What do people find is the best product/products for cleaning and appearance of the window stripping? Also, and more important, what should be used long term to avoid drying and cracking? (to condition?)

I am asking rather than doing a search because I have been reading for three years now here on the forums and know what has been suggested , but as we all know products constantly come and go. The best stay and the new arrive.

Thanks for any suggestions,
PP

 

For all the rubber seals on the car your two best bets are probably Meguiar's M40 Professional Vinyl & Rubber Cleaner/Conditioner or 303 Protectant. Both are water based products that will keep the rubber seals soft and compliant for many years to come.

Oh, and if anyone ever tells you that silicone is bad for rubber trim and that you should stay away from any "silicone based" products, end the conversation right then and there. They have no idea what they're talking about and their advice should be considered suspect at best.

 

There's your answer from the expert!

Mods you can close this thread now!

Yer on the ball tonight Mike!

 

Thanks a lot.
Now, one more. For an older car that is not garaged and has about five years of oxidation; (not horrible) would you suggest the same products or something more specialized.

Thanks again,
PP

 

I will share what I have had success with:

Turtle Wax Formula 2001 for window dressings and any black plastic bits on the car. I've kept three cars now looking great with this stuff. Apparently has UV inhibitors. All I can say is, its cheap, can be found at your local Autozone, and works!
(not discounting any products previously mentioned)

 

Thanks. I should have made my original question a two parter. Mike did answer the first part very well, but I realize he is pretty specific and that maybe I should have brought up the other car that is not maintenance but to some degree repair.
Thank you for chiming in on this. Being from Fla. I am sure you have some experience with this kind of problem.

I thank you both and look forward to getting out and doing my early Spring detailing (before the pollen), but have to wait until it is above 0.

PP

 

this is the bomb diggity!!! this stuff dries in seconds and has no greasy feel. wont harm the seals and goes on like butta!!
1Z einszett Rubber Care Stick "Gummi Pflege"

 

Thanks for this tip. It sounds good. I think I will go with them all and do my own comparison test. Can't lose that way; or may be very confused.

PP

 

On an older vehicle if the seals are just dirty, even really dirty, then Meguiar's M39 Heavy Duty Vinyl Cleaner is awesome stuff. You'll still want to apply a dressing after the cleaning though.

If the rubber has already started to break down due to UV exposure, then about the only thing you can really do is replace the pieces. You can't really restore it and bring the rubber back to life, so to speak. But you can take really nasty looking stuff and make it pretty again. You just can't bring it back from the dead.

 

Whew... my eyes were playing tricks on me. When I first saw that, I thought it said enzite. LOL

 

Thank you again Mike.
Could you please describe what hopeless looks like.
(I honestly don't know how others might see them as I am OCD)

And, what is the very nasty stuff for hopeless.

Thanks for all the response,
PP

 

I have used this product over the last couple of years and it does a great job.

DriveWerks.com - 1Z Gummi Pflege Rubber Protection

mark

 

You can generally take a very dirty or gray piece of trim and make it look nice again, but if you've got a rubber seal that is dry and actually starting to crack, it's done. Nothing will bring that back and it must be replaced.

 

On the older car, there are no cracks but the surface does have a slightly rough feel to the touch. Would it be advisable to go over the surface with something with a slight roughness? (such as a natural luffa)?

Thanks again,
PP

ps Funny how we baby a new car and suddenly we start looking back at the older car and wish we had done a little more TLC.

 

I'd just give it a good cleaning with M39 Heavy Duty Vinyl Cleaner and then dress it with M40 or 303 Products stuff. Taking an abrasive to the surface, even a lufa type thingy, may open you up to more problems. If you don't get satisfaction out of a good cleaning and dressing, I'd replace the parts.

 

Now I feel secure, thanks Mike and all you guys. I will post back later with results, but I think it will be a couple of weeks with this weather.

I'm closing this for now.

Thanks,
PP

 

On my rubber molding where the convertible top sits in the back, the rubber has sun faded where the rubber is exposed when the top is up. When you put the top down, it is very noticeable where the top covers part of the rubber. I hope this makes sense. If not I can take some pics. Anyway, is there anything that can be done to restore the sun faded portion to match the areas protected when the top is up? It was like this when I bought the car.

 

I saw a thread on this some time back, they found something that worked OK.
Is this it?
https://www.crossfireforum.org/forum...eck-guard.html

 

Thanks for the thread. He had his replaced under warranty. I may just have to live with it for a while as I have no warranty.

 

Mike would you happen to have a link to where I could purchase the conditioner? I've looked through there website and didn't find anything with M40.

Thanks!