That's kind of a "If nothing sticks to Teflon, then how do they get Teflon to stick to the pan?" kind of questions. :lol
My opinion is that there has to be more than just the presence of solvents to eradicate polymers, as you put it. If you just poured a bottle of AIO on a heavily oxidized car and then wiped it off with a paper towel, I would imagine that not much of the oxidation would be removed. Perhaps it needs friction to activate the cleaning power of AIO? Either way, I don't think that AIO has a lot in the way of protective polymers in it for the solvents to kill anyway. If you are using AIO for protection and not topping it with anything then you are kind of missing a step. AIO is more of a cleaner than a sealant and a second product, like SG for example, is a good idea if you are looking for real long term protection.
I'm not going to argue that AIO doesn't have any protective qualities to it since that is not a popular idea around here lately, but I will say that I've never experienced any visible evidence of long term protection with just AIO alone. I use it as a cleaner and a base for SG or UPP and that's it. It gets a lot better than just the shine of AIO.