I have been detailing cars for years. Every professional detailer I have ever talked to has bad mouthed Armor-All, and I believe for good reason. Armor All is a silicone based spray that adds a shine to plastic, rubber and vinyl. I remember my Dad using it on the Country Squire (tires and woodgrain) to keep it shiny. I used it at first - but no longer.

The people who design cars, are the top of the class at many of the best universities. They design the plastics in the dash to be dull so that the gloss doesn't glare off the windshield.

I have used a product called Car Brite Xtra Duty for years. I get mine from a detail supply company in Seattle called Wesmar. If I buy a case of twelve I get them for $5 a can. This is a great cleaner for leather, vinyl, and plastic. It does not work well on glossy plastic or chrome, however.

I have found that over time, the ingredients that make your interior and tires shine with Armol-All also attracts dust and dirt. I have also found that when a car sits in the hot sun, the Armor All "evaporates" and you are left with a film on your windows. Many folks believe the shine makes the cars look clean - and I am not one to argue, but in reality it does not. I have known folks who don't wax their cars because they state "With clearcoat - you don't need too." Nothing could be further from the truth.

If I could only use one thing on the interior - it would be SprayWay Glass Cleaner, available at Sam's and Costco. Two things - SprayWay and Xtra Duty. That's it.

If you like Armor All, or 303, or VLR, or Son of a Gun - use it. But realize that it is not a cleaner - and it does little to protect your interior.

 

Your so very correct. My brother in law has a 1936 Chevy pick up and a 1954 Chev Bel Air(both fully and originally restored), both with white walls. In Canada, it is not readily available so when I go to the "States", my bro in law asks me to pick up 4 or 5 jugs of this excellent stuff for the whitewalls.

 

Care as to be used with this on clear cost wheels. It in some cases will spot or peel the clear cost off on some wheels.

Better to use a clear coat safe wheel cleaner as it also can clean the tire too.

 

No one ever said 303 was a cleaner!

Note 303 is a protectant that is not as harsh or shinny as Armor All.

The reps form the bed cover compnies I deal with state the heavy shine from Armor All and some other cleaners magnify the heat and sun light on the covers and it drys them out vs protecting them. Kind of like like water does to you swiming. It bakes the cover over time and makes them brittle.

You may agree or disagree on this but it is what the guys who warranty the truck bed covers claim and it is from more than one company.

 

Don't use wesleys on anything other then white wall tires. It is a harsh cleaner. It will damage dash and plastic parts.

Armor-all has a reputation for causing issues ONCE you stop using it since it was first introduced in the 70's. The silocone will dry out rubber.

WD40 will soften rubber/plastics. We use it to soften old slot car/model car tires that have dried and start to get hard. .

A good cleaner is Simple Green.

I use STP Son of a gun on exterior parts of my old cars plastic and blacked out parts.

To remove Armor-all or other such product use rubbing alcohol.

 

Other uses for Westley's is removing chrome from model car bumpers and the mold release on resin cast model car bodies. Great pre paint prep for resins. The Armor-All generally is not used by people who show cars. They use the other products from Meguar's or Mother's

 

303 does also sell a cleaner , as well as a protecter , and some other products. i used to be a tire intsaller , and all we used to clean the white walls was water and a wire brush. i know that was a little different because they were new. but , just plain water is a good cleaner , i know 2 diifferent professional commercial/residential cleaners , that use it more than anything else , to cut cost , and because it works. bleach or bleach related products work but may cause damage , i'm not putting any near my nice paint , or any other suface on my vehicle. i have used it to clean engine parts. i have used glass cleaner on other surfaces , it works well , but sometimes leaves them looking dull. maybe they should look dull , but i don't like using them on my other vehicle surfaces. i don't know if the amonia in most good glass cleaners is good for other surfaces. maybe i will feel safer using baby shampoo on lots of things, maybe a good idea.

 

I just spray my wheel cleaner on my tires ans use a scrub brush. It works well. That is if my tires are dirty enough to scrub. I was my cars enough they seldom have any bakes on dirt.

Now my mother inlaws DTS, that is a different story.