Conditioning old vinyl and plastic

[jono]

The crash pad on my 1968 Plus 2 project is age embrittled and has cracked in one location from the corner of the demister vent.

Does anyone have any tips for 'feeding' the plastic to condition it and make it a bit more supple.

The vinyl seats could also do with some form of 'feeding' - likewise any tips appreciated.

Cheers

Jon

[JonB]

I don't think it can be done, as Vinyl is not a natural material like leather. Happy to be proven wrong!

You might try cleaning it with Armour All. This will improve the appearance of the surface finish, especially on the seat material, and provide protection. I use this stuff: https://www.armorall.com/uk/product/arm ... semi-matt/

[smo17003]

Take a look at "dashboard repair" on YouTube, there are a number of methods on there.

[jonnyg]

…or you could try Autoglym’s Vinyl and Rubber Care - it works well on various internal surfaces including vinyl seats, and on hoods and tonneau covers. But if the part is badly age-worn, then perhaps not so effective. Have a look at the advice on the Autoglym website, it’s quite helpful. Now if there was a foolproof way of achieving a lasting improvement in the appearance of the rocker switches on my S4, I’d love to know; that’s probably one for another thread - and there have been a few - but nothing I’ve tried has had a lasting restorative effect.

[RobertMaulden]

Vinyl is a synthetic material & cannot be "fed" with anything. Likewise with any plastic parts. Such material can be made to look better using specialist applications, but that's about it. Replacement is the only real solution

[JonB]

Now if there was a foolproof way of achieving a lasting improvement in the appearance of the rocker switches on my S4, I’d love to know; that’s probably one for another thread - and there have been a few - but nothing I’ve tried has had a lasting restorative effect.

Baby oil (mineral oil in the US).

[alan.barker]

But Jonb,
He's talking about a +2
Alan

[Uturn]

Reach out to P-Diddy, he has 1000's of bottles of baby oil.

[JonB]

You guys...

I refer to this post I made on a thread about switch reconditioning, when I was restoring my Plus 2's dash.

viewtopic.php?t=40434&f=38&start=15#p322008

Apologies for the thread creep.

[USA64]

There was an article in Smithsonian Magazine about the museum's inability to preserve any plastic items. The old stuff will out live the new. My silver based photo negatives are in perfect shape. The dye based color (and newer B&W) ones are faded away. A business man I knew was fined by the IRS for not keeping records. He had the 12" floppys but not the machine to read them. "Preserve your memories, they're all that's left you." -Bookends-(Simon & Garfunkel)

[TonyA]

Have a look at this YouTube on repairing cracked dashboard:

https://youtu.be/sw8EmkbezXE?si=8lP52mIby63m0vKl

Cheers..Tony

[Donels]

…or you could try Autoglym’s Vinyl and Rubber Care - it works well on various internal surfaces including vinyl seats, and on hoods and tonneau covers. But if the part is badly age-worn, then perhaps not so effective. Have a look at the advice on the Autoglym website, it’s quite helpful. Now if there was a foolproof way of achieving a lasting improvement in the appearance of the rocker switches on my S4, I’d love to know; that’s probably one for another thread - and there have been a few - but nothing I’ve tried has had a lasting restorative effect.

Paint with Plasticote satin black. Worked for me.