Ask The Editors: Restoring My Quad’s Plastics
Undoing the sun’s harsh treatment.
There are primarily two schools of reasoning when it comes to the art of getting that factory sheen back to your ATV’s plastics. The first is turning to commercial products- kits like PC Racing’s Plastic Renew really do work well but we’ve found that the biggest drawback to them is that they aren’t really designed for doing a whole vehicle so much as freshening up faded spots (or possibly an entire motorcycle fender).
For a vehicle like yours that is going to require the entire surface area, we would definitely recommend the heat treatment method. This works by using a propane torch to heat the material up just enough to bring its natural oils back up to the surface. The key with it is a steady hand and conscious effort to keep moving along the plastic’s surface – almost as if air brushing or spray painting. Here is a helpful YouTube video demonstrating the technique:
