What does everyone recommend for keeping the outside plastic parts from fading without attracting dust.

 

303 Aerospace Protectant...definitely!

 

Vinylex

 

Thanks for your replies, now I got to find them in my area. The nearest 303 dealer is an hour away. Do regular auto stores carry these products?

 

Have you thought about ordering the 303 Aerospace?

You can get it at premiumautocare.com and properautocare.com

This stuff is also loved by boaters so check to see if any local boating supply stores carry it.

 

Vinylex is available at Pep Boys if you have one close to you.

RP

 

Zaino makes a product called Z16 "perfect tire gloss" that is very good. You can use it on the tires and plastic. It is not greasy and seems to last a while. If it gets wet it don't seem to run like some products do.

However there are not many places to get it. You can order it here http://www.zainobros.com/

I have heard nothing but good things about Vinylex and especially 303 Aerospace Protectant. As a matter of fact I plan on getting some of the 303 Aerospace Protectant for my pop-up trailer for the tires. Most if not all of the RV tire manufactures recommend using the 303 Aerospace Protectant for the tires because they say products such as Armerall (sp?) can actually degrade the tires, or hurt the rubber.

Intel, or perhaps RockPick may know more about that. I really don't know just how some tire products are bad for tires. What I have read and been told "since" just buying a pop-up trailer is since they usally sit alot, (tires) not traveled on like a regular auto, that using something like Armerall (sp?) can degrade the rubber when just sitting. The reason they recommend 303 Aerospace Protectant for the tires is because it, I believe, it feeds the tires. Again Intel or RockPick may know more about it.

It is also highly recommended for the plastic and other vinal in RV's and boats.

EDIT: I should have added most RV places will have the 303 Aerospace Protectant, so I am going to price it where I bought my pop-up trailer and then price it on some of Intels web sites and see what the difference in price is including shipping.

 

303 Aerospace just has a lot of UV protection so it can prolong the life of the Carbon Black in your tires. It also doesn't cause tire browning and it is water-based so there is no solvent that will attack rubber, plastic, or Vinyl.

Armorall is a Safe formula now. People are still scared of it because it use to be a solvent based product. The solvent was a low flash solvent so it had time to attack rubber and plastic so over time it would degrade the rubber, etc. The new formula of Armorall is water-based and safe to use. It is still greasy as hell though. Get a bottle just for wheel well use. It works well there!

 

Ok, then I stand corrected on the Armorall. Intel is what you stated above what cause's tire rot, or cracking, the "low flash solvent", I am thinking it does, but not sure. That is what some of the people at the RV type web sites where talking about. From what I understand alot of people that own trailers usally end up replacing thier tires with a lot of useful thread due to tire rot and cracking. That is what I have read I have no experience with trailers and the tires.

I ordered tire covers for it and plan on using the 303 Aerospace. I don't think the Zaino tire dressing would hurt them because it states something about not causing "tire browing" it also states it has UV protection in it as well.

I have been looking for a reason to try the 303 Aerospace so I figured since that is what the RV place recommended me using on them I will just go ahead and do so.

 

Like 303, Vinylex has great UV protection as well. Intel is exactly right in that the solvent based formulas that were yesterday's miracle juice added a great luster but, in turn, the solvents contained in them (ie: ethylbenze, xylene, 1,2,4 Trimethylbenzene) had a tendancy to attack the vital plastic/vinyl/rubber compoents that made the material what it was...

Take this example. I work in the environmental consulting business as a geologist. I have a client that has seperate phase Xylene in the groundwater (seperate phase means it's floating on top of the groundwater (ie: water table).

At this particular site, we have a pump and treat system to clean it up. In short, it pumps the groundwater out, runs it through a stripper tower (to strip off the volatiles) and then discharges the water to the sewer.

We sucked a large slug of pure xylene into this system. The system relies upon a system of 'floats' inside a tank to kick pumps on and off. The floats were not designed to deal with pure xylene (as it's not historically been present at this particular site). Thus, when the xylene entered into the system via the groundwater recovery well, it made it to the bottom of the stripper tower and melted the floats in the bottom. This, in turn, caused a massive system malfunction that nearly resulted in an explosion.

Moral of the story. Solvents can be mega-mean on rubber/plastic components.

RP

 

The main reason for tire damage on RVs and Trailers is because they are often not driven much. They put carbon black in the tires to protect them from UV. Carbon Black gets used up and the driving of the tire causes fresh carbon to move to the surface. If the tire isn't being drive, then that isn't happening.

The best way to prevent that is to use tire covers. Tires can also develope flat spots if you let them sit with weight on them for a long time.

 

Thanks Intel and RockPick...

 

VINYLEX here too!

i'm slowly fixing that problem though....getting all the plastic parts smoothed and painted

 

Thanks for all your replies, there is a pep boys near me but they really don't stock that well and i have not seen either product, guess I'll keep looking.

Rockpick, I also understand that solvent degrading plastic as for i am also an Environmental Geologist here in NJ. Guess we have more in common than our 150's

 

I like 303 Aerospace Protectant as well, but I have great things about Vynlex too.

If you have a camping/RV store, sometimes 303 is sold there. Or, shipping is cheap from www.campingworld.com too.