quite a bit of research on protectants including reading the MSDS sheets for all of them I can get my hands on. I use Armor All Original. I use it on everything except for leather. I use it on tires and all exterior and interior plastic. Armor All Original was reformulated a few years ago and it now uses a silicone called PDMS. This is a very high grade of silicone and is very safe to use on tires and plastic. Many other products, including the most expensive ones, use PDMS also. I'm pretty convinced 303 uses PDMS although they don't reveal the ingredients in their MSDS. I also believe 303 uses a higher percentage of PDMS than AAO. The reason I use AAO is because less PDMS means less shine or more of a satin finish that I prefer.



If AAO is too shiny for you, Armor All makes a product called Low-gloss protectant, or something like that. It has less PDMS than regular AAO, but is otherwise identical in cleaning and UV blocking.
 
It's up to you, some say yes, others no. Personally i like the look of no protectant. If cleaned right, by this i mean, you dust first with a micro fibre or a dust cloth and then a water wipe and you will remove 90% of stains. I find if you keep wet wiping the dash you will build up dirt in the texture. This is when people take the easy way to clean and AA.



I have a few clients that have been cleaned this way(dust and wipe) for over 9 years and the dash looks brand new and has not faded one bit.



Once vinyl products have been applied , you might be stuck on using them always. When you have some stains, you will clean a spot and then have to reapply or just clean with the product.



No one knows how different products react to each other. Lets say you get your car cleaned or have an unknown protectant applied and they missed a spot or you cleaned a spot. You apply your vinyl protectant over top. Maybe some solvents or other chemicals react with each other and down the road it causes more damage than just slowly fading over 10-15 years.



I do use some products, all water based, on kick panels, tires and such and the dash if needed.



Maybe i'm being so anal, because i work at an used car dealership and see how other people " clean " cars. Smear on the greasy silicone on everthing including the engine and spraying the rims and send it out the door for the next sucker.
 
I use Zaino leather in a bottle for my dash. It's an ABS textured plastic dash that I wouldn't trust many products on. I tried Z10 cause they said you can use it on these types of dashes and because Z10 leaves a matt finish. It turned out great, nice and even matt shine, after you wipe it with a MF. I did apply a second coat more so it would last long. The dash darkened up a bit, I could really tell the difference when I was outside looking in. The dash is dark gray on one side and light gray on the other, and the very light matt shine brought them together nicely. On my old Bronco I prefered a shiney protectant like armorall, because that dash was smooth, but on these new types of hard to figure out dashes with funny textures I really like Z10. A bonus is that my car smells great too, and the finish is not oily at all.



I would use something on the dash to prevent cracking. I had my bronco since 93 and I sold it in 04 and the dash looked brand new, just by using armorall about every 3 months, more in summer. I took good care of a my bronco, I bought it off the showroom floor for $21,500 and sold it for $9600 over 10 years later. Most 93 Broncos sell for around 5,000, it pays to protect your cars looks, Dash, Paint, windows, trim, etc.
 
I do apply a protectant to the dash of my new car. It is outside 24x7 and needs some protection.



I had been using 1z TP & CP, but after trying Wolfgang vinyl & rubber protectant I think I've found a new favorite.
 
âہ“ Now for the opposing view. Not that you should deliberately neglect anything.... âہ“Accumulator

Without any different opinions this forum would be worthless



âہ“My Avalanche has a lot of plastic on the exterior. I found that certain protectants can actually accellerate the aging process of plastic (due to the types of silicones and/or solvents used). I've done quite a bit of research on protectants including reading the MSDS sheets for all of them I can get my hands on. I use Armor All Original. I use it on everything except for leather. I use it on tires and all exterior and interior plastic. Armor All Original was reformulated a few years ago and it now uses a silicone called PDMS. This is a very high grade of silicone and is very safe to use on tires and plastic. Many other products, including the most expensive ones, use PDMS alsoâ€Â¦.â€Â� Pondscum



I agreeâ€Â¦



The Good: Polydimethylsiloxane (PDS) is water based, amino functional polymer that doesn't migrate (dry out) the plasticizers from materials, has less UV radiation absorption and dust attraction properties. Chemists use water-in-oil emulsions, to reduce emulsion particle size, to stabilize emulsions, and to improve spreading and coverage of wax products.



Most modern silicone formulas are water soluble (no petroleum), and are completely inert. The best way to describe most forms of silicone is to think of it as a man-made wax ester. Silicone is created by the reaction generated when you combine fatty acids with Polydimethylsiloxane



The Bad: Dimethyl is derived from Aromatic hydrocarbons (petroleum) distillates, which are environmentally unsound and give a slick, oily finish, which attracts dust and dirt and amplifies sunlight causing vinyl and most plastics to dry out and crack. It also causes rubber compounds along with sun iteration to remove the micro-wax in tyres as well as its carbon black (it's what gives tyres their colour) they are often mislabelled as modem /synthetic polymers by manufactures.



JonM
 
I use 303 about 2x a year. I recently discovered Klasse VLRP and I find it to be even more of a matte finish than 303. It is not greasy/oily feeling at all after it dries. I used it on my tires and it didn't wash off even after using a brush.
 
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