303 Aerospace Protectant: Thumbs up, or down?

[Catchlight]

I just came across the gallon jug of this product that I bought a few years ago when some Escape owners considered it a revolutionary protectant. I'm wondering if any Escapees are still fans of the stuff.

I've just used marine wax on the fibreglass shell of our 21C. Would the plastic vent covers, stove fan vent, door hinges, or any other parts of the trailer's exterior benefit from a coat of 303 before the cover goes on for the winter?

Thanks for any ideas!

[Mswan]

I use it on the plastic parts and decals

[John in Santa Cruz]

I use 303 on the awning.

[HABBERDABBER]

303 was advertised as having NO Silicone in it. Years ago, I had it chemically analyzed as part of a work project, and it was reported back to me that it was loaded with silicone.
Silicone would be bad news for some paint or other film applications. Auto body shops don't want it anywhere around.
That said, I use it on sun faded plastics. It works for awhile.
Miracle in a can or bottle? I'm still waiting.

[rbryan4]

Originally Posted by HABBERDABBER

303 was advertised as having NO Silicone in it. Years ago, I had it chemically analyzedas part of a work project, and it was reported back to me that it was loaded with silicone.

Silicone would be bad news for some paint or other film applications. Auto body shops don't want it anywhere around.

That said, I use it on sun faded plastics. It works for awhile.

Miracle in a can or bottle? I'm still waiting.

The original 303 Aerospace protectant (they've since introduced maybe 10 different products called 303 when the company was bought by Eagle) was advertised as having no petroleum distillates or silicone oils. Completely water soluble and water based. That's still true. There may be silicone oils in other products under the 303 banner however. Have never checked into it.

[canakiwi]

I have used it for years on fiberglass boats including the vinyl seats etc. Worked great for me as long as you wiped completely dry. Great for interior vinyl in vehicles too. Lived in the desert in mid east and Australia and it stopped vinyl cracking on dash exposed to endless sun.

[brroberts]

I too have used 303 on vinyl, plastic, and fiberglass for years and think it helps. I also have heard formulations have changed over the years, but I’ve not seen chemical comparisons.

[dfandrews]

We've used Aero 303 (#30313) since our 2015 Escape was new. It is in the So.Calif. sun whenever the trailer cover is not on, and is still shiny and new looking.
So, we'll continue with it!

[Catchlight]

Thanks for your experience and expertise, everyone.
I'm pretty sure that I've got the original 303 "classic", but I will still try it out on a couple of expendable items and hidden spots before I put it on a visible surface.

[John in Santa Cruz]

the classic is the 303 Aerospace Protectant. it should be used on clean surfaces. 303 has a good cleaner, but really any spray cleaner suitable for vinyl will do. On my awning, I hose it off, then use a damp towel with the spray cleaner and clean it, hose it off again, let it dry, then spray the protectant and polish on with dry clean cloths.

303 has another treatment for canvas fabric, its quite different. I used that on the canvas top on my 93 Mercedes Cabriolet, but you had to be careful to clean any overspray on solid surfaces

[Catchlight]

Thanks for the detailed instructions, John. I'll do the awning during the next break in the monsoon we're having (which is very welcome after the summer-long drought).

[John in Santa Cruz]

we just got our first rain of the season, 0.50 inch yesterday, and 0.07" on tuesday evening. more is expected. its only been very light misty rain, no proper storms yet.

[dfandrews]

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

we just got our first rain of the season, 0.50 inch yesterday, and 0.07" on tuesday evening. more is expected. its only been very light misty rain, no proper storms yet.

We even got some of that, 300 mi. down the coast (unmeasurable drizzle is all, though).
But; Monday is coming, with Real rain along the entire West Coast.

[John in Santa Cruz]

this morning added 0.75" to our total mostly in one big dump, so 1.33" total this week, first rain of the season (our official rain year starts Oct 1, most of our annual rain falls November-April, but we've been in a brutal drought the past few years).