Vinyl Care (roof top and bench seats)

-

Mako21

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 30, 2020
Messages
165
Reaction score
65
Location
Miami
I just acquired a nice '76 Dart Sedan. The vinyl roof top is original and in good shape. Can someone recommend a product other than water and soap to clean it and won't leave it greasy and dried out. I have had very bad results with Armor all in the past. I am worried of using a product that well lubricate/swell the vinyl top and once it dries out cause it to rip or make me a slave to it. In the meantime I'll keep the car out of the sun under a good cover.

Also, can someone recommend a product for the interior vinyl front and rear bench seat? Trying to bring the car back to life. Thanks.
 
Yes, 303 Aerospace vinyl protectant is a sure bet. It’s not cheap but, is often used for commercial Marine vinyl applications and does wonders for car leather/vinyl protection.

Don’t use Armor All. It leeches the fabric over time and will result in the materials drying out/cracking quicker.
 
Never heard about 303 but I'll be looking for it.
 
I’ve used Meguiar’s Vinyl and Rubber Cleaner and Conditioner on my Dart’s vinyl interior for 25 years with great results.

It doesn’t contain silicones which is what you want.

B89957A8-9AF0-4D50-8F83-50ADD667D6DC.jpeg
 
I bought my 69 Coronet R/T back in 1981. The original owner had started using Johnson's baby oil on it since new. Still on the car and looks beautiful. And the car sat outside for many years.
 
I like Armor for certain things-Back in the day, one Saturday I cleaned up my R/T and Armor Alled the interior. A buddy and I were going out for a night of beer drinking. We picked up this good looking blonde that we knew a little bit. She sat in the middle on the console. A little while later, I leaned over and told her that I would have her in the back seat before the night was over. She said "that will be a cold day in hell". A little while later we stopped for a red light. I jumped on my 440 hard and she just slid right in the back seat. She laughed and said "You son-__a b__h. Armor All worked on the console that night. Her name was Patty! Ah those memories.
 
The best preventative maintenance you can do on a vinyl roof is to peel it off and toss it in the trash. Especially in Miami.

Even 100% garaged there's probably enough moisture in the air to rot your roof, if it's not inside forget about it. You might as well start looking for a new roof skin right now. If a vinyl top can rot out a roof skin here in California away from the coast it sure as hell will in Florida. I have one car that needs an entire roof skin because of a vinyl top, it was never within a 100 miles of the coast according to the previous owners. It did sit outside, and that's all it takes. My Challenger needs not only the roof skin but some sections of the hard top structure replaced because of a vinyl top. It went from Utah to Florida at some point, but I'd be willing to bet that the roof rot is from Florida and the salt air/humidity. Vinyl traps moisture, moisture causes rust. It's not likely they'll reproduce roof skins for an A-body sedan any time soon.

If you've got it garaged somewhere climate controlled do whatever you like. If it's going to be outside under a cover, you should think about pulling it and painting the roof. I'll wait for all the red X's, vinyl tops were just a factory gimmick to cover the quarter seams with less bodywork.
 
The best preventative maintenance you can do on a vinyl roof is to peel it off and toss it in the trash. Especially in Miami.

Even 100% garaged there's probably enough moisture in the air to rot your roof, if it's not inside forget about it. You might as well start looking for a new roof skin right now. If a vinyl top can rot out a roof skin here in California away from the coast it sure as hell will in Florida. I have one car that needs an entire roof skin because of a vinyl top, it was never within a 100 miles of the coast according to the previous owners. It did sit outside, and that's all it takes. My Challenger needs not only the roof skin but some sections of the hard top structure replaced because of a vinyl top. It went from Utah to Florida at some point, but I'd be willing to bet that the roof rot is from Florida and the salt air/humidity. Vinyl traps moisture, moisture causes rust. It's not likely they'll reproduce roof skins for an A-body sedan any time soon.

If you've got it garaged somewhere climate controlled do whatever you like. If it's going to be outside under a cover, you should think about pulling it and painting the roof. I'll wait for all the red X's, vinyl tops were just a factory gimmick to cover the quarter seams with less bodywork.

I understand where you're coming from, but how does this help with the OP's question? Dude asked for suggestions on vinyl care products and the response is to rip his vinyl top off? LOL
 
-
Back
Top