not too sure about that one. it could probably be done but i have no experience with that. i think i remember seeing something about plastic repair in one of the books. if you have a barnes and nobel near you, spend an afternoon there and browse through the various automotive bodywork / painting books. seems like that is where i saw something about plastic repair. i've seen some great work with spray paint? any problems with durability or chipping?

good luck,
gw

 

i am a painter by trade to i can give u the best proper advice (eventhough i hate spray cans). if u are painting ontop of raw plastic or any repairs of epoxy resins u want to scuff that area down with 220-320 then apply 2part putty, sand that with 400 wet, like i was sayin bout raw plastic you will need to spray a plastic primer b4 u put down any other primer or paint. if u sand with anything finer than 400 grit, primer will not bond properly. next u want to wet sand that primer down with no more then 600. once again anything more then that and ur paint wont stick properly. wash it and clean with a good wax and grease cleaner tack it so there is no dirt or dust on it and start ur painting as long as you use a good enamel spray can you should be okay ..

if you are planing on painting something already painted just sand the shine off it with 600 and go right to paint . i have learnt through the years the best way to do any body repairs on plastic its self is always do it with wet sandpaper as it helps to keep the plastic smooth so all your paints and primer tend to go on much smoother.. good luck

 

well im still a little confused on how to do this. someone said they sanded first and then painted sanded some more,painted , then sanded agian, and more paint. ummmm,what?

i thoguht i just had to sand the entire part first (im only painting my rear fairing), primer the part, then i dont know wats next, do u go ahead and spray paint,or do i have to sand more? y would i sand after the primer? cant i just sand,primer and paint?
i have a compressor but im not buy a spray gun,ill use can instead. i just need some simple steps

 

well a spray can is just like a compressor/spray gun (it's just cheaper to buy a spray can).. Well listen to speedy, he is probbly a pro on plastic when im still learning on that kind of material.. im going to step by step his reply..

step 1: if u are painting ontop of raw plastic or any repairs of epoxy resins u want to scuff that area down with 220-320 then apply 2part putty (putty probbly being bondo.. i might be wrong)

step 2: sand that with 400 wet, like i was sayin bout raw plastic you will need to spray a plastic primer b4 u put down any other primer or paint. (so spray a plastic primer first, sand with 400 - then spray another primer - then paint)

*quick tip* - sand paper terms "coarse" being 220 to being "fine" 1000
if u sand with anything finer than 400 grit, primer will not bond properly. (paint needs a semi-rough surface to stick.. if you ever tried painting on a clean slate of metal, it runs like the dickens)

step 3: next u want to wet sand that primer down with no more then 600. once again anything more then that and ur paint wont stick properly. wash it and clean with a good wax and grease cleaner tack it so there is no dirt or dust on it and start ur painting as long as you use a good enamel spray can you should be okay (just talk to a tech at the store you buy the spray can at, tell them your using on plastic and need a "enamel spray can")

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now this is probbly for you because your tail probbly already painted? if it is, this will save alot more money for ya..

step 1: if you are planing on painting something already painted just sand the shine off it with 600 and go right to paint . i have learnt through the years the best way to do any body repairs on plastic its self is always do it with wet sandpaper as it helps to keep the plastic smooth so all your paints and primer tend to go on much smoother

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i do believe you need a clearcoat at the end.. I dont know how factory finishes work. if they are clearcoated or not

 

ummmmm,aaaaaa, wat? lol, just kiddin. ok so since the tail is already painted all i have to do is sand it all off with 600 and paint? damn thats a lot easier then everything else i read thats been confusing me. so i need sand paper,gloss black spray paint and thats it, nice. well i wont be paintin this till the weekend ill let yous know how it goes

 

lol yes u must sand ur primer b4 paint with 600 wet sandpaper and water, paint will not stick to the dry primer espcially from a spray can. as well spray can primer u must spray a few coats not just one big one. and prefurably sand lightly between coats too. sanding helps all the next coats bond properly especaily paint .

and yes 2 part putty is kinda like bondo basically bondo is good for doing your shaping and molding work to make it look how u want, problem is is that bondo is very porus and when it dries it has lil pin holes . So u can apply a 2 party putty otherwise know as finishing putty it is very fine and fills in all the lil holes and makes a much smoother non porus surface . so when u prime it wont want to sink in later and go crappy looking. as well bondo sucks for adhering to plastic but for some reason 2 part putty bonds to it pretty good ,basically because it has more polyester resins in it , wheich is what plastic is made from as well. So if ur doing body work on to bare plastic then use the finishing putty instead of bondo u can get finsihing putty where ever u get bondo just read the labels or ask. and yes evercoat is prolly one of the best makers of those kinda supplies like garydogwood was saying.

As far as clear coat goes if u buy the colour u want in a spray can and it is gloss or shiney then u are fine if u want u can wet sand it with 1200 and put a few coats of clear over top to give it a lil extra shine and add some protection from scratching as u can always buff out lil scratches from clear easily . but wetsanding silver or golds then clear will show lil scratch marks under the clear . so what u have to do there is right after ur done spraying ur colour on spray on 2 cots of clear give it at least a few hours really i would say a day , wet sand that lightly just to remove the shine (just dont sand through to the colour) then put 2 or 3 more coats . after that it should look pretty good and if it doesnt let it dry wet sand and try again as long as u have clear on u can keep wet sanding it and clearin it till it looks mint . or u can just keep doing it to make it look even shinier and deeper espcially on black .

Oh ya back to what infomous asked yes if it is painted already , just sand the sine off with 600 sandpaper prefuraqbly wetsandpaper with water and just paint right over top. sorry just tryin to answer a few peoples questions all at once so youll all kinda have to pick out what parts u were looking for out of my clutter of a post lol

Here i posted some pics of a r1 i just finished , give u a goal to try match lol just takes practice and time [IMG][/IMG]

 

this thread contains a wealth of information. speedy, nice paint booth you have there. i feel like painting again
gw

 

thanks i tried to give advice as best i can , but there are so many different things that can change every process depending on what colour of paint and type of products you use . i just tried to give a basic outline of procedures to go by hope it helps some people out somewhat. we just put the booth in this year it is a spray bake booth , positive pressure downdraft with a computer controlled bake cycle it is a real nice booth to paint in , i enjoy it . later

 

well i went ahead and strated, but it dont look too good. i sanded the tail down with a "medium" sand square thing. it looks like sand paper wraped around a square sponge. then i used "fine" sand paper. i cleaned it all off used a lil more of the fine. then started to paint. the paint was runnin in certain places and i started to see silver dots come through in other places,did i do something wrong? is this normal??


Sorry if i sound like a complete idiot on this topic. i've never painted body work, so this is my first time

 

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