making dull dash padding shine?

[chinarider]

I was thinking that this might be a body/paint question, but it's fairly Thing-specific. Anyway, here goes:

I stripped my '73 the other week to prep if for body work. This now gives me some time to refinish the foam-rubber dashboard pads, hard plastic kickboards, etc. What I'm wondering is what's the best way to put the nice black shine back in the foam rubber dash pads? Armor-all does a good short-term job, but it's a quick-fix, and fades out again in a few weeks. I'm looking for something a little more long-term. Any thoughts on silicon treatment? Also, any thoughts on that type of paint that is used for plastic (for the kickboards).

Thanks!

[kubelmann]

There are a number of vinyl restoration/moistening products available. I have had dreat luck wiht the Maguire vinyl restore wipes and others have had good luck using black shoe polish. There are other products. Like many others I buy an new product and try it on parts that are already ruined and find something that works. As with all things restoration products require that you continue to apply the product on a regular basis to preserve the "like new" appearance. K-mann

[chinarider]

Figured I'd go ahead and answer my own question here, as I think I found a pretty good solution:

Believe it or not, simple, common WD-40 just worked wonders on both cleaning and shining my dash pads. I used it with a paper towel, and was amazed how much dirt it took off (I could see the brown film on the white paper). I let them sit for a few nights after removing the excess WD-40, and they still looked amazing. Will have to see how they hold up in the longer term (like years), but so far, so good.

[caspar]

so how is the wd-40 working??? i am looking for somthing to clean up my steering wheel and dash also..

thanks
caspar

[chinarider]

So far, it's holding up beautifully - on the dash pads that is. I didn't try it on the steering wheel.