Better than armorall?

[bennylava]

Hi all. I wanted to stop by and ask about the best product in the category that Armorall occupies. Im a member over at the garage journal board, and something that is well known over there (probably here too) is that the most well known product in a given segment is usually far from the best. So i suspect that there is a much better product than armorall out there. Hopefully yall can tell me what that is.

[Ronkh]

Armour all is the best.... (in advertising)

[jrock645]

303 aerospace protectant is much better.

[06vrss]

Just about anything protectant related that is spoken of on here is better than Armor-all.

[ShaneB]

Armor all pretty much holds the bottom of the list for interior protectants. It`s THAT BAD.

Id put it a half step above the guy on YouTube saying to use olive oil...

[ShaneB]

EVERYTHING is much better.

Fixed

[bennylava]

Ok so we have 303 Aerospace mentioned.

What is the general consensus of the Autopians? Which product is top dog? Which product holds the top slot? Which one is really and truly the best? I must know! lol

[pheerix]

Ok so we have 303 Aerospace mentioned.

What is the general consensus of the Autopians? Which product is top dog? Which product holds the top slot? Which one is really and truly the best? I must know! lol

303 all the way. Has one of the most positive reviews on AGO:
303 Aerospace Protectant 32 oz (http://www.autogeek.net/32oz.html)

[Ancient_1]

It all depends on for what purpose. For me what I have liked best that I have used is for the interior Wolfgang cockpit sealant mainly because if I wait a minute or so I can wipe with a MF towel and get a finish that is about the same as when new which means no or very little gloss for things that weren`t meant to have gloss. My seats were the only thing that were a little glossier than before I applied.

On the exterior I have Wolfgang Uber coating on almost everything except my tires which have Tufshine tire coating and my grill which I didn`t do and my clear bra. It is on my rims my lights all exterior trim (what little I have) even my license plates and of course my paint and glass. For my engine compartment I have been using CG Silk Shine which I am sure is far from the best but is fine till I find something better.

Here is the best photo I have that shows most of the black trim I have on the car.
http://i1068.photobucket.com/albums/u450/Ancient_11/Uber/P4161411.jpg

[ShaneB]

There is no "top dog" as its all based upon everyone`s personal opinion. Really a pointless question to ask. I personally like the Blackfire interior protectant. I also have a bottle of 303 that I haven`t tried on an interior yet (worked great on a vinyl convertible top). Before that I was using DP (now mckees 37). Comes down to what you need/want. I switched to blackfire because I got a hell of a deal on a sale for a gallon that I was able to get at over 50% off.

[RDKC]

There is no "top dog" as its all based upon everyone`s personal opinion. Really a pointless question to ask. I personally like the Blackfire interior protectant. I also have a bottle of 303 that I haven`t tried on an interior yet (worked great on a vinyl convertible top). Before that I was using DP (now mckees 37). Comes down to what you need/want. I switched to blackfire because I got a hell of a deal on a sale for a gallon that I was able to get at over 50% off.

What he said sounds kind of harsh but true.

The debate about durability can go on for ages because, well, there really doesn`t seem to be too much definitive test data. Yeah, people spread some of this here, some of that there, and look at it in set periods of time but it`s not a true test. Does it help? Yes. Is it lab quality data that you can rely on in 100% of situations? No.

The debate is beyond pointless. I personally love Chemical Guys Silk Shine on the Suburban`s black interior but thought it brought out too much shine in the Escape that I used to have. Still haven`t found something I really like on my (factory painted) tan Silverado interior. You can opt for silicone dressings, dressings with petroleum distillates (I tend to avoid, better safe than sorry), or dressings free from both.

Then you get into tires, engine compartments, exterior trim and you really expand the debate. All that plus coatings, how it sheds water, water durability, restoration vs. preservation, etc.

Off my soapbox and onto my current "go to" products.


Exterior Black Trim
Wolfgang Exterior Trim Sealant (WETS)


Faded Exterior Black Trim
Mothers Back to Black Heavy Duty Trim Cleaner followed by Meguiar`s Ultimate Black Plastic Restorer


Tires
Turtle Wax Jet Black Endura Shine Tire Coat


Interior Dressing
Chemical Guys Silk Shine/303 Aerospace Protectant


Interior Maintainer
Meguiar`s Quik Interior Detailer


Car Shampoo
Meguiar`s Hyperwash



Wheel Cleaner
Mothers Foam Wheel & Tire Cleaner


Leather Cleaner
Too many to list, depends on the condition of the leather


Leather Conditioner
Wolfgang Leather Care Conditioner


Glass Cleaner
Currently with Mothers Revision



Are the products I use the best? Not really. Will I stick with them forever? No. Actually looking for replacements for a few of them once I get low on what I have.

[Accumulator]

IIRC, Scottwax (where is he these days?) still uses Armor All.

I inherited a jug of it and I`m using it up on the tires of the daily-drivers. Seems OK. No, I`m not saying it`s as good as something pricier (still prefer my previous-version Z16 on the tires of the good cars), but for this application I have no complaints other than not liking the every-wash reapplication.

I never understood the great love for 303. Bought it, tried it, found it OK but nothing special. Never did use it all up (and it was only the whatever-size spray bottle).

I`ve, uhm...accumulated...gallons of Tire Slime from Griot`s and Pinnacle and still have a few bottles of the old Z16, so I`m probably well-stocked for the next few years. Might go with the non-slip version of DuraGloss next time, but we`ll see.

[Pats300zx]

IIRC, Scottwax (where is he these days?) still uses Armor All.

I inherited a jug of it and I`m using it up on the tires of the daily-drivers. Seems OK. No, I`m not saying it`s as good as something pricier (still prefer my previous-version Z16 on the tires of the good cars), but for this application I have no complaints other than not liking the every-wash reapplication.

I never understood the great love for 303. Bought it, tried it, found it OK but nothing special. Never did use it all up (and it was only the whatever-size spray bottle).

I`ve, uhm...accumulated...gallons of Tire Slime from Griot`s and Pinnacle and still have a few bottles of the old Z16, so I`m probably well-stocked for the next few years. Might go with the non-slip version of DuraGloss next time, but we`ll see.

Scott is still around. He posts mostly on Facebook now. I am pretty sure he still uses AA. Heck I still have like a quarter of a bottle and still use it on my work car. It`s not bad but I would never use it on my interior. I agree with 303 as well. Great for interiors but exterior trim not so much.

[Lonnie]

I used an early version of Armour-All when it first came out in the late 70`s (Yes, I am old(er)) to replace using Pledge furniture polish (REALLY??!) on vinyl. That formula discolored a white headliner in a Triumph , turning into a milky yellow hue , almost like a smoker was in the car. The formula has been changed so it will no longer do that. Used it, though, by the gallon. It was OK on dark-colored vinyl.

I`ve been using Aerospace 303 after I read about it in this forum. It`s expensive, but I like it`s not-so-shiny gloss on vinyl. Yes, I do apply it to leather that`s coated, but I prefer NO protectant on leather; just a thorough cleaning.

I agree about Meg`s Quick Interior Detailer being inexpensive, with minor cleaner, no gloss, and some UV protection, and the smell is, well, antiseptic-clean (Yes, I do wipe coated leather down with QID). I use it between full interior details on my car (full being Megs D101 APC brush scrubbing/wipe-down and 303 application).

[bennylava]

Really a pointless question to ask. I personally like the Blackfire interior protectant. I also have a bottle of 303 that I haven`t tried on an interior yet (worked great on a vinyl convertible top). Before that I was using DP (now mckees 37). Comes down to what you need/want. I switched to blackfire because I got a hell of a deal on a sale for a gallon that I was able to get at over 50% off.

Well I really didn`t want to say what I was going to use it on, because I wanted the broad spectrum of answers. Its for my vinyl seating in my pontoon boat. Looks like 303 is what I want. However, I wanted the answers for auto detailing as well, so I just didn`t mention the boat. I really don`t think its a pointless question, for two reasons. 1, the armor all is clearly not the way to go. Its been far outstripped by things that don`t seem to do any harm to the interior over time. 2. The answer could actually be proven, through scientific testing, also new technology does become available.


IIRC, Scottwax (where is he these days?) still uses Armor All.

I inherited a jug of it and I`m using it up on the tires of the daily-drivers. Seems OK. No, I`m not saying it`s as good as something pricier (still prefer my previous-version Z16 on the tires of the good cars), but for this application I have no complaints other than not liking the every-wash reapplication.

I never understood the great love for 303. Bought it, tried it, found it OK but nothing special. Never did use it all up (and it was only the whatever-size spray bottle).

I`ve, uhm...accumulated...gallons of Tire Slime from Griot`s and Pinnacle and still have a few bottles of the old Z16, so I`m probably well-stocked for the next few years. Might go with the non-slip version of DuraGloss next time, but we`ll see.

Do you have a favorite, for the various situations? Perhaps something for dashboards, something for vinyl, something for the door panels and back seat plastics and trim... etc etc. So I`d like to hear your answer on that, and I`d also like to hear which one you`d pick if you had to do a cloth-seat interior, with only one product. IE, one product for the dash, door panels, rear plastics, center console, everything.