Just wondering because i have been reading about the dash cracking problem do you guys use anything to prevent this from happen.

 

armoral and other shiny sprays dry out the plastic that cause them to crack.

 

Yup, tests have shown that over use of some of the most commonly sold "vinyl protectants" actually cause failure of the dash.
Single best thing you can do is purchase a good sun shade and get in the habit of placing it against the windshield EVERY time you exit the car for more than a few minutes. Living in Ga. & Fl. for the last seventeen years, it's become as natural to me as taking the keys out of the ignition.
I've had one of my trucks from 1989 through 1998, all but two of those years in Ga. and the dash looked darn close to new when I sold the vehicle...

 

yeah this is what i thought

 

Living in NC I use a sun shade in the summer also.

 

What about the clear lens on the clock cluster! Mine cracked for no apparent reason! I bought a set of clocks off ebay for $100 but I'm too worried about fitting them in case it happens again before I sell the truck.

 

I would reccomend a highly diluted concentrate of Simple green or Purple power. it's a degreaser, but if you dilute them to atleast 10:1 you should have no problems. 10parts water o 1 part cleaner. Anything stronger will leave a whitish residue on your panels. That's neer a good thing. Think of it like this....If you can wipe off the grime in a couple of swipes, your chemical is too strong. You need to have your chemical weak enought that it forces you to put some elbow grease into cleaning. i like to spray the cleaner on the panels(door panels get pretty grimey) and a scrub brush with soft bristles. Go to town and wipe everything down. Spray a so called protectant before the panel dries and buff the crap outt of it. Panels will look brand new!
Also, those "protectants" don't clean, they just shine. Shinyness attracts the sun and traps the UV light. If you do use any kind of so called protectant, the duller the better and if you like armoral, then just polish off the shinyness with a dry rag to get excess oil off. That will help out alot!

 

well what about the armour all cleaning wipes? just as bad , how about meguires? all the same? i like the shine of armourall but just spent lots of $$$$ on my truck and dont wanna f**k everything up.

 

I used TURTLE WAX ICE COMPLETE INTERIOR CLEANER. It cleans everything on the inside except cloth and glass. Dash,steering wheel, guage lenses. Anything vinyl,leather or plastic and doesn't put that fake looking shine or oily residue that I hate on stuff. Really does a good job of cleaning the interior and protects it too. I even clean the door jams, rubber seals and all. Makes everything look like new without the shine.