Rubber trim protection.

[wannafbody]

I think Solutions Finish has released a trim coating.

Accumulator, never thought about using 845 on rubber seals. I usually use dielectric grease.

[Accumulator]

Accumulator, never thought about using 845 on rubber seals. I usually use dielectric grease.

Yeah, that`s what I used for ages (along with Souveran when I was using that stuff) until I tried the UTTG+. The grease is *FAR* too messy, man...I don`t even like to use that under the hood!

[Lonnie]

I am surprised no one has mentioned Meg`s Mirror Glaze No.40 Vinyl and Rubber Cleaner and Conditioner.

Me, I clean rubber seals around windows with Megs D101 APC or OPT Power Clean on a cotton swab (Q-tip) and then condition them with Aerospace 303 on another cotton swab. Makes a huge difference in how they look. At least when I wash a vehicle the next time the wash media does not get black streaked from badly oxidized rubber seals. I have learned to clean those seals FIRST with a old cotton cloth or blue paper shop toweling in diluted APC before my conventional 2-bucket wash with microfiber noodle pad as my wash media if I`ve never washed or detailed that particular vehicle before.

Rubber seals around moon/sun roofs take a beating. Unless they are taken care of on a regular basis, they tend to crack and weather check eventually. The seals around roof seams or the water gutter/track can be problematic as well.

What is surprising to me is how much dirt and debris (like decayed leaf or lawn litter or pine needles) gets trapped into door seals or door jam seals or rear hatch/trunk jam seals. The folds and channels hold a lot of that grime and if they are not lifted or gotten under or between, they remain dirty. Q-tips and blue paper shop towels are good for this cleaning task and as they become soiled and blackened, they are disposable.
A good example is the folded V-seal at the bottom of some Ford vehicle doors. Take a cotton cloth or paper shop toweling soaked in diluted APC and try cleaning in the fold or V. Then you`ll know! No one sees it and because it`s at the bottom of a door, few clean it.

[Accumulator]

I am surprised no one has mentioned Meg`s Mirror Glaze No.40 Vinyl and Rubber Cleaner and Conditioner...

Funny you should mention that....I`ve been resusing my M40 bottle with my GG stuff and the last time I did the A8 I dropped it...with predictable results

I didn`t find the M40 to be anything special, but there sure wasn`t anything wrong with it either.

What is surprising to me is how much dirt and debris (like decayed leaf or lawn litter or pine needles) gets trapped into door seals or door jam seals or rear hatch/trunk jam seals. The folds and channels hold a lot of that grime ..[and then there are]....the folded V-seal at the bottom of some...doors. Take a cotton cloth or paper shop toweling soaked in diluted APC and try cleaning in the fold or V. Then you`ll know! No one sees it and because it`s at the bottom of a door, few clean it.

Yeah, such areas *always* need done IME...every single wash. The Audis have doors that`re simply awful in that regard, requiring numerous passes with different media. Easy enough with just shampoo mix I suppose, but still....it takes a lotta time even though spraywaxing at the last drying pass has helped quite a bit.

When you mention using APC/etc. I gather that`s on someone *else`s* vehicle...I haven`t needed to use mine for years now.

[Lonnie]

When you mention using APC/etc. I gather that`s on someone *else`s* vehicle...I haven`t needed to use mine for years now.

Yes, it`s my detailing regiment /procedure/methodology for cleaning seals before I apply Aerospace 303 protectant to them. The "deep cleaning" with getting between the folds and into the channels with Q-Tips and blue shop toweling with an APC is an essential part of that process on interior or full details. If the vehicle returns to me again for an interior or full detail some time later. I will repeat that deep cleaning as needed.

Another overlooked area is drain holes on cowls or at the bottom of doors sills or hatches or trunk lids themselves. One of the biggest areas I found to hold dirt and debris is in the front door opening where the door jam and bottom rear of front fender meet where I think the cowl drain runs into as well. I take my garden hose with a pistol grip spray nozzle and flush out that area as best I can. Sometimes the debris run out the bottom if the drain hole is open and sometimes the debris comes back at you through that intersection because the drain hole is plugged. Living in a state with A LOT of trees (as some out-of-state urban visitors refer to it as "The Sticks") with leaves and needles that fall on vehicles and dirt roads and trails that they travel on going camping/biking/hiking/ATVing or up to the cabin "Up North" collects a lot of that debris in that area, which is why I flush it out to prevent water/moisture gathering there within that debris and rusting it out. Drastic measures require a flexible claw part extractor tool to get into those areas and pull out the decayed leaf debris. Q-tips work well to get into door drain holes or slots OR tweezers to grab and extract embedded evergreen needles or maple "helicopter" seeds that get jammed in those areas.