restoring pliability to crispy old vinyl?

I have an issue with the vinyl door panels in my O/T Chevy II (so I wont post any pics) the vinyl has become hard and crispy over the last 50 years, and I want to remove the vinyl from the cardboard backing, and put it over new cardboard panels. Does anyone know of anything I can treat the vinyl with to restore some of its flexibility before I attempt to remove it from the backing? The vinyl is pretty cherry, other than the fact that it has become brittle over the years, but the backing has completely had the biscuit. Its a Chevy II 100 rather than a Nova, so no re-pops are available, and I really want to keep it as a 100, so I really want to save the interior, as thats the main difference between the two, other than emblems.

Anybody found anything that works?

 

Vinyl is kept pliable by a chemical added in the manufacturing process called plasticizer which naturally migrates out of the vinyl over time at no specific rate. When the plasticizer is gone, the vinyl gets brittle and nothing can restore it. Not what you want to hear, but you need new vinyl.

 

Pretty much what I figured. New is not an option, unless I use the Nova stuff. Maybe I will try hitting it with a heat gun, and just be REAL careful...

 

maybe sit it in the sun for a while before you try a heat gun. too much heat won't be good for it.

 

Try Son of a Gun, it used to be good at softening plastics
tip, especially electrical cords that tangled themselves, a good sqirt of sog on a cloth then pull the cable through as if cleaning the cable , several applications over a cople of weeks would normally give new life to the cord. ( don't forget normal safety here cuts etc, )

 

Never tried it but the sales pitch sounds good..

http://www.leathermagic.com/Pages/vinylsoftener.htm

 

George, Meguire's has a product that I've had some success with. It is in their marine line up. http://www.meguiarsdirect.com/product_detail.do?q=4682 The other trick is to clean vinyl, with a mild solution of water with Murphy's oil soap, rinsed off with a damp sponge. It leaves a light film of the oil soap, which revitalizes the vinyl.

 

There are guys that advertise being able to restore dried leather and vinyls, maybe search for their services locally, or hopefully someone knows what they use to do it.

 

you might think this is crazy but i have used coco****er lotion on vinyl and it works a little nothing life changing but something is better than nothing. let it sit for a while before you decide to wipe of the lotion. also stick outside in the heat ,

using a heat gun itsnt always great because it concentrates on just a small area of heat and you cant get a consistant heat on the entire panel at once. if you know a buddy with heat lamps that would be even better.

 

Rather than trying to remove the vinyl from the the old cardboard backing you could probably strengthen the pen by rolling a thin layer of fibergl*** resin on the back side.

 

BOOOM chinarus makes a great point !! thinking outside the box is awesome.

 

some good tips here, thanks guys. "Fixing" the backing it pretty much out, its warped all to hell, moldy, and somewhat rat chewed. I already tried to get rid of the warping by putting it between two sheets of plywood with wieghts on top, didnt really help, besides, they still stink.
The main thing I am after is just to soften it up just enough that I can get it off the old backing and onto the new backing without cracking it too much.
Ratfink, the main thing I am thinking of with the heat gun is to hit them from the cardbord side to loosen any remaining adhevise, although father time seems to have pretty much taken care of that part.
I really want to save this stuff, its what sets the car apart from the hoards of Novas out there.

 

I've used Gibbs Brand to do this with great success. Try a small area and see how you get on.

 

Extang used to sell a special dressing for their vinyl tonneau covers. The claimed benefit was that it included lanolin while products like ArmorAll didn't. It worked well but I don't know if was capable of bringing "dead" vinyl back to life. But your hands felt really good after applying the stuff!

 

many a time over the years i've used Vaseline to soften up padded dash pads. Might work on door panels.

 

I've actually softened dried out vinyl before by spraying it liberally with WD-40 and setting it out in the hot sun for a few hours...really.

 

dunk them in the bath tub and let the water soak into the panel and let them separate on its own ???

 

I met an old school upholstery guy that told me never to use anything on vinyl but baby oil. No Armor All, no SOG, nothing like that. I've used it a few times on vinyl with nice results, but never on vinyl that is already stiff. At this point you have little to loose.

 

I am considering that. Still want to soften it up before I try to put it on the new backing, but that is looking like what I will probably do to remove from the existing panels. Lots of good stuff here guys.

 

First, clean the vinyl with soap and warm water using a soft bristled brush. Rinse well with clean water and allow it to dry. Apply clear mineral oil with a clean rag. May take several heavy applications and allow oil to soak into the vinyl. This should help soften the vinyl but care should be taken when removing it from the cardboard backing. As mentioned, setting it in the sun for several hours will help but do not use a heat gun.

 

Vinyl top cleaner?

 

You will probably never soften it , and if any of the stuff suggested does penetrate you won't get glue to adhere. Any designs that are in the panel that aren't sewn will be heat pressed, using a thin polyester as the pad. Where the lines are deepest, the pad was completey "welded" to the board. You may be able to peel a thin layer of the og board and reglue to a new one. Good luck Jack