How often do you armorall your car?

What to do to keep your car looking and running like new, inside and out.
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How often do you armorall your car?

Post by ClutchDisc »

I just armoralled the interior and exterior trim/mirrors of the S-10, and was wondering how often you guys armorall your car, or if you do at all.

I purchased the S-10 a little over a year ago, and this was the first time I did it. It really made the plastic look great.
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Re: How often do you armorall your car?

Post by ClutchFork »

I have done it a few times over the past 30 years. Should do it more often, maybe every year. Good stuff.
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Re: How often do you armorall your car?

Post by AHTOXA »

Armor All is horrible for the dash materials in the long run. It actually can contribute to drying out, discoloration and UV damage. Use better products like Mothers or Meguiars. Do not use Armor All.
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Re: How often do you armorall your car?

Post by watkins »

Never. I dont even allow Armorall containers in my car. I, like Tonebone, use Mothers and Meguires. I also use Turtle Wax Ice products because they smell like childhood.
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Re: How often do you armorall your car?

Post by six »

Never.
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Re: How often do you armorall your car?

Post by tankinbeans »

I've done it a couple times to previous vehicles, but never in Clifford. He has some sort of squishy something on his dashboard and the doors are plastic. I don't think ArmorAll would be advantageous in Clifford.

Olie and Costa are a little too old and beaten for it to be worth my while. They're good cars, but at almost 200k (with some perforation around the fenders and various bangs in random places) they're the definition of beaters.
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Re: How often do you armorall your car?

Post by potownrob »

NEVER!! :o

what do you guys think i should use on my leatherette seats (if anything) though??
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Re: How often do you armorall your car?

Post by Saabstory02 »

Never use Armorall! As AHTOXA stated, it will actually cause your Dash to crack over time! It also attracts dust instead of repelling, and gets that nasty tacky, sticky feel to it... ugh!

Mothers or Meguiars are good products; as is 303 Protectant, great for cleaning and protecting anything vinyl, rubber, etc.
potownrob wrote:what do you guys think i should use on my leatherette seats (if anything) though??
Aerospace 303 Protectant! It's great for them! :mrgreen:
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Re: How often do you armorall your car?

Post by theholycow »

The Internet always says this:
AHTOXA wrote:Armor All is horrible for the dash materials in the long run. It actually can contribute to drying out, discoloration and UV damage. Use better products like Mothers or Meguiars. Do not use Armor All.
It may well be true.

I eventually might go ahead and use it on my lost cause though...it's already too late for my interior plastics. Way back in the late 1990s I used it for a few years and it never seemed to harm anything. The Internet wasn't there to tell me it was bad (we were all too busy talking about linux to talk about cars), so it was ok.
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Re: How often do you armorall your car?

Post by ClutchDisc »

I know a few people that have used it for a long time and have never had a problem. I did a lot of research and have come to the conclusion that it's not bad stuff. Do you guys have any real proof that it's bad?
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Re: How often do you armorall your car?

Post by AHTOXA »

While I've never had my dashboard crack or discolor, I did have issues with the greasy shine and it attracting dirt. I've not used it long enough to cause any long-term ill effects. Outside of that, there is an overwhelming consensus on the auto forums that Armor All is can cause damage. It's not guaranteed that it will, but it may, likely depending on the type of plastic you are using it on. Take it all with a grain of salt, but generally if the consensus is large enough, there' likely to be at least some truth to it. But, the simple issue of a greasy, sticky shine that attracts dirt is enough for me.
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Re: How often do you armorall your car?

Post by ClutchDisc »

AHTOXA wrote:While I've never had my dashboard crack or discolor, I did have issues with the greasy shine and it attracting dirt. I've not used it long enough to cause any long-term ill effects. Outside of that, there is an overwhelming consensus on the auto forums that Armor All is can cause damage. It's not guaranteed that it will, but it may, likely depending on the type of plastic you are using it on. Take it all with a grain of salt, but generally if the consensus is large enough, there' likely to be at least some truth to it. But, the simple issue of a greasy, sticky shine that attracts dirt is enough for me.
So it seems a lot of people will say it's bad stuff just because they heard that it's bad. Maybe that's why there's an overwhelming consensus on the auto forums that it's bad stuff.
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Re: How often do you armorall your car?

Post by tankinbeans »

I'd say the consensus is that there is no consensus. I read online about things and half the people say a product is great and half say it's not. Whoever yells loudest usually gets the most attention and is automatically given the "cred" and is deemed the expert.

I've gotten to the point where I pay less than no attention to consumer reviews because nobody can agree on anything. This isn't to say that the advice I've received here isn't helpful, but that's more about the mechanics of driving than keeping a car up to snuff. .

On an unrelated topic: it's a lot like the argument over artificial sweeteners. Some say they're harmful, others say they're fine. Nobody can agree, and hyperbole flies all over the place. Then the inevitable comment wars commence and you can just sit back and laugh.
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Re: How often do you armorall your car?

Post by ClutchDisc »

tankinbeans wrote:I'd say the consensus is that there is no consensus. I read online about things and half the people say a product is great and half say it's not. Whoever yells loudest usually gets the most attention and is automatically given the "cred" and is deemed the expert.

I've gotten to the point where I pay less than no attention to consumer reviews because nobody can agree on anything. This isn't to say that the advice I've received here isn't helpful, but that's more about the mechanics of driving than keeping a car up to snuff. .

On an unrelated topic: it's a lot like the argument over artificial sweeteners. Some say they're harmful, others say they're fine. Nobody can agree, and hyperbole flies all over the place. Then the inevitable comment wars commence and you can just sit back and laugh.
+1 Agreed.
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Re: How often do you armorall your car?

Post by ClutchFork »

I have a friend who is an real gear head and does great auto body and paint work. He has a '70 Corvette that he tore completely apart and re-built including a lot of body work. He did a beautiful paint job with flames and totally redid the wiring and interior. He put a stroker 350 block in and later put in a traditional supercharger through the hood. The guy has been doing car stuff for over 30 years and all his stuff looks great. His Corvette is basically a show car but not trailered--he drives it to the shows. Here is what he says about Armor All when I asked him "Do you use Armor All on your car's dashboard and door panels to help keep them in nice shape?"
Yep! All the time!
Then I told him how Clutchdisc just did the S-10 including the black plastic trim on the outside (mirrors, door handles, and front grille insert). He responded:
I do mine sometimes before and after I take it out, It's got to look just right!!!


I'll be applying Armor All to the Voyager minivan and the Ranger pickup soon. But not the Mountaineer because that vehicle is not worthy of the extra care--ha ha, love to dis the fancy luxury vehicle.
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