Vinyl Care

[xx29l9]

Well after seeing MexTex's vinyl, I just ordered some exquisite. Hope it works half as well for mine too!

Yup, the pictures convinced me to try it...just ordered some myself.

[gmoneycrf450]

Just bought 2 bottles myself...wasn't crazy about the $16 shipping though...

[Gone Boatin']

I use a product called PPC Formula 2 on my vinyl. Unfortunately I dont know how well it cleans extremely dirty vinyl cuz I dont let it get to that point, but its excellent as a light cleaning/maintenance protectant.

One thing I like about it is that its non silicone, so you dont get that Armor All greasy/oily look, but still obtain a nice shine.

I think whatever you use stay away from silcone products on rubber/vinyl. I remember using some silicone tire dressing on my car once and after a while the tires turned brown, it seemed the more I used it the more I had to use it. Now I use PPC Show Tire with no silicone and no browning, they always look fantastic.

The problem with PPC is its a small company and I dont know if their products are available in stores nationwide. Sometimes you can find 'em online tho'.

At any rate, I dont mean to go off further on a no silcone rant but here I go anyway. Consider this - I've been in aviation for a number of years and I know our mechanics will not use anything silicone based on any part of an airplane. When I asked why, the answer was that its "destructive", especially to plastic/rubber/vinyl.

A big example are the rubber de-icing boots on the leading edge of some aircraft wings. Supposedly it is a big no-no to use anything silicone based on these boots as is will dry them out, leading to costly replacement or worse, cracks and eventual failure - a very bad problem when you need them to hold air, expand and get the ice off your wing. Actually, this is how I first found out about PPC Formula 2, its very popular as a deicing boot conditioner and protectant. I figure if its good enough for a multimillion dollar aircraft, its good enough for my boat.

I know there are other vinyl cleaning/protectant products out there without silicone in them, including the 303 Aerospace Protectant you guys are talking about, it sometimes just takes a little research, as I'm frequently met with blank stares at the auto or marine store when I ask if an item has silicone in it.

Anyway, good luck, just keep a good coat of something quality on your seats for piece of mind from here on out, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure and remember, friends dont let friends use silicone on their vinyl!

Edited July 20, 2010 by Gone Boatin'