Repairing & Painting Plastic
Tom Kaminski
(Honda XR250R '84)? I was thinking about repairing it with fibreglass (is
this a good idea?) then sanding and painting it. However, I went to my
local automotive paint distributor and they told me that painting that type
of plastic fender is "not easy" and the paint will most likely peel.
Unfortunately, replacing the fenders and side covers is a very expensive
option. I find it hard to believe that plastic cannot be painted. I
figured that there would be some sort of paint that is specifically made to
"glue" onto plastic.
Any suggestions?
Tom
BykrDan
I repainted my Suzuki some years ago, which did include the plastic side
covers (the rest was metal). It worked fine and has held up great. I
sanded the pieces first (mainly to get off the remnants of the ages-old
decals), and although I tried to sand it as smooth as possible, it was still
a bit more rough than the original finish, which may have helped the new
paint bond, for all I know.
I honestly can't remember if I primed the covers or not. I think I would
have had to.
I've done this twice with two different paints - first, with touch up paint
from a spray can, and then with a ghastly expensive PPG paint (same color).
Both worked equally well, but I used a good PPG clearcoat to top it off.
The spray-can clearcoat I used was not resistant to gasoline.
My sidecovers are made fairly thick and stiff, so they don't flex much. If
that is not the case with your bike (dirt bike?), then none of this may
apply to you.
Dan.
"Tom Kaminski" <umka...@cc.umanitoba.ca> wrote in message
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Tom Kaminski
side covers as well. However, when he painted his plastic gas tank it peeled
horribly. I wonder if he used a gas resistant clear coat. I found a spray
can of Plastic Adhesion Promoter that will hopefully help the primer bond
better to the plastic. Obviously I'm going to first experiment with the
under side of the side covers before attempting the top. But I don't want to
experiment if someone else has already found a good technique.
Tom
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Ben H
I recently spoke to a panel beater about getting my plastic door trims
painted on the car and picked up the following points:
The surface has to be absolutely clean, which usually involves wiping the
surface with a weak alcohol solution such as metho or thinners. Any
protecting agents left on the surface will prevent the paint adhering and
result in peeling later on... Secondly, lightly rough the surface with
scotchbrite (grade 6 i think..), available from paint shops. Surface should
then be washed down with a mild detergent and left to dry.
Special plastic primers are available for painting plastic. They help by
soaking into the panel and opening the pores, helping the final coat adhere
to the surface. Should be sprayed about 15-30mins before the final coat is
applied.
Plastic paints usually contain flexaid, which helps to prevent the paint
cracking as the panel expands and contracts with heat or if the panel
flexes. Most auto shops sell plastic paint in pre-mixed spray packs.
I dont know how youd go about painting the fuel tank though. Ive had
stickers on mine for about 6 weeks now and already theyre starting to peel
off. Fuel tanks are porous and let the fuel seep through...
Hope this helps,
Ben H
Adam Wilner
ago when I was restoring a bike and asked them what the proper method is to
applying the stickers. The Bike was Black with the Red and Orange stripes on
the tank and the Silver HONDA contained in the sticker. They said after
applying the Black coat, to wait at least 12 hours then apply the stickers.
After applying the stickers and smoothing them to eliminate any bubbles, 11
hours needed to elapse at which time the clearcoat was applied directly over
the stickers and the Black base coat. This was 100% successful and 2 years
later it looks 100% factory.
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