I'm in the process of buying a NOS dash for my car, and it's even brown 🙂 , anyways it's mint and crack free....I wanna keep it that way. What are you guys/gals using to protect yours?? I've read that armor all is no good for them, and that vaseline is good???
protecting your dash....????
- Thread starter JBreu
- Start date
- Status
I have done nothing with mine except dust it with a california duster and it's in great shape, I don't know what was done to it before I bought it about 8 years ago
I've always heard people bash Armor-All, though I've never heard an explanation as to why or what it actually is about it that is bad. That being said, I've used a leather conditioner to help keep these style dashes soft. Meguiars seems to be the best even though I'm not a fan of anything else they make.
Is your dash N.O.S. or actually a mint/nice used unit? N.O.S. means it's brand new in the package/box, or was. It also usually refers to a part that is old and for a vehicle in which the part in question hasn't been produced in a while, and has been sitting at a dealership parts dept. for a long time. This is where the "new old stock" term comes from. Actually, the "Vintage Parts" system has pretty much taken most of that out of the equation as they buy out all the old remaking stock from companies like GM and sell all remaining quantities until depleted.
Anyway, the reason I ask is that sometimes old original used parts, or possibly even N.O.S. stuff may have become brittle over time without actually appearing to be. By putting anything on them might further weaken the material, in this case the vinyl, and end up making it crack. A good way to tell is if the surface is sandy feeling and/or slightly flat/dull looking. Also, the material might still be pliable if you squeeze or push on it, but it will be tight and not give much. The original dash in my Regal is still nice and "squishy", so it's fine to condition it to keep it that way.
Is your dash N.O.S. or actually a mint/nice used unit? N.O.S. means it's brand new in the package/box, or was. It also usually refers to a part that is old and for a vehicle in which the part in question hasn't been produced in a while, and has been sitting at a dealership parts dept. for a long time. This is where the "new old stock" term comes from. Actually, the "Vintage Parts" system has pretty much taken most of that out of the equation as they buy out all the old remaking stock from companies like GM and sell all remaining quantities until depleted.
Anyway, the reason I ask is that sometimes old original used parts, or possibly even N.O.S. stuff may have become brittle over time without actually appearing to be. By putting anything on them might further weaken the material, in this case the vinyl, and end up making it crack. A good way to tell is if the surface is sandy feeling and/or slightly flat/dull looking. Also, the material might still be pliable if you squeeze or push on it, but it will be tight and not give much. The original dash in my Regal is still nice and "squishy", so it's fine to condition it to keep it that way.
I've been using this stuff from Poorboys for several years now and my dash looks awesome;
http://www.poorboysworld.com/trim-restorer.htm
Guy
http://www.poorboysworld.com/trim-restorer.htm
Guy
My dash was mint dark gray when I bought my car and then later I painted it with SEM black and then sprayed SEM low luster clear to protect it and I don't do anything but dust it.
I think I used Armor-All once on the gray dash but the glare from the sun made me decide to never apply anything that makes my dash too shiny.
I kind of feel that many of these things you can apply have not been tested for long term use with the possibility of baking in extreme heat, I went through this with some tire shine protectants that yellowed my tires and later they got hairline cracks on low mileage Michelins that were on my Lincoln .and of coarse the cracks were only on the outside of the tires.
I would suggest getting a sun shield if it is going to be outside I would have also suggested tinted windows if you did not already have them.
I think I used Armor-All once on the gray dash but the glare from the sun made me decide to never apply anything that makes my dash too shiny.
I kind of feel that many of these things you can apply have not been tested for long term use with the possibility of baking in extreme heat, I went through this with some tire shine protectants that yellowed my tires and later they got hairline cracks on low mileage Michelins that were on my Lincoln .and of coarse the cracks were only on the outside of the tires.
I would suggest getting a sun shield if it is going to be outside I would have also suggested tinted windows if you did not already have them.
I put a NOS dash in mine too, I have a Dash Mat for everyday driving and a good sun shade. The sun here in Phoenix is brutal.
- Status
