chalky plastic panels

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AdamR

AdamR

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Is there anyway to fix plastic when it becomes chalky or are they a lost cause ?
 
They need to be refinished, Im just wondering if sanding and priming will work or if its going to keep flaking off.
 
I found that a coating of the plastic paint called Fusion that is sold at Wally world works wonders for this. I got some seat backs for buckets out of a junkyard that was like sanding drywall just dust. I sprayed some of this on it and it worked like a charm. It seams to bind with the old pastic and give it some new life.
 
All of my plastic was repainted using the same paint as the doors....enamel.
Sanded the f out of them then cleaned them really good with solvent to remove any traces of silicone, armorall, etc.

They have held up extremely well so far.....2 years.

Dash pad is painted as well.

Go for it.

Mop
 

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Adam....... The previous post was spot on for these panels......

I've had some so bad that the edges were flaking.......They need to be cleaned up and "edged" (if they're that bad) with a bit of sandpaper, and the surface smoothed as well from the chalky texture.....gotta be careful not to go too far.

After that, the new Krylon "Fusion" can be applied in 3 separate coats to refinish and strengthen the remaining plastic. It has binders and flex additives that really do a good job on the plastic.

I've used it with great results.
 
I also used the krylon plastic paint on several plastic parts. Although mine were not as bad as yours it worked like a charm. I used 120 and then 220 grit took the crud off then wiped with mineral spirits and let dry for a few then I put 2 coats down they came out great.
 
Does Fusion come in primer? I can't seem to find it online.

I have a B7 interior so I'm guessing they don't have a Fusion match for that.
 
I was going to start a thread about this very thing ... nice ya'll beat me to it. :-D

I've been restoring an old Radio Flyer tricycle for a valued FABO member customer's granddaughter. The metal looks fairly spectacular but the flat black Duplicolor paint I bought for the plastic parts is terrible!

View attachment IMG_4572.JPG

Despite what I thought was thorough paint prep (light sanding and spotlessly clean), it hasn't even had a butt on the seat yet and the brand new hand grips, pedals and wheel caps are peeling!

View attachment IMG_4570.JPG

View attachment IMG_4571.JPG

I've got to do something with this thing and get it back home to Pennsylvania where it belongs so she can ride it before her tenth birthday. LOL

I can spray powder with the best of 'em but I've never claimed to be a painter. What's the best method for removing new Duplicolor paint from 30-year old plastic? I've got some powder coat stripper but it's pretty heavy duty and I doubt if the plastic would survive a dip in it. Thanks in advance for any pointers. :-D
 
I used rustoleum paint for plastic on much of my interior and its still looking great
 

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I guess I should've mentioned I bought a can of flat black Krylon Fusion at O'Reilly's the other day when I was in town. I think I've got the right stuff now, just need some good paint pointers to make sure it stays on there.
 
Bead blast the parts at low PSI so as not to remove the detail....use glass bead or fine sand/garnet.

Acetone/solvent clean em and let em dry.

Shoot your primer then your paint.

You cant expect any paint or coating to hold up to scraping though....looks like the trike fell over on the driveway a few times. :yawinkle:

Mop
 
Thanks for the pointers momo! I think I can do that. :-D

For what it's worth, this old trike is now like brand new with a bunch of new parts -- i.e., the plastic and rubber stuff I couldn't coat -- it hasn't been touched yet let alone fallen over in the driveway! The coating should last for years even with abuse from tiny feet, but that paint I tried first didn't seem to last ten minutes.

Is there a recommended primer for plastic? Last time when I used the Duplicolor I preceded it with a $10 can of automotive Paint Prep (which I'd assume turned out to be a waste of money).

Thanks again for the help! < hugs >
 
CudaChick1968 said:
Thanks for the pointers momo! I think I can do that. :-D

For what it's worth, this old trike is now like brand new with a bunch of new parts -- i.e., the plastic and rubber stuff I couldn't coat -- it hasn't been touched yet let alone fallen over in the driveway! The coating should last for years even with abuse from tiny feet, but that paint I tried first didn't seem to last ten minutes.

Is there a recommended primer for plastic? Last time when I used the Duplicolor I preceded it with a $10 can of automotive Paint Prep (which I'd assume turned out to be a waste of money).

Thanks again for the help! < hugs >
Click to expand...
The Home Depot sells plastic primer in spray cans. I bought a can for a project about a year ago but never used it for some reason. I don't remember why, though! LOL

George
 
I always give plastic parts two baths in Super Clean. The first one for the crud and use an old tooth brush for the nooks and crannies. The second just for good measure. I dilute it to about a 5 to 1 ratio. Then I use Krylon Fusion without primer with no problems so far.
 
When I painted my plastic grill bezels, I used an adhesion promoter for plastic.
 

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i know this is an old thread but if you are looking to remove the oxidation and bring the original color back to solid plastic parts, i scrub the loose flaky oxidation off and just heat with a heat gun almost to the point of becoming soft. the plastic brightens back up to about new. i have done this on kick panels and on a few faded 4 wheelers. just have to be careful to not over heat it and burn it.
 
you can do this to those old 80's black plastic car bumpers that always ended up being grey as well.
 
I've been a fan of SEM vinyl dyes. At least it's worked great on faded/discolored black plastics.
 
Yeah, that's what I used when I did the ones in my Cuda ... but I'm not really a big fan of paint. :-D I like it hot LOL
 
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