This will be the first in what I hope will be a series of articles. ”Unsung Heroes” are detailing products that I feel are overlooked, underappreciated, or forgotten, and are worth consideration. –Karl
I love Vinylex, which is made by the Lexol folks. I’ve tried a bunch of other plastic/vinyl/rubber dressings, even dating back many, many years ago, when I was 16 and used Dad’s Armor All. The man who first introduced me to proper detailing products suggested that I try Vinylex instead of Armor All. I did, and I loved it. That was probably 18 years ago. Since then, I’ve used a handful of the many boutique dressings, and some of the more mainstream ones too. I keep returning to Vinylex.
I use Vinylex on interior trim (dashboards, control panels, etc) where I want to darken up the plastic or vinyl and bring some life back into it. Vinylex can be shiny if you use a lot of it; some people like shiny, and that’s fine. Me, I don’t care for shiny. So, I don’t get all heavy handed with the Vinylex, and in spots where I do, I simply buff it with a clean, dry microfiber towel. This evens up the look, reduces some of the shine, yet still leaves plastic and vinyl looking great.
It’s also excellent on stuff like rubber weatherstripping. It’ll keep your weatherstripping nice and pliant, and will help those of you in cold climates when opening your doors. It won’t rub off onto your pants leg when you get in and out of your car, either. It also works great under the hood, on things like radiator hoses and vacuum lines.
I’ve used it on the black plastic trim (which I wrote about redying recently), too. As with all dressings, it’s not permanent, but it makes a nice difference to black plastic. Vinylex is even an excellent tire dressing. If you like your tires to look black and new, but not “used car lot shiny,” give Vinylex a try. It looks great.
People on detailing forums rave about 303 Aerospace Protectant. And they’re right, it’s a great product. Vinylex is just as good, costs a lot less, and is much easier to find.
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