Large Scale Central

Aristo Wide turnouts

Track and Trestles
#21

They’ll tell you it is water based, not oil or silicon based. That is a good thing for protecting stuff, but it can wash off eventually. That means re-apply it. For my 2 cars, I do not mind, best use is on dashboard, protects from UV destruction and is not real shiny.

The plasticizer in armorall does not make the plastic softer Steve, it makes/keeps it flexible. That’s why these products can retard cracking. I’ve used armorall since it was invented (was invented in Newport Beach, CA), and have never had a problem with it.

For all the horror stories about it causing cracking, you should talk to the person specifically, and you will find there was no “control group” of the same material not treated. Some plastic just cracks. We had a certain year mercedes that did that. They all did it, treated or untreated, but the people who armoralled thier dashes blamed it on armorall.

The plasticizer is apparently a spiral molecule that allows flexibility, and when plastic is compounded, whether it is flexible or rigid depends largely on how much of this is added. Perhaps some of you remember the early plastic bumpers and paint flaking off them. They soon found a “flex agent” to add to the paint to keep it flexible enough to stay on these plastic bumpers. Same idea.

Regards, Greg

#22

For what it’s worth, amigos, here is 303’s reply:

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Dear David,
303 aerospace protectant is the best uv protectant on the market.

Regards.
Dennis A. Praegitzer

I’ll go with the opinion of the man who’s actually done the experimentation. It’ll be ArmorAll on rolling stock and switch housings for me. Thanks, Greg, and to the rest of you blokes for an interesting and enlightening thread.

Pax,
D

#23

Not to muddy the waters, but I believe the 303 is the best UV protectant, but it does not keep plastic as pliable as Armorall, or the Turtle Wax protectant in the lime green bottle.

I use armorall where I’m concerned about UV and plastic getting brittle. I use 303 where I just need UV protection.

On a fiberglas kayak, I would use 303, does not need to be flexible!

On my plastic ties, I use Armorall.

On the dashboard of my Mercedes and Audi, I alternate between leather treatment and 303. (They have leather dashes).

So far, over 30 years, haven’t had a failure.

I don’t have data on the weathering ability of 303, I think it washes off sooner, from my informal “touch test”, but since it gets applied weekly to my dashboards, I don’t worry there.

So I think the 303 guys are right, probably the highest SPF of anything, but the heat also plays on aging plastic outdoors. The renewal of the plasticizer in the plastic of your buildings and track ties seems to work.

Regards, Greg