can you paint plastic good?

[ToddFrydrych]

can you pait plastic fenders good without them flaking?

[350Xccelerator]

No. plain and simple. it will not hold.

[Dammit!]

If you plan to put them on a shelf never to be touched again when you're done, yeah. If you ride it, eventually it will flake.

[ToddFrydrych]

then how do people get white plastic for a 250r? do they paint it and just repaint it when it flakes? theres a 300r on airfoolers.com that is white

[350Xccelerator]

They buy aftermarket Maier fenders......... lol

[ToddFrydrych]

do they come white?

[ToddFrydrych]

nevermind forget my last question

[leevarnado]

if you know a really good refinish tech he could paint your fenders and they would last a few years without flaking,but only is he preps the sh-t out of it,example..hand sand fenders with 320 then use red scotch bright pad with sanding paste.sprays adhesive promoter then primes then base then clear coat with a really good flex additive.that's the steps we use to take when i was doing auto body,we would have bumpers that we painted and been hit with other cars and they would never flake

[harryredtrike]

do they come white?

////////yes,they come white,red yellow,blue,green,black,ect

[Autophysn]

yeah, but to find the black tank, thats the question of the day

[Dammit!]

For what trike? You can get black tanks for a water pumper. The others are metal so you just paint them. I think Clarke makes black plastic tanks for some of them (used to anyway).

[saladboy]

Yes you can paint them,but it has to be the same color(red ov red wht ov wht,etc)I did it on a 200x and it still look great.What you have to do is wet sand them in four stages start at 600gt then 800gt then 1200grt. etc.wash it really good.Buy some plastic paint(fusion) apply 2 coats then a coat of clear.mine turn out great,I could wash them with no flaking.i will post a pic if i still have it.

[boosted96cobra]

Obviously you have never bought a trike with painted plastics or you wouldn't be asking this question.

[85Tecate]

Obviously you have never bought a trike with painted plastics or you wouldn't be asking this question.

My point exaclty......No matter how hard you try......painting plastic is not going to hold up.....

[The Goat]

I've actually been considering sanding down with 50 grit and then painting.....

it ain't gonna flake out of the grooves.

[leevarnado]

goat,if you sand with 50 grit you will have to prime then sand,prime then sand,prime then sand.that's a lot of work trying to smooth them out.with 320 grit the primer fills in the crack about 95% then the base and clear will fill the other 5%.plastic can be painted and hold up for a few year if done right.i don't mean a back yard paint job,i mean one in a clean shop with a nice paint booth that bakes really well.

[85Tecate]

I've actually been considering sanding down with 50 grit and then painting.....

it ain't gonna flake out of the grooves.

Its not so much flake as it scratches off REALLY easy.....Simply hitting a few branches from a bush will take the paint right off..........I've went through the whole sand until my arm falls off, prime it, and paint it plastic paint........It DOESNT work trust me......First ride i was pissed because my fenders were orginally yellow and i had painted them black.......You can imagine what they looked like.

[vintagemotorsports]

if you know what you are doing and use the correct materials you can paint plastic to hold up very nice . I do it all the time for custom jobs , there is alot to it and you need the correct adhesion promoter and need to add a flex additive to your primers and your top clear coat , the best way to etch out your plastic is to sand blast it with aluminum oxide and wash the hell out of it and then wash it with a good wax remover to get any old wax and plastic mold out of it 3 coats of adhesion promoter , prime with a catayst primer 2 part with flex added and block sand , base coat any coloe auto grade base and urethane clear with flex . if you do all the right steps you can bend your plastic all around it will not flake off or crack , there is no quick way to do it and remember anything that comes in a rattle can should go in the trash can unless you want poor results

[Autophysn]

if you know what you are doing and use the correct materials you can paint plastic to hold up very nice . I do it all the time for custom jobs , there is alot to it and you need the correct adhesion promoter and need to add a flex additive to your primers and your top clear coat , the best way to etch out your plastic is to sand blast it with aluminum oxide and wash the hell out of it and then wash it with a good wax remover to get any old wax and plastic mold out of it 3 coats of adhesion promoter , prime with a catayst primer 2 part with flex added and block sand , base coat any coloe auto grade base and urethane clear with flex . if you do all the right steps you can bend your plastic all around it will not flake off or crack , there is no quick way to do it and remember anything that comes in a rattle can should go in the trash can unless you want poor results

That's what my dad said, he is a old school body and fender mechanic.
I figured it is way cheaper to paint them than to buy them, atleast for me, cause I can just get him to do it. He did my brothers quads, they looked good! No flaking yet, but he did all that with the promoters and stuff, I would have just painted with rustoleum or something like that, LOL!
I suppose that is why it would flake on me, and not you, hahahahahaha

Anyway, I am going to try and get him to paint my bike, I would love to have a blacked out 250r, anywho, I will let you guys know how it comes out

[RudeDog666]

Plastic can be painted to last, what do you think the bumpers on cars are made of?

vintagemotorsports knows what he's talking about.

[Autophysn]

Plastic can be painted to last, what do you think the bumpers on cars are made of?

vintagemotorsports knows what he's talking about.

exactly, just cant be done in a round about way, it needs to be done with the intent of adhearing to plastic and being allowed to flex--I think, LOL!

[vintagemotorsports]

you got it think below the paint not on top , how come rattle can got blocked out I know its a bad word in my book tooo (LOL)

[RudeDog666]

I have an easy way to end this discussion..

Rattle can it black and when ever it gets scratched just shoot it again (touch up) (buy about 15 cans of paint). :w00t: :Bounce

[Autophysn]

or a magic marker, LOL!

Hey Vintage, Aren't you in Orange County California?

[Kintore]

I know Clarke Man. you blow you any colour tank for about 230 bones.

[seadoo650]

I know Clarke Man. you blow you any colour tank for about 320 bones.

I second that. Clarke will do any of their plastic tanks in any color you want. Just make sure of the color. Once it's done, there are no returns on custom colors.

[Mr. Clean]

if you know what you are doing and use the correct materials you can paint plastic to hold up very nice . I do it all the time for custom jobs

How about some pics of those plastics on machines that actually get ridden? :)

[4cfed]

been rode twice since painted.....

http://i595.photobucket.com/albums/tt35/4cfed88/PICT0982.jpg
http://i595.photobucket.com/albums/tt35/4cfed88/IMG00229.jpg

[porkjr]

how can paint stick to corvettes? they are all plastic

[code200k]

how can paint stick to corvettes? they are all plastic

vettes are fiberglass just like fieros and other cars and boats

[rickybudz]

If your going to sand with 50 grit, Dont you think just rhino coating all the plastic then paint color of choice may just work out better? I thought of it, but I went ahead and wet sanded, and sanded, and sanded, and sanded, then buff out every thing with Mothers. I basically ended up with a factory finnish. The work is tiresome and frustrating, but the end result is better then I had hoped for!

[oldskool83]

do no rihno line the plastics, it will stick but it will look horrible, i knew a guy that did it in black to his sportbike plastics...looked like a massive booger! yuk!

just be normal and dont paint them. the only things i can see painting are peices that will no get vibration, like headlight shells if you must.

but 1.99 spay cans at walmart do no cut it.

[honda200x1987]

What kind of buffing wheel can and polish can give a plastic fender back it's original swirl free shine?

[rickybudz]

Dont worry Im not rhino coating or painting plastics. The only thing you can really do, is sand and buff plastic, in my oppinion. I was just making suggestions. Sounds like his plastic are of no consequence. The only thing I would suggest it not over sand plastics, end result, shallow flat areas that seem to glow with refletion, and keep the area sanding constently moist with water, or sanding agent with fine abrassives, or end up with white scuff marks in dry sanded areas. Its an elbow grease and detail thing with plastics, there are really no quick fixes, besides spending the duckets for new plastics!

[rickybudz]

Cotton and mothers! After the elbow grease steps before of course!

[fabiodriven]

I have never been a fan of painted plastics. From what some of these guys are saying it sounds like it can be done. Some of the guys posting about that are very smart and I would listen to their advice if you insist on doing it. I would never paint plastics myself though.

[oldskool83]

everytime i get a bike with painted plastics i strip it off. normal its nice plastic underneeth, just seems most want a dif color and done wanna spend then money on plastics.