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Here's some info on why you shouldn't use Armour All products. Someone asked me about this but the topic got locked due to people losing their sense of humor. [boxing]
In a nutshell, it is a water-based sealant with silicone and will destroy vinyl and rubber over time. A friend of mine has a Ph.D. in chemistry and won't touch the stuff.
These are excerpts from different articles on the 'Web.
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1. Tires/Rubber Trim: There are two main degrading agents that attack tires. They are UV light waves and ozone. Both of these attack the long hydrocarbon chains of the rubber and by breaking these chemical bonds, shorten the molecules with resulting loss of elasticity and other problems.
Tire manufacturers add two primary sacrificial protectants to the rubber. To protect against UV, they add carbon black. This is why tires don't come in designer colors to match your paint. The carbon black will turn white/gray as it absorbs the UV and dissipates the energy as heat. Thus the basis of rubber parts turning gray as they age. To protect against ozone, tire manufacturers add a wax based sacrificial protectant. The ozone attacks the wax and depletes it. As the tire rolls, additional wax is forced to the surface of the tire. This is referred to as "blooming". This blooming refreshes the surface wax protectant. A tire that has not been flexed will have the wax depleted by the ozone and thus begin to degrade and
suffer "dry rot". The silicone oil in Armour All et Al may actually dissolve the wax and be the cause of premature tire side wall cracking/failure. It is rumored that some tire manufacturers will not honor warranties on failures caused by silicone based products. I am in the process of checking with the major tire manufacturers to determine the validity of this rumor.
In conclusion, any tire dressing should contain a UV protectant to bolster the efforts of the carbon black and preferably not contain any silicone.
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Plastics/Vinyls: The dash, door panels, seat backs, and numerous other interior/exterior trim pieces are usually vinyl. Vinyl may be viewed as raw semi-liquid vinyls that are held in place by a solid vinyl "skin" (this description is for illustration only and not a PhD chemical dissertation ).
The dash and other vinyl parts of your P car are constantly bombarded by UV that breaks down the molecules of the skin, allowing the raw vinyls to escape (off-gassing). These vinyls then may deposit themselves on the glass, forming a haze that is difficult to remove. If you have such a haze, it is probably your dash that has decided to pick up stakes and migrate(back to Germany?). Silicone based products do not usually contain UV protectants,
and the silicone may act as a magnifying glass, intensifying the UV
degradation. Silicone oil may also dissolve the essential oils in the vinyl skin, hastening the premature formation of cracks in the vinyl skin. A quality vinyl protectant will contain a UV protectant and essential oils to replace lost oils from the vinyl. These protectants are expensive, so the K-Mart specials may do more harm than good. Silicone also has very strong electrostatic attraction which may be considered beneficial in that it will tend to stay where it is placed, but will also attract every dust particle in
the surrounding three counties.
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http://www.ford-trucks.com/dcforum/DCForumID66/60.html
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Vinyl tops:
The black vinyl top does not need much maint at all. The National club has
advised useing a vinyl protector/cleaner. Armour All is not advised due to
the way it turns a milky white and runs down the sides of the car.
Armorall. Armorall is a sealant, which is not good for rubber at all,
even less so for the soft top of your car. It doesn't allow for the
vinyl in the material to breathe and causes the top to break down due to UV rays. The net result is cracking. Our club was fortunate to get a local Meguiar's rep out to one of early spring meetings for a product demo, and while I have no ties to Meguiar's, I do believe what he stated about Armorall and the soft top. The MCofA expresses the same sentiments in the Miata Magazine--don't use armorall. You need a product that is a protectant (UV and otherwise) but not a sealant. Meguiar's #40 is made just for this purpose. It would be wise to use this instead of the Viking in a bottle on your new soft top, which ever one you decide on.
"Moderation in all things, including moderation."
In a nutshell, it is a water-based sealant with silicone and will destroy vinyl and rubber over time. A friend of mine has a Ph.D. in chemistry and won't touch the stuff.
These are excerpts from different articles on the 'Web.
-----------------
1. Tires/Rubber Trim: There are two main degrading agents that attack tires. They are UV light waves and ozone. Both of these attack the long hydrocarbon chains of the rubber and by breaking these chemical bonds, shorten the molecules with resulting loss of elasticity and other problems.
Tire manufacturers add two primary sacrificial protectants to the rubber. To protect against UV, they add carbon black. This is why tires don't come in designer colors to match your paint. The carbon black will turn white/gray as it absorbs the UV and dissipates the energy as heat. Thus the basis of rubber parts turning gray as they age. To protect against ozone, tire manufacturers add a wax based sacrificial protectant. The ozone attacks the wax and depletes it. As the tire rolls, additional wax is forced to the surface of the tire. This is referred to as "blooming". This blooming refreshes the surface wax protectant. A tire that has not been flexed will have the wax depleted by the ozone and thus begin to degrade and
suffer "dry rot". The silicone oil in Armour All et Al may actually dissolve the wax and be the cause of premature tire side wall cracking/failure. It is rumored that some tire manufacturers will not honor warranties on failures caused by silicone based products. I am in the process of checking with the major tire manufacturers to determine the validity of this rumor.
In conclusion, any tire dressing should contain a UV protectant to bolster the efforts of the carbon black and preferably not contain any silicone.
--------------------
Plastics/Vinyls: The dash, door panels, seat backs, and numerous other interior/exterior trim pieces are usually vinyl. Vinyl may be viewed as raw semi-liquid vinyls that are held in place by a solid vinyl "skin" (this description is for illustration only and not a PhD chemical dissertation ).
The dash and other vinyl parts of your P car are constantly bombarded by UV that breaks down the molecules of the skin, allowing the raw vinyls to escape (off-gassing). These vinyls then may deposit themselves on the glass, forming a haze that is difficult to remove. If you have such a haze, it is probably your dash that has decided to pick up stakes and migrate(back to Germany?). Silicone based products do not usually contain UV protectants,
and the silicone may act as a magnifying glass, intensifying the UV
degradation. Silicone oil may also dissolve the essential oils in the vinyl skin, hastening the premature formation of cracks in the vinyl skin. A quality vinyl protectant will contain a UV protectant and essential oils to replace lost oils from the vinyl. These protectants are expensive, so the K-Mart specials may do more harm than good. Silicone also has very strong electrostatic attraction which may be considered beneficial in that it will tend to stay where it is placed, but will also attract every dust particle in
the surrounding three counties.
----------
http://www.ford-trucks.com/dcforum/DCForumID66/60.html
----------
Vinyl tops:
The black vinyl top does not need much maint at all. The National club has
advised useing a vinyl protector/cleaner. Armour All is not advised due to
the way it turns a milky white and runs down the sides of the car.
Armorall. Armorall is a sealant, which is not good for rubber at all,
even less so for the soft top of your car. It doesn't allow for the
vinyl in the material to breathe and causes the top to break down due to UV rays. The net result is cracking. Our club was fortunate to get a local Meguiar's rep out to one of early spring meetings for a product demo, and while I have no ties to Meguiar's, I do believe what he stated about Armorall and the soft top. The MCofA expresses the same sentiments in the Miata Magazine--don't use armorall. You need a product that is a protectant (UV and otherwise) but not a sealant. Meguiar's #40 is made just for this purpose. It would be wise to use this instead of the Viking in a bottle on your new soft top, which ever one you decide on.
"Moderation in all things, including moderation."
