Will Armor-all soften tire treads?

[thcri]

Rick,

The first time I went four wheelin with a bunch of guys about three years ago we loaded the wheelers the night before. It gave one of the guys a chance to armour all my seat. I got on the seat to take it off the truck the next day and just about went over the other side. They had their laugh, I got them a month later, I used my hot wax from my snow board. It stays a lot longer than armour all.


murph /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[TresCrows]

"Then I read in a post that armor-all magnifies UV rays from the sun. Truth or Urban legend?"

Urban legend. The Armor All actually has a UV blocker kinda like sunscreen. The plastisizer in Armor All and similar products can affect some rubbers and plastics. I doubt the stuff caused your seat to split however. J

 

[thcri]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( "Then I read in a post that armor-all magnifies UV rays from the sun. Truth or Urban legend?"

Urban legend. The Armor All actually has a UV blocker kinda like sunscreen. The plastisizer in Armor All and similar products can affect some rubbers and plastics. I doubt the stuff caused your seat to split however. J )</font>

This legend has come up many times in my life time. I have a friend that literally lives on Armour All. He uses it on everything and everything. He never has had trouble with cracking in the 15 plus years he has used it. However, I was told that if you use it religiously it is when you stop using it that a product will start to crack. Such as one of his vans after he sold it????? But all in all I would never be afraid to use it and do use it from time to time.

murph

 

[OhioTC18]

I've owned several tonneau covers that the paperwork said any warranty was void if Armor-All was used on the cover.
The bottles used to say not to use on motorcycle tires, but I'd guess that was to prevent a slick tread/sidewalls.

 

[TresCrows]

I was not endorsing the product Armor All. It does have a UV blocker. The plastisizer can soften some plastics and rubbers causing them to deteriorate. It is probably better to use specific products rather than squirting every thing down haphazardly with Armor All. Yeah, put that stuff on motorcycle tires and can you say asphalt hamburger /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif? Don't get it on the tread section anyway. The stuff also gets all over the paint and metal in your shop and if you are ever to repaint anything in that shop it will contaminate the finsih causing all sorts of problems.
Armor All, like another fav, MMM oil, it has it's places/uses and places I would rather it not be /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif. J

 

[RedHawkRidge]

It doesn't make any sense for the mfgr of Armor-All to use a formula that prevents UV light from deteriorating plastics, rubbers, etc, but which then promotes deterioration in some other way (ozone, acid rain, what ?). I've found it does what it is supposed to -- prevent/delay aging of vinyl, rubber, etc.
Don't know what it does to styrene type materials, which dissolves in many solvent-containing chemicals.
My negative experience is with the way it causes rubber to become slick and slippery. Should have known, because the spray drippings off my tires onto the asphalt (or concrete) always creates a banana-peel of a spot. And it cost me -- I forgot about putting Armor-All on my scooter's tires an hour before hopping on it for a last ride before putting into winter storage.
The front wheel went left when I leaned right, and I ended up with cracked ribs and lots of bruises that took 8 weeks to recover from.
jim

 

[RedHawkRidge]

TresCrows
You mentioned MMM oil -- is this Marvel Mystery Oil? I use this in my gas. What problems are you referring to???
Thanks
jim

 

[jyoutz]

I have quit using Armor all. Besides the big mess it makes, I do think it causes negative changes in the plastic/ rubber materials over time. Seems to me like these materials actually deteriorate faster with Armor all use than without. For the past few years, I have been using a product on my vehicle dashboards and other plastic/ vinyl that seems to work great. This was recommended to me by an auto detail shop. I've been using paste leather conditioner with UV protectant. This product is easy to find, easy to use and smells nice. It also doesn't leave any greasy film, just a clean feeling. It's pretty basic stuff with the main ingredients being lanolin, UV protectant and fragrance. Some of these products also include a little silicon oil. Try some. It's sold in auto stores for leather upholstery.

 

[TresCrows]

Redhawk, there was a thread down in lubricants I think a few months ago where there was a something of a flame war over MMM oil. I was not really involved and would rahter not restart it. I use the stuff for airtools, cutting and drilling, I don't use it as a top oil in my gasoline. A few old timers use it in the gas and in the oil as a top lubricant on old time gasoline engines like aircraft radial engines. I have nothing against the MMM, love the way it smells too. J