Date: Wed, 14 Jul 2004 22:11:18 -0600
Reply-To: Simon Reinhardt <simon@FARRSIDE.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Simon Reinhardt <simon@FARRSIDE.NET>
Subject: Re: Original poptop and window seals leave trails of black
residue after rain on my white 91 MV
In-Reply-To: <003001c46a0b$29e7ad10$49d2ea42@ttower17def>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed
Hmm. I've had excellent results on just about anything vinyl or plastic
with vinylex. People with brown dashboards (in their van!) should give
it a try... the dash actually seems to have a nice glow like
well-finished wood. OK, well-finished vinyl wood. Briefly. Then the
dust gets it again.
I used Armor All maybe twice, when I was still an idiot kid who could
barely rebuild a bug engine. I hated how glossy and greasy everything
got, and then heard about the potential for damage, so I stopped using
it. Didn't want to mess up the dashboard in my '73 Super Beetle... but
I did cut holes in it for speakers...
To stay OT:
I saturate part of a shop towel with silicone spray lube, then rub that
on the seal in one direction until the rag dries. Cleans as it goes.
The rubber generally feels... not sticky at all, or even tacky, but
grabby. More alive, if you will. It makes you feel as though it'll make
a better seal against metal, and there's no feeling of residue. The
effect lasts for quite a long time, depending on local dirt.
-Simon
On Jul 14, 2004, at 7:29 PM, Doug in Calif wrote:
> Well, I may stand corrected.
> I was remembering this article regarding tires and silicone.
> I do believe most rubber has a wax that is removed when you use
> silicone on
> it. I checked the lexol site and vinylex also has silicone, I have
> had VERY
> bad luck with armor all on everything I have used it on.
>
> http://www.autoswalk.com/tirexrubandv.html
>
>
>
>
>> Really? Like how? I've never noticed any sort of issue; quite the
>> opposite.
>>
>> -Simon
>>
>>
>> On Jul 14, 2004, at 11:09 AM, Doug in Calif wrote:
>>
>>> Lexol makes a non silicone rubber and vinyl conditioner.
>>> SILICONE IS BAD FOR RUBBER
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>> I use silicone spray lube on a shop towel to recondition the seals
>>>> every 6 months to a year or so. Seems to work nicely.
>>>> The problem w/most ArmorAll and related products is they don't
>>>> really
>>>> do much more than lock you into... using ArmorAll. I saw some
>>>> article
>>>> or study once, that indicated that ArmorAll seemed to actually dry
>>>> out
>>>> the surfaces it was applied to. Can't remember where I read that
>>>> now.
>>>> Of course, you could shell out the relatively larger bucks and find
>>>> someone who sells Zymol. That's supposed to be THE stuff for rubber.
>>>>
>>>> -Simon
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Jul 14, 2004, at 5:40 AM, Tom DeMarcus wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> The seals are otherwise in very good condition. Is there a proven
>>>>> product that will recondition and "seal the seals?" I know that I
>>>>> can
>>>>> replace the poptop seals fairly easily (although not cheaply), but
>>>>> the
>>>>> window seals are another matter.
>>>>>
>>>>> I have used armoral-type products regularly over the 14 years I've
>>>>> owned the van.
>>>>>
>>>>> Any suggestions?
>>>>>
>>>>> Tom, Atlanta
>>>>>
>>>
>
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