Caring for the interior

[MW103DSG]

Just wondering if anyone had anything for or against the use of Armoral to preserve the interior plastic stuff. I know that it makes things slippery but my son has used it extensively on his Ford Focus and it seems to have done a good job protecting the appearance.

Cheers

[booya]

I know in summer, it releases some fume / chemical which gets on the inner windscreen which is hard to clean. It also has that cheap shine to it. I dont use it anymore. Meguiars has this citrus product which is good though.

[Mrk_Mickey]

Just wondering if anyone had anything for or against the use of Armoral to preserve the interior plastic stuff. I know that it makes things slippery but my son has used it extensively on his Ford Focus and it seems to have done a good job protecting the appearance.

Cheers

Frequent use theoretically isn't a bad thing with Armourall. The bad things with frequent use are slippery and sticky feel, dust-attraction and that horrible shine. Once someone stops using it, the silicones in it will start to dry out the dashboard and it will become prone to cracking early.

303 aerospace protectant is a product that we describe as ''armour all with all the bad s*** left out''. It's got no silicones, no grease, no solvents, no nothing, except UV protectant and that's it. It's applied in the same way, it DRIES instead of leaving a sticky shiny film, and the finish is that of an OEM matte/satin finish. I'd recommend it every time.

Just on a side note, anything that leaves a shine (I'm talking anywhere on plastic trim, rubber, vinyl, other plastics) has silicones in it. Silicone is what makes a product shiny, and that's also what makes tyre shine sling, what makes rubber bumpers look good for about 4 days before going back to their old state, etc. If it's shiny, it's silicone-based, and it's crap.

[Zaul]

Ah, brilliant this answers my questions on the interior perfectly.

A guy at a local auto store recommended 303 aerospace protectant to me on the weekend because it didn't contain silicon. I wasn't sure but got some anyway..

I notice it says on the bottle that it can be used on leather is it ok for that? Has anyone tried it?

[Mrk_Mickey]

Yeah, it's fine for leather as it's got nothing but protectant in it. It just layers uv protection onto the leather - not as good as leather conditioner/sealant, but a good protectant nonetheless.

[gavs]

I learned the hard way in regards to Armorall on my last car, applied it religiously when I was in love with the car, then being a typical toyota hilux (i.e, breaking down and nobody actually finding out the problem until much time and expense has been wasted....) annoyed me so much that I stopped giving a crap, the dash started to crack and split through the vinyl covering. Have never touched Armorall again and only ever use 303 and I haven't had a problem using this stuff.

I swear by it.

[GTI mk6]

Yeah, it's fine for leather as it's got nothing but protectant in it. It just layers uv protection onto the leather - not as good as leather conditioner/sealant, but a good protectant nonetheless.

Thanks for the good info on 303, will also try that as I had been using armourall too
but the low shine one.
Can you recommend a good leather conditioner/sealant?
Have been using a Mcguires one, but have nothing to compare it to?

[Mrk_Mickey]

Duragloss is my favourite leather system their leather cleaner and conditioner pack is a really nice one to use and it replenishes leather really well leaving it supple and soft. Something else you could try is the nanolex textile and leather sealant, which actually forms a coating over the top making it practically waterproof. It's good for newer leathers that youve just cleaned well.

[GTI mk6]

Duragloss is my favourite leather system their leather cleaner and conditioner pack is a really nice one to use and it replenishes leather really well leaving it supple and soft. Something else you could try is the nanolex textile and leather sealant, which actually forms a coating over the top making it practically waterproof. It's good for newer leathers that youve just cleaned well.

Thanks alot mate, Duragloss sounds pretty good.
My leather is quiet new, only had the car since end of May....so next question, do you know if the Duragloss is easily available
from the likes of Autobarn etc...I live in Melbourne?
Really enjoy reading these forums on ways to look after our pride & joy, you guys are such a great help, so thanks again

[kao7ik]

how often do you guys condition your leather seats?