303 Rubber Seal Protectant Review

RaysWay

RaysWay

Autopia Specialist
When I think of "vinyl or rubber protection", 303® Products is one of the first brands that comes to mind; and for good reason. Since 1980, 303 Products have offered a line of protectants and cleaners that have received 5-star reviews from not only car enthusiasts, but boaters, homeowners, and anyone else looking for products that just flat out work. Since I am very familiar with their deserved reputation, I was excited to find out that they would be releasing a new product - 303 Rubber Seal Protectant.

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Now this may seem like a small detail, but the first thing that caught my when inspecting the 303 Rubber Seal Protectant was the twist-off protective lid. It's a thick plastic that feels sturdy and won't shatter like other lids I've seen.

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Now the twist-off cap might not seem like a big deal, but I've had plenty of other products stuffed into my detailing cabinets with your standard "snap-on lid" for these types of shoe polish foam applicator type of bottles and I've found that the snap-on lid will either break or won't create an air tight seal leaving the foam to dry up and eventually disintegrate.

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After detailing for so long, you really start to appreciate when companies don't skimp on the small details like sprayers or applicators or in this case - plastic lids.

After inspecting the bottle, I read the product description directly from the 303 website:

303® Rubber Seal Protectant is an easy, convenient way to keep the rubber seals of doors, windows conditioned and pliable. Helps protect against drying and cracking in extreme temperatures, and rejuvenate color and elasticity to old seals, keeping them looking and performing like new!
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After some research, I was glad to find out 303® Rubber Seal Protectant is 100% water based.

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Some rubber protectants actually contain formaldehyde, which are known to dry out or dissolve essential oils within the rubber. Forcing you to reapply more of the oil based dressing as a short term solution. This is not the case with 303 Rubber Seal Protectant which contains water based conditioners to keep your rubber in top shape.

Now enough with the technical specs...let's actually use it!

The manufacturers date on my Mercury Sable shows the car was born on 11/1999 making it about 15 years, 7 months and 22 days old - but who's counting? I'd say the trim is in overall good condition, so I was interested to see if it would make a difference.

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I gently squeezed the bottle while gliding the foam applicator against the rubber trim to dispense the protectant. I didn't have to squeeze too hard which was nice since I'm always looking for products that my grandma can safely use.

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I ended up applying the protectant to ALL of my rubber seals including all four doors and trunk. Later that day, I went outside to inspect the trim and it looked great.

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The rubber was soft and conditioned. There was no sling or excess product that transferred to any adjacent panels.

After applying this to my entire large sedan, the bottle felt like it had been unused. Let's take a closer look at the numbers, and see if this product is worth your investment...

Current Sale Price: $9.99 or ~$10

Applications per bottle: I'll guess 10-20, but to keep things simple let's say 10 applications per bottle.

Cost per application: $10 ÷ 10 = $1.00 per application.

If we say there are 20 applications per bottle, it turns into $0.50 cents per application.

Conclusion: I would GLADLY pay $1.00 to condition AND protect all of the trim on my vehicle with a water based "Made in the USA" 303 product that includes a durable twist-off lid. To me, adding this product to your detailing arsenal is a no-brainer. Especially if you've been ignoring your rubber seals.

Thanks for reading!

Conditions and protects rubber seals on doors, windows, hoods and trunks.
 
Nice review. Those seals look damn good for being 15+ years old. Did you maintain them with anything? Did you clean the seals before applying the 303?
 
Thanks for the review. I love 303 products and have been using their protectant on my seals for years. This looks like a quicker and less messy way of applying product. Way to go 303.
 
vega- Nice review!

So there was zero transfer to surfaces that press against the seals huh? That was the one area where the 1Z version could stand some improvement (have to let it dry for a while and rewipe to avoid transfer onto glass that presses against the seals).

I can imagine a three-way test between the 303, 1Z, and (my current fave) Wurth products of this type.
 
Rsurfer said:
Nice review. Those seals look damn good for being 15+ years old. Did you maintain them with anything?
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I've only ever applied a protectant to the rubber door seals once and funny enough it was 303 Aerospace Protectant. I don't remember 303 Aerospace Protectant leaving the rubber this soft or conditioned.

Rsurfer said:
Did you clean the seals before applying the 303?
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Good question! I forgot to mention I wiped the rubber seals down with 303 Multi-Surface Cleaner before applying the protectant.

rlmccarty2000 said:
Thanks for the review. I love 303 products and have been using their protectant on my seals for years. This looks like a quicker and less messy way of applying product. Way to go 303.
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Thanks for reading. 303 Products are great and I completely agree, the shoe polish applicator also prevents the user from wasting any product; compared to sprays or aerosols.
 
Accumulator said:
vega- Nice review!

So there was zero transfer to surfaces that press against the seals huh? That was the one area where the 1Z version could stand some improvement (have to let it dry for a while and rewipe to avoid transfer onto glass that presses against the seals).
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Thank you! Product transfer was the first thing I looked for after opening and closing the doors several times during vacuuming and I saw zero transfer. Although I didn't use it on any trim that made contact with any glass, only rubber to paint.

Accumulator said:
I can imagine a three-way test between the 303, 1Z, and (my current fave) Wurth products of this type.
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I'd love to see the results of that test. Especially after using this new 303 product ;)

Which Wurth product is your favorite? The gel stick or aerosol version?
 
vega- I'm fraid there were no real "results" to examine, only a brief write-up, as I've never done the digital-imaging thing. But what I found was that the 1Z left a *slight* transfer that was barely noticeable on glass whereas the Wurth didn't; the Wurth really dried "dry and clean" and/but the 1Z left a *slight* "dressing slime" effect. (This was back when I had a WRX with rubber-to-glass contact.) Also, the Wurth lasted a bit longer.

Whether the minor diffs make the Wurth preferable given its much higher cost....well, we'll see when I run out ;)

I was referring to the Wurth gel stick, though I do also like their aerosol Rubber Treatment (I seldom spray it directly onto the surface being treated due to overspray concerns).
 
I've got the Wurth spray and the stick, in addition to some others. I'll have to run a little A/B comparison to see what's going on with these. A product that leaves a residue in this particular application is a real no-no for me.
 
tom p.- Ah, good...look forward to your findings. It's been a *LONG* time since I compared them and I don't mean just a decade. That residue issue was critical on my WRX, hence my going for the Wurth over the 1Z (still let it dry though, longer than just a flash-off).
 
Awesome tip about cleaning the tip because you are right If i do this it wont be needed again for at least 3+ months. Looks like i will be adding another item to my list !
 
Yeah, that's a good tip indeed! The foam on my Wurth stuff stayed OK (well, haven't checkedit lately..) but the 1Z's applicator crumbled away. I don't apply with that much anyhow (use a cloth and swabs) but I will start cleaning it when I get my next bottle (not sure whose I'll buy now).
 
tom p.- Hey, that could be a pic from *my* shop...except that my can of Rubber Care appears to be an earlier version and my 1Z's foam applicator is gone.
 
OK, here are my shots from this afternoon. 1Z is very glossy, the Wurth product is essentially transparent/neutral.

I'm in the process of doing the left side of the car with 1Z and the opposite side with Wurth:

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Here's a good A/B comparison shot. It's 1Z on the left, then a gap of about 2" where nothing is applied and Wurth to the right:

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^^^ In the shot above, I lightly wiped both products with an MF towel. I don't think it had any impact on the Wurth, but it did knock down the gloss/wetness of the 1Z.

In the shot below, I applied 1Z very wet, did not wipe and let it sit for about 1/2hr before taking this picture. The 1Z looks wet and has a high gloss that the camera doesn't really capture. Look at the bottom edge of the rubber molding on the left side. You can see where I didn't get any coverage:

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I don't think the Wurth needs to wiped down afterwards. Some folks will want to knock down the gloss/wetness of the 1Z before it dries.
 
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