Modern Plastic and Rubber treatment?

[steelwindmachine]

I've read that modern (my vehicle is a 2014) plastics and rubber parts used on cars typically have UV inhibitors engrained into the materials and many of the window glass also has UV blocking coatings.

What's the point of using detailing products that claim UV protection?

What products chemically make sense for modern plastics and rubber?

[ducksfan]

Because cars can last for a long time if taken care of properly and they're not like houses that can be remodeled with off the shelf products. A sacrificial UV product enhances the original UV protection (that typically won't outlast the car).

[Paul A.]

Maybe some vehicle manufacturers (or their suppliers) are using "UV inhibitors" in the material production but I've seen plenty of brand new vehicles with faded trim. Like Ducksfan said, it makes sense to me to prolong the color life with UV protective type products from the start.

The damage done by UV down here in FL is clearly evident. The damage it does to rubber, plastics etc is wicked.

I always look at UV fighting claims of many of my detailing products.

[HockeyCrazi]

Clear coats (correct me if I'm wrong) have UV protection in them as well, but we still put waxes/sealants/coatings on top of them to add protection and maintain that UV protection. Same idea with rubber and plastics. There's a lot of products out there for rubber and plastic, I personally use 303 and haven't had any problems...

Hope that helps.

[Desertnate]

To add to the discussion, it should be mentioned those UV inhibitors, if they exist, will degrade over time. Poorly maintained new cars will experience pretty rapidly, and I've even seen it in my vehicles when the protectant begins to wear away during the winter months and I'm not really able to re-apply. They are only 4~5 years old.

Every manufacturer's plastics are different too. I've noticed the clear headlight plastic used on Japanese cars from the last decade seem to get cloudy faster than American or German cars of the same age. All bets were off on older vehicles. They all seem to loose that UV protection pretty quickly.

[yakky]

Modern trim is certainly more durable than the stuff from back in the day. I've found that it stays looking good unless the car sees lots of automated car washes. The harsh soaps in those seem to really kill trim. That said, a good sacrificial layer of protection is a good thing. I wish there was as much development in the trim protectant area as there is for paint. I've had really good results long term with 303 but recently started using Wolfgang trim sealant and it seems to do well with less runoff after rains. Also just got some UTTG recently to check out.