What is vinyl
Written by: Vinnie van Rooij
Vinyl is a common material used in cars. There are several objects inside or outside a car that can be made from vinyl or a vinyl base. PVC is easy to clean and maintain and is very versatile.
Contents
Why use vinyl
Vinyl is a form of polymer that is very versatile. It can be used to create many different types of materials. Technically speaking, vinyl polymers are a group of polymers derived from vinyl monomers, but in common terms, vinyl refers to polyvinyl chloride, better known as PVC. The most common polymers used in plastic is vinyl.
Examples of vinyl used in/on cars
- Polystyrene, which can be used to insulate certain pockets without the fear of adding weight
- Polyvinyl Chloride, which is the material used to create several parts inside or outside the car
- Polyvinyl acetate, which is a common part of the glue used to bond parts of the interior while manufacturing
- Many wraps are made from vinyl
- Vinyl is a large part in synthetic leather
- Vinyl can be a part of the materials used in floormats and/or carpets
There are several types of plastic used in cars, the most common one would be ABS plastic. Some manufacturers prefer to use vinyl as a material for their interior. It is very difficult to see from the outside when ABS or PVC is used.
Cleaning vinyl
Vinyl is very easy to clean. It has a high impact strength and shouldn’t deform quickly under stress. Even parts made from ABS offer these qualities, however ABS can deform under sun exposure, PVC doesn’t. It has a very rigid surface with a good resistance against scratches and other surface marks. An APC, degreaser and even IPA-based cleaner should not have any effect on vinyl. Simply spraying the cleaning solution on a towel, wiping the surface and drying it with another towel will often be enough. Due to the density of rigid PVC, stains, dirt and other contaminants will not bond easily with the surface, making them easy to remove.
Salt is an unwelcome type of contamination on your vehicle. Salt can cause rapid corrosion and extreme dage to unprotected metals. It can also severely stain polished metals and create a matte look over the surface....-
Paintwork can, in some cases, become oxidized. Making it turn matte and slightly fade color. If untreated, it can eventually cause the lacquer and/or paintwork to completely fail. It is most common on red cars, but it can happen with every color....
-
Paint can be repaired in several different ways. Some of these paint repair techniques can be done by most people, others should only be done by professional painters. The method needed to fix the paint depends on the severity of the paint imperfection. Some forms of repair are most expensive then others....
-
Cleaning a surface is not always easy. The product itself needs to be able to remove the product, but there should also be a safe method to remove the soap-dirt mixture. The cleaning pie gives insight in the factors that play a role in cleaning....
-
There are 2 general ways for deep cleaning fabric. Using a vacuum cleaner (just removing surface dirt), or using a wet/dry vacuum cleaner (deep clean the fabric). When you deep clean fabric, you need to take into account that you will spent a lot more time on it....
-
When leather is new, damaged, re-painted or cleaned thoroughly, it might be necessary to add a new layer of protection. This protection prevents the leather from drying out, cracking, fading or suffering to much from general wear and tear....
Links to this article
There are no external links to this article. Yet.