Evereybody rubbing or spraying rubber parts with silicone spray is simply killing their parts faster. Silicone spray removes the UV resistance of the rubber causing it to deteriorate faster.

Use 303 aerospace protectant. Most marine, RV and private aircraft supply shops carry it. It is the only thing that will protect the boots. There are a couple non-silicone tire dressings sold by 3M that work, but they are hard to find and hidden among products with silicones.

www.303products.com

If you read the bottle of silicone spray, nowhere does it say it protects rubber. Its sold ONLY as a lubricant, because it doesnt protect! How people got an idea that it protected is beyond me...

I use silicone spray for mounting motorcycle race tires. Its negative effects dont bother me, as a set of tires only has to last for 3-4 days at the track spread over a couple weeks.

I never understood this common misconception that it protects... It doesnt, and most tire manufacturers will NOT warranty a tire for sidewall failure if they find it was treated with products containing silicone because it just strips the UV protectant off and allows UV rays to murder the tire.

Car54, Doesn't Armorall call itself a " protectorant".... I think that is where the misconception began..... same for putting petroleum products on rubber... not good...

I dont know how well armor all protects rubber, although thats what they sell it as. I do know the 303 stuff works great. I used it on my boat seats that sit out in the sun for 8 months every year and they are perfect after 5 years. Without it, they would be alot rougher. I use 303 on the drive axles of all cars I service. I work mostly on VW TDI's, and the 96-97 passats inboard CV boot on the passengers shaft is extremely close to the turbo and is always the first to go, sometimes before 100,000 miles. It was such a problem that in 1999 VW added a heat shield in that location. Ive been spraying my neighbors passat every oil change or service and they look brand new. No scuffing from turning, no dryrot cracks, nothing.

I have also used it on the CV joints on my 300D, they have extremely deep cracks however they dont seem to be getting any worse and as far as I know its the original shafts with 240,000+ miles. Turbodiesel owned it prior to me, he might know if they were replaced, but still going strong!