I had a Honda 300 that I kept spotless for 10 years. Always washed it after each use, Armor All'ed the plastic, and sometimes waxed the plastic. Problem was, after a few years, the plastic developed very fine surface cracks all over it. A friend of mine bought a 300 on the same day I did, never washed it, never Armor All'ed it, never waxed it, and it never developed the surface cracks. Has anyone else had this problem? It wasn't from bending the plastic, it was like this everywhere, places where the plastic would not bend. Is there something in the wax or Armor All that caused it over time? What does Honda recommend to use?

 

If both ATVs have been stored the same (inside/outside, covered/uncovered) my guess would be that the chemicals you've been using have dried out the plastic. Armor All and wax don't really mix unless you use a "cleaner wax" to remove the build-up of contaminates.

These different fender dressings I've heard about like mop n shine, STP, lemon pledge, etc. are chemicals that are made for a different purpose and along with the elements (age, weather, mud, bugs and all the rest), these things can happen without a single cause.

I don't know of anything that will bring it back, short of wet sanding, so you might continue what you've been doing just to get it looking good. temporarily.

 

same thing happened here as i had a new 91' XR250 in 90 and a friend abused his XR200R and MY seat cracked withen 3 years and his is perfect even today, Found out that the armor all I was useing will destroy vinal or plastic if not re-applyed every month or so. I have seen car dash's and many other stuff damaged from armorall or any sylicone based polish. I currently use Honda Spray cleaner & polish with awesome results

 

Armor All will absorb moisture - I don't like the stuff myself. Go to Pep Boys and try some stuff called Vinylex Protectant (for vinyl, rubber and plastic). It has a patented formula that protects against fading, drying and cracking. It has DH60 UV screen and has worked well for me - and I'm VERY picky about my stuff!