sunroof weatherstrip designed to be maintenance free? yeah right

[pman626]

10 year old lexus, parked outside all the time.



Weatherstrip has started to become flaky and porous along the edges.



They say sunroof weatherstrips are maintenance free? Well, this is what happens when you don't maintain it (other than washing)....



I just applied some meguiars tire gloss to the trim. Hopefully it will slow down the deterioration.



I read silicone lubricant (not silicone grease) is supposed to preserve rubber? Is that true? because I have a can of silicone lube spray for my bike that I haven't used in a long time.

 

[dfoxengr]

try 303 aerospace or a dedicated outside trim protectant like 1Z. maybe itll stop the deterioration.

 

[Dan]

Maintenance free does not mean lasts forever. Any sacrifical protection you can provide will increase the life of rubber components.

 

[Accumulator]

In this particular case (outside all the time..) I'd probably strip off the "dead"/oxidized rubber with some IPA and then apply the UV Guard stuff (forget whether they use a cutesy spelling or not ) from either Exterior Trim Restoration II kit. Might even use the whole system, but it doesn't look like it really needs that.



I'd redo it maybe annually, and at every wash I'd apply ValuGard's Fast Finish, which really does work great on exterior trim.



These are all "clean" approaches, even moreso than something like Wurth's Rubber Treatment, which I still like/use/recommend, just not for this particular application. I sure wouldn't bother with those short-lived dressings, especially not ones that can run/etc. in the rain.