View Full Version : Silicone or no silicone?
ok, a lot of dressings or protectants for vinyl/rubber surfaces have silicones in them, however I have heard from some people that it turns the surface yellow after a while. Is this true? Also, what are the advantages and disadvantages of using products that contain silicone? I also heard somewhere that body shops avoid them because they mess up paint finishes or something like that. Not so sure about all this stuff that`s why I want to see if anyone knows the real deal on this.
I`ve never seen silicones stain anything yellow. Just not a good idea to use them in a body shop because of the silicone. The silicone gets into the air and will react with the wet paint is all.
I`ve used silicone products for trim and tires for years without troubles.
The advantages of silicone based dressings are that they are usually shinier and last longer.
The disadvantages is sometimes you`ll get product sling if you use it on tires. that`s when people usually use too much and the product slings onto the paint from the tires is all.
stigg
04-24-2008, 01:34 PM
My big hearsay against Silicon is not that it will stain but that for Rubbers and vynils it will help dissolve oils and wax since silicon oil is used as a solvent in some applications. In the case of tires if you pull the waxes out you can get some discoloration since the raw materials are exposed.
My wifes Volvo 850 was armoralled religiously by an ex boyfriend of hers. Its just speculation but the leather seats failed spectacularly after just three years. If I can help it I wont put anything on a rubber or seal that has a silicon in it.
jfelbab
04-24-2008, 02:24 PM
My big hearsay against Silicon is not that it will stain but that for Rubbers and vynils it will help dissolve oils and wax since silicon oil is used as a solvent in some applications. In the case of tires if you pull the waxes out you can get some discoloration since the raw materials are exposed.
My wifes Volvo 850 was armoralled religiously by an ex boyfriend of hers. Its just speculation but the leather seats failed spectacularly after just three years. If I can help it I wont put anything on a rubber or seal that has a silicon in it.
Silicone is frequently added to rubber and PVC compounds during manufacturing to make them tougher and stand up to weather better.
Silicone improves:
High and low temperature stability
Chemical resistance
Weatherability
Sealing performance
Electrical properties
Compression set resistance
Don`t know about leather seats and if AA might have some solvents in it that might have caused the early failure but silicone is very, very inert. I doubt that Silicone was the cause of the failure.
BigJimZ28
04-24-2008, 02:34 PM
My big hearsay against Silicon is not that it will stain but that for Rubbers and vynils it will help dissolve oils and wax since silicon oil is used as a solvent in some applications. In the case of tires if you pull the waxes out you can get some discoloration since the raw materials are exposed.
My wifes Volvo 850 was armoralled religiously by an ex boyfriend of hers. Its just speculation but the leather seats failed spectacularly after just three years. If I can help it I wont put anything on a rubber or seal that has a silicon in it.
Armor All is a water based protectant
Armor All is for vinyl, rubber & plastic....not Leather
Armor All & silicone both get a bad rap for some reason
they are not harmfull like a lot of people think
BlueLibby04
04-24-2008, 04:29 PM
Armor All is a water based protectant
Armor All is for vinyl, rubber & plastic....not Leather
Armor All & silicone both get a bad rap for some reason
they are not harmfull like a lot of people think
Agreed. Certain types of silicone could be harmful for plastic and rubber but the type you find in detailing supplies will not harm anything.
Armor all wont hurt anything but it may not protect anything. Idk much about the stuff though.
as long as it`s not solvent based silicone
I chose to stop using any dressings or dyes on exterior plastics and just find a way to machine or hand polish and seal them instead
Armor all got the bad name due to the carrier agents in it all them years ago, not the silicone