I bought a nice replacement and cleaned it up and it stayed soft. After driving it for a bit, it is now hard. What can I do? mink oil?

 

I have a mint dash pad and I have noticed that the hardnest depends on the temperature. I am in Chicago and our temps range from 10 below in the winter to 100 degrees above in the summer. If a dash pad is to get tested by extreme temps it is in Chicago. If it is warm then the pad is soft and if it is cold it is rock hard. And if it is hard this is the best chance to damage it. I cracked one once just by bumping it with my knee on a winter day. I take mine out in the winter even though my car sits in the garage in the winter, it is still cold in there. I bring it inside and put a cracked pad on in case I have to drive the car in the winter.

To answer you question many will tell you no Armour All type products. Personally I don't know which product cracks or makes these pads soft. I use plain old fashiooned water. I just wipe my pad down and put no shine products on the dash. I shine everything else in the interior and let the pad go on it's OEM merits.

 

mequiars quick interior detail spray. not greasy or overly shiny. protects. ive had mine in the garage 7 winters and no problems yet. of course she dosent even move 5ft. just let her run to temperature 2x a week.

 

Yea I should have just kept with water like i always did. Damn armor all...but it hardened even before i used it
but what can I do to soften it?

 

My father was just telling me that he has never used anything on his dashes except water and they have never cracked. He moved to Tucson from Minnesota in 2003 and his daily driver dash cracked just a few weeks ago. He said this was the only car he used protectant on and it was always 3M or Meguiars stuff.

To soften yours, you may need a leather conditioner. Put it on heavy and see how it does.

 

Well, I can't say it worked. i put it on, wiped it, and I think it actually stained it. I tried wiping that off and it wont really come off. I'm using Meguiar.

 

Maybe cuz it's not leather, but vinyl...

The good options are expensive...

Even if you find a "mint" one with no cracks, at best, it's still 16 years old or older!

Some of the "caps" I've seen are an ok alternative...

Classic Industries sells an OER (repro) but I've not seen it in person and it's about $400 shipped...

www.justdashes.com redoes (the correct way) your original dash... Starting @ $500...

Raf

 

Meguiar's for me too. They have many options to choose from.
http://www.meguiars.com/estore/produ...ectionID=12101

 

I just lathered it up with about 5 coats of armor all. is that bad? It softened up a bit.

 

Well, the general consensus here and in other forums appeares that overtime Armor All has the potential to crack and damage vinyl and plastic. This is/was due to one of the ingredients being a petroleum distillate chemical.
Now is this the case today? I can't say for sure. I really don't want to role the dice on that one yet.

For me, I just don't like the results of their product and find the results from Meguiar's to be superior. But that is only my personal opinion.

 

I have a nice crack above the a/c vents on my 99 ta because of armor all

 

I pull mine out of the car every now and then to let it soak in armor all... have no problems and it softens up really nice

 

You let it soak in armor all liquid? I just wiped mine down with 1 of their wipes. That's not bad, right?

 

yeah I just spray it on, an few hours later go back and do a second coat but with the second coat I spread it around a little with a rag. I know other people who use this technique with no problems too

 

I usually dont wait a few hours I just shot it good once. come back 30 mins later shoot again and then another 30 mins shoot it again. Never would have thought armor all would actually crack them...:-o

 

Too many people on this site and other sites have reported the ill effects of Armour All so I will just avoid it on my dash. Works fine on my tires though which is what it is intended for anyway.

 

So kinda confused here I am in the same situation with a hardend Dash Pad, Best thing to use on it is water?? I was thinking of using a product form Mothers that is a vinyl, rubber, plastic protectant. Is that not a good idea?

 

I wonder if leather conditioner could be used on a dash? Lexol sure softens the leather in my Chevy minivan.

(I'm not 100% convinced on the Armor-All argument though)

 

The dash is NOT leather but is vinyl so how can a product designed for leather soften a different material? After going through at least 5 pads...H2o is the way to go.

Do a search and you will see how many people have cracked good dashes using Armor all. The numbers don't lie!

 

Well maybe I shouldn't have said "soften", I should have said "moisturize" . Nothing will soften it after it has already hardened.

 

I'm calling it quits with the carpet pad on the cracked dash. It's full of cotton seed, bugs, grass, and dog hair from sitting in the garage and driving with the windows down. After a few other projects get completed, the vinyl is getting ripped off and it's getting a layer or two of fiberglass, some filler, a light texturing with a sponge and a coat of flat black paint. It can't make it look much worse.

 

Vinyl and leather have similar qualities so using a leather conditioner on vinyl will work. I contacted Meguiar's about this and they recommend using their leather condtioner on th dash and plastics. Appying it to the plastics will give the plastics a clean shine but does nothing for protection.

 

This water based product will protect it from UV Rays and moisturize it.

Part Number: # K89480
OER NATURAL SHINE MATT FINISH PROTECTANT 16 OZ BOTTLE
water-based natural look dressing.
leaves surfaces supple and protected against damaging UV radiation.
like new matte finish that lasts weeks and nicely complements a clean interior.
cleans, protects and beautifies in one easy step.
gently wipes away light traces of dirt while you apply.
patented UV absorber penetrates and act as a protective barrier against harmful rays that cause premature aging, cracking, fading and peeling.
engineered to work like a lotion soaking into new and dry, vinyl aiding in prolonging and strengthening the surface.

http://www.classicindustries.com/con...rchCatalogId=1