Armorall is the worst crap you can put on a car.... Well unless youre doing dog puke or something, but yeah.

 

hmmm?

 

I wish more people had known this back in the 80's that slathered Armorall on their upholstery like Brute colonge at a frat toga party. Armorall is absolute death to vinyl where cyclic UV and heat comes into play. It causes the chemical binders in the vinyl to bond with the solubles in the Armorall and evaporates at an accelerated rate on hot days. Maybe the new stuff is better but I won't let it near any of my vehicles after seeing the damage it has done.

 

much better response

 

My old 83 NA had a damn near perfect dash with only one small 1/4" crack off one of the defrost vents while the seat were crap https://rennlist.com/forums/for-sale-ads-member-to-member-fs-wtb-free/308599-944-parts-stuff-fs-or-trade.html.

My new car, well....its sort of bad in my opinion but I'm picky.

 

It might just be me but, does that car really look like 30k? my 79 924 with 100k that the PO used to haul stuff like a truck don't look that bad.

 

No headbadge??

 

So is there a solid recommendation on what can be used to prevent cracking? I assume that should be some chemical available to prevent UV damage while softening and moisturizing the dash? I am sure many companies claim this, but do any actually work?

I currently have a crack free dash and would like to keep it that way. I am concerned because it spends a few of the summer months in the sun with only a sun shade on the windshield to protect the interior.

 

The most important thing is not use anything with petroleum distillates (PDs) or silicon that break down the vinyl. Many of the 'wipes' fit the bill but always remove any excess before parking in the sun. Always use that sun shade and wipe off dust with a damp towel as often as possible between dash treatments. The Vinylex and 3M 303 protectant are both good products.

 

Here is comes, you can tell what I do for a living...............

So, since Armoral had a label on it as being a "Vinyl Protectant", when in fact it really fubar'd vinyl and ruined dashes................has anyone come back at them with at least some sort of breach of warranty claim?

 

How much damage can not wiping the dust off do?

 

The dust gets embedded in any treatment you put on there. It really doesn't do any damage but it's better to have clean vinyl before you treat it. Who wants a dusty dash anyway?

 

Dude, the dash in my old 944 was worse. That's why they make dash caps (and Paul Champagne)!

 

I used Armor All on my 1980 280-ZX dashboard back in 87 and when I came back from school the dash was cracked, I think it softened it so much it split, thermal action is hard to predict I will never use Armor All except for my tires.

 

I use 303 on my Turbo's dash every weekend. the stuff gives it a nice, dull shine, and acts as sunscreen.