Can i paint my plastic and if so, what paint do i use?

 

rattle can, or a pro job?

 

You can't just use normal auto paint or rattle can paint to paint your plastic, it will quickly crack and peel. When I had my molded plastic ground effects kit painted for my old pickup, they mixed a special addative into the auto paint to make the paint more elastic when it's dry, to prevent the cracking and peeling. It works great but might be pricy and hard to get ahold of. I don't know the name of it, but I'm sure someone on here does [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

Its called a flex agent. And they do sell plastic paint in a rattle can that has the flex agent in it.

 

i baught Krylon fusion paint, made for flexing plastic. i sanded down my back plastics with 500 grit sandpaper, then 1000 so it was smooth. then do one coat VERY lightly, just dust it. Thats the tacking phase. then give 3-5 more LIGHT coats. Do this on a warm day with MINAMAL humidity! If you do this right, it will come out great. Then a day later when its 100% Dry get some PLASTIC Specific Clear coat and give it 2 light coats. Will make it shine and look great. i did this to my back white plastic, i paiunte dit black and it looks perfect, cant even tell. oh yea, and i removed all the decals very gently, and i re-installed them in their orrignal posistion AFTER ALL the painting was done... looks great. good luck

 

Good to know [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] thanks!

YBlasterboy: Definitly get the paint with a flex agent in it. If you can, I'd airbrush it. Rattlecan painting is hard to get even, it runs easy, and doesn't look quit as good. Also, if you really want it to look awesome put a gloss clearcoat on top of the paint. Good luck!

 

The krylon fusion is good, most auto parts stores cary a variety of plastic paints now, just make sure you get one that will flex. Once you sand it down real smooth use 1500 grit to finish it, and a wet rag, then a tack cloth to get all the plastic residue off before you start painting. There is a product at auto parts stores called adhesion promotor, it's in a spray can and made for painting plastic. Spray your plastic with it before painting and let it dry. It makes the paint bond to the plastic a lot better. Will make your paint job last much longer, and look better.

 

I painted my plastix (check the photo page). My best friend is in the autobody business! The paint on my raptor is a tri-coat pearl white! I believe his first step was to prep the plastic .....then he ran them down to a place that coats car bumbers with a special self etching flex primer (for 5mph bumbers so they flex without cracking) after that he add flex agent to the paint and clear! The paint job is over a year old and no chips or cracks! If you want a good job....do it right the first time....its worth it in the long run!

 

wont it chip and stuff?? i was thinking about painting mine.i was just worries about it chipping off.

 

I painted the faided red plastic on my daughters Eton with the rattle-can paint. I had pretty good results, after some initial failure. I learned 2 things. 1. Take some high grit paper to the plastic to rough it up a little. Nothing too course or you will see your sanding marks through the paint. Try emory paper on the back side of the plastic first as a test. 2nd and most important, it has to dry for literally days. I put a coat on and left it in the hot July sun to back ALL DAY and then applied another coat the next day. I did this for 4 days. I then let it back in the sun for 2 days. Do Not leave it outside overnight. The night air has way too much moisture in it. If you take the time to let the paint cure in the sun, you should have good results. I will post a pic of it on my profile. Good luck!