Cracked Dashboard on Late-model Chevy Cavalier

On Mon, 16 May 2005 10:20:53 -0400, "Magnulus"
> wrote:

>
>"James C. Reeves" > wrote in message
...
>> And that award won't even buy a bottle of Armor-All, will it? (Which I
>bet
>> is what caused the cracks in the 1st place!)
>>
>
> Why would Armor All do that?
>
> Anybody wants to see what a car looks like without ever having used Armor
>All? It's for damn sure not "just like new".
>
> I'm friggin' tired of the Armor All mythsinformation floating around.
>From the talk of some idiots, you would think Saddam Hussein had a plant in
>Iraq churning out the stuff for Osama bin Laden.
>

I've had two vehicles where the dashboard promptly cracked right after
using armourall.

Here's some more info...

From Sun May 14 12:28:21 2000

Xref: news.primenet.com rec.autos.makers.ford.mustang:327594

patrick wrote:

>I've been searching usenet since I initially posted and their is a
>significant group of people who believe the product causes the
>dash to become 'addicted' to it, and that it will dry and crack if
>not used anymore.

OK, if you want a detailed chemical explanation, here goes.
Soft vinyl plastics (as opposed to things like PVC pipe)
contain a large amount of plasticizers. The one that is
almost universally used is dioctyl phthalate. It is a
relatively high molecular weight, water insoluble, nontoxic
compound. Over the course of time, the plasticizer will
vaporize and leach out of the vinyl causing it to become
stiff and brittle, which is when it cracks.

ArmorAll is an emulsion of dibutyl phthalate in water.
Dibutyl phthalate has a lower molecular weight than the
dioctyl phthalate in the factory soft vinyl. While it will
plump up and soften the plastic (good) the lower molecular
weight means that it is more volatile and more water soluble.
Therefore it will be lost more quickly to the environment
via vaporization and leaching. A nasty side effect is that
it will take the original plasticizer with it as it is lost.

What this means to the end user is that if you start using
ArmorAll you had better continue to do so, or your vinyl
will degrade much faster than if you had done nothing.

>This has caused me to decide not to use it and instead maybe get
>the maximum tint legally allowed on my windows to block UV rays
>and get some of those folding cardboard thingys to put in the
>windshield and rear window to block sunlight.

Ordinary glass blocks UV anyway. Ever try to get a suntan
through your windshield? Doesn't work. That is not to say
that maximum tint is a bad idea. UV damage is not the only
light-related way to destroy plastics. Your plan is a good one.
--
Andy Williams - real address andywlms at ct2 dot nai dot net

"Ashton Crusher" > wrote in message
...
>While it will
> plump up and soften the plastic (good) the lower molecular
> weight means that it is more volatile and more water soluble.
> Therefore it will be lost more quickly to the environment
> via vaporization and leaching. A nasty side effect is that
> it will take the original plasticizer with it as it is lost.
>

Even if it were true (carrying away the original plasticizer), the
dashboard will eventually lose most of the original plasticizer anyways. So
the dashboard will eventually crack even if you don't use Armor All.

Armor All specificly states that their product has to be re-applied about
once a month or so, just as car wax has to be re-applied every so often to
be effective. Similar products (Black Magic, etc.) work in a similar
fashion. The only downside I see is that almost all of them have some
level of shine or gloss, even the ones that are "low gloss".

"Magnulus" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Ashton Crusher" > wrote in message
> ...
>>While it will
>> plump up and soften the plastic (good) the lower molecular
>> weight means that it is more volatile and more water soluble.
>> Therefore it will be lost more quickly to the environment
>> via vaporization and leaching. A nasty side effect is that
>> it will take the original plasticizer with it as it is lost.
>>
>
> Even if it were true (carrying away the original plasticizer), the
> dashboard will eventually lose most of the original plasticizer anyways.
> So
> the dashboard will eventually crack even if you don't use Armor All.
>
> Armor All specificly states that their product has to be re-applied about
> once a month or so, just as car wax has to be re-applied every so often to
> be effective. Similar products (Black Magic, etc.) work in a similar
> fashion. The only downside I see is that almost all of them have some
> level of shine or gloss, even the ones that are "low gloss".
>
>

The gloss makes for a nasty reflection on the windshield during bright sunny
days..which reduces visibility.

My dashes seem to last much longer without Armor-all. The dash on my 1997
Caravan still looks new and has never had a drop of armor-all on it. Only
plain warm water (no soap).

On Thu, 19 May 2005 07:20:34 -0400, "Magnulus"
> wrote:

>
> Even if it were true (carrying away the original plasticizer), the
>dashboard will eventually lose most of the original plasticizer anyways. So
>the dashboard will eventually crack even if you don't use Armor All.

But it seems that if armor-all isn't applied monthly, it will crack
faster than if it is never applied at all.

The environment you're in might make a difference as to how
significant the process described in the earlier post will be.

Out in the desert, I expect it would be greater, but so is risk of
cracking without armor-all.

I guess it is anyway. Lots of people out here have carpet on their
dashboard, but that's kind of tacky I think.

If mine cracks, I guess I'll get the carpet like everyone else does
though.

Daniel J. Stern wrote:
> Gimme a break. Buy a cheaply-made piece of garbage like a Cadavalier
and
> then complain when it behaves like a cheaply-made piece of garbage?
Only
> the lawyers win in ass-claction lawsuits like this. The classmembers
each
> get a payout of $1.98.
>
> DS
>
> On Sat, 14 May 2005 wrote:
>
> > For anyone with a late-model Chevy Cavalier with the front part of
the
> > dash crack, there is a guy trying to put together a class-action
suit
> > with a lawyer to get Chevy to replace this defective part at no
charge.
> > So far, he has had 136 people sign up. If you are interested, the
> > details are below.
> >
> > I intend to obtain a lawyer and go toe to toe with Chevy for all of
> > you. No money will be asked of you, just that you provide
ligitimate
> > information. Hopefully I can get Chevy to do a recall on this and
get
> > YOUR cracked dashes replaced, as well as mine."

Unfortunately, there's probably some stupid, mouth-breathin'
Cavalier-drivin' lawyer out there dumb enough to take this on. Hey,
maybe *I* can get a replacement dashboard, too!
--
C.R. Krieger
'88 BMW 535is w/cracked dashboard ("They all do that.")

Armor All doesn't contain traditional plasticizers, it just contains a
silicone-water emulsion and some UV blocker. Now, silicone will probably
"penetrate" the dash a little, but it mostly works by sealing the dash and
creating a "shiny" appearance. Silicone is basicly a synthetic oil or
plastic, no different than smearing vegetable oil on your dashboard, except
the silicone is very resistant to breakdown and is pretty much chemically
inert. It makes the dash look better because it basicly resurfaces the
dash.

You can buy plasticizer based protectants, like Black Magic or Meguair's.
They have real plasticizers in them used industrially, but they also contain
UV blockers. Some are less shiny than others, but I experimented with a
few and found they all tended to be a bit shiny.

Magnulus wrote:
> "Ashton Crusher" > wrote in message
> ...
> >While it will
> > plump up and soften the plastic (good) the lower molecular
> > weight means that it is more volatile and more water soluble.
> > Therefore it will be lost more quickly to the environment
> > via vaporization and leaching. A nasty side effect is that
> > it will take the original plasticizer with it as it is lost.
> >
>
> Even if it were true (carrying away the original plasticizer), the
> dashboard will eventually lose most of the original plasticizer anyways. So
> the dashboard will eventually crack even if you don't use Armor All.

Yeah, eventually. We all eventually die too, but many don't smoke or
stop smoking because it bring premature death.

"Magnulus" > wrote in message
.. .
> Armor All doesn't contain traditional plasticizers, it just contains a
> silicone-water emulsion and some UV blocker. Now, silicone will probably
> "penetrate" the dash a little, but it mostly works by sealing the dash and
> creating a "shiny" appearance. Silicone is basicly a synthetic oil or
> plastic, no different than smearing vegetable oil on your dashboard,
> except
> the silicone is very resistant to breakdown and is pretty much chemically
> inert. It makes the dash look better because it basicly resurfaces the
> dash.
>
> You can buy plasticizer based protectants, like Black Magic or Meguair's.
> They have real plasticizers in them used industrially, but they also
> contain
> UV blockers. Some are less shiny than others, but I experimented with a
> few and found they all tended to be a bit shiny.
>
>

The glass blocks most of the UV rays though.

On Wed, 25 May 2005 23:06:33 -0400, "Magnulus"
> wrote:

> Armor All doesn't contain traditional plasticizers, it just contains a
>silicone-water emulsion and some UV blocker. Now, silicone will probably
>"penetrate" the dash a little, but it mostly works by sealing the dash and
>creating a "shiny" appearance. Silicone is basicly a synthetic oil or
>plastic, no different than smearing vegetable oil on your dashboard, except
>the silicone is very resistant to breakdown and is pretty much chemically
>inert. It makes the dash look better because it basicly resurfaces the
>dash.
>
> You can buy plasticizer based protectants, like Black Magic or Meguair's.
>They have real plasticizers in them used industrially, but they also contain
>UV blockers. Some are less shiny than others, but I experimented with a
>few and found they all tended to be a bit shiny.
>

I don't care - I ain't puttin' that **** on my dash