| Author | Message | ||
     Puddlepirate |
Hey guys, after doing some searching, I just can't seem to find a decent thread on how to paint the plastics on the XB's! If there is anyone out there that can shed some light on this subject, please post!! | ||
| Bads1 |
What do you need to know or what are you trying to do??? | ||
| Gowindward |
Check out this link http://www2.dupont.com/Surlyn/en_US/assets/downloa ds/reflections_coating_guide.pdf | ||
| Puddlepirate |
I've got an XBS front end on my Sportster, so I've got a plastic front fender, plastic flyscreen, fiberglass side panel, steel tank, and steel rear fender that need to be painted. I'd like to go with all the same paint, just to prevent any color matching issues if possible. But, I haven't been able to find much info on how to prep the XB plastic pieces either. Thanks for the link, Gowindward. Good stuff there. So, the "molded-in-color DuPont™ Surlyn Reflection Series® resins" means that the XB plastics are molded from colored plastic, they are not painted. Had anybody done a step by step writeup of the procedure they went through? I've found plenty of stuff about painting the metal, but the plastic is throwing me for a loop. Thanks for the help. | ||
| Puddlepirate |
Would adding flex agent to the regular paint allow it to be used on the plastics? Come on, somebody has got to know this stuff! | ||
| Toona |
www.paintandsigns.com did my XB plastics, drop Thad a note. You could also PM Stou, he did the Queensryche Ulys seen here:http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/37/ 222125.html?1159755068 | ||
| Toona |
My bike:  | ||
| Bads1 |
Toona, Stu did not do the Queensryche bikes. As far as prepping scuff,prime and paint. You should use some flex agent but you can get away without it. Better safe then sorry. | ||
| Thumper74 |
Use auto paints as they are harder, dry faster, are more UV resistant, etc. Napa can mix any color, put in hardeners and put it in a can, but you can also use a real spray gun. Just make sure your reducer/hardener is good for the temp range you’re spraing. You’ll need almost no paint, a pint would be more than enough. The worst thing aboot plastic painting is static. With these rigid pieces a flex agent is not required. Flex agents reduce adhesion and may lead to paint peeling, etc later. Cleanliness is the key. You'll want to wipe it down with a wax/grease remover. Scuff it down a Scotch brite pad and Comet. Let it air dry. After wax removal and scrubbing, do not handle the panels with bare hands, use powder free latex gloves. Wipe the panel down with a tack cloth. Spray your primer if you’re so inclined. Wait for it to dry and use some 1000 grit to lightly remove any dust that may have settled on the wet primer. Use another, fresh tack cloth to clean any dust, dirt, etc that has settled. Spray your color and wait the flash time. Wipe it down with another tack cloth. Spray a few more coats, but wait the flash time out. Follow the recommended time in the instructions included with the paint. Get yourself a foam rubber sanding block (3/8” thick and flexible) from the paint supply place. Get a bucket, put a couple drops of your favorite dish soap in there and use room temp water in the bucket (prevents thermal shock of the new paint). Now sand that color coat lightly with 1000 grit or finer, keep it wet and clean. Wipe the water off periodically and just sand until the color is uniformly dull. You do not want to remove any color, just make the surface uniformly smooth, but not to the primer. Spray one or two more color coats making sure to tack between coats. Follow the directions on the paint and the clear. Wipe it down with another fresh tack cloth and spray your clear, wait the flash time and repeat as desired. Remember, the more paint and clear, the more you risk the paint cracking, BUT the more material you have to work with for wet sanding and buffing the paint out. I like 3-5 coats of clear as it gives more working room at the edges and on ridges where the paint is thinner. You can follow the directions on the clear’s info and usually wet sand/buff within a few hours. This can make wet sanding super easy and you may go right through. I usually wait a few days and wet sand with a bare minimum of 1000 grit, switch to 1500 and finally 2000 if I want a super glassy, wet look. Remember, remove the minimum amount necessary to achieve a uniform dull, matte look when wet sanding and STOP! Remember, if your paint starts to look crappy in a few years, you could wet sand it again and buff the paint out to make it look new again! Ask your supply place about their least aggressive polishing compound and rub the paint out by hand. If there are swirls, you may want to use a glazing compound. Wait a few days to be sure that the solvents in the paint/clear will not react with the decals that you may want to install. Wait a few months before waxing. If in doubt, put your nose up to the panel and sniff it. If you can smell the paint, don’t wax it. Wax can seal the paint, preventing the solvents from evaporating which could cause the paint to lift. | ||
| Kmfw160 |
I'm painting mine in about a month. Black with copper metallic. My buddy used the same paint on a Harley tourer's plastic and it turned out great. I hope it wasn't a fluke. lol I'll post up when done. | ||
| Firebolt32 |
With painting any plastics you would want to use Bulldog. It's an adhesion promoter which allows paint to stick to almost anything. | ||
| Kmfw160 |
my bike is done. The paint is awesome with only two gripes. I had him paint two of the fork protectors and the things will barely hold paint. They chip really easily. The other thing is the windscreen, airbox and front fender have a haze to them. He said he wet sanded them and shot a clear but when he buffed them there was a haze/film that we can't wipe off. I'm gonna start with dishsoap. If that doesn't work then I don't know. | ||
| Kmfw160 |
well I'm gonna try rubbing compound. Next is to wet sand it with 1500. | ||
| Minear |
Uhm I actually Had a drunk jackass run me off the road on my xb...the bike flipped upside down after ramping off the curb and landed on the airbox seat and handle bars. It fell tot he side and the left peg saved the frame from any damage. The airbox was scuffed and after much debate to do some work myself and pocket some money for mods or have the dealership do it I got good advice. Depends on If you want just a basic color of If you want custom. It was black so I wet sanded out the scratches and bought black gloss bumper paint in a can and a tack rag. The steps I took were simple. Now you need patience and a steady hand but its not difficult. When painting plastics You need to add some chemicals for the flex the piece may experience. -So after smoothing the box and windscreen By wetsanding with 1000 then 1500 I cleaned it up with simple dawn soap. If there is no damage just wetsand it down to a flat color. -Then wiper generously with the tack rag before The first coat. The spray a single coat then wait 10 minutes the paint will be hard enough o wipe with the tack rag.repeat this untill you have done 3 coats. -Now let it sit for 24 hours and wet sand again with 1000 till the gloss is gone - 3 more coats repeating the first step - Now let the paint harden for 48 hours then install it Here are some pics on the rack and I will post some of them installed on my bike tuesday when the rest of my repair parts come in.    Now keep in mind I have had zero experience with painting anything ever... this is knowledge given to my by the paint store clerk lol This is after 24 hours the gloss and all no need for the clearcoat as I have been told this bumper paint is very resiliant and for basically 3 hours of wetsanding and painting and a 10 dollar can of paint this beats a 300.00 job and the price of a new airbox. (Message edited by minear on March 03, 2008) | ||
| Nik |
1500 grit is wayyy too fine for painting, that's a polishing grit. I use 800 for clearing over unpainted plastic or 600 for painting. With 1500 you will have adhesion issues down the road... No need to wetsand after each coat either. If going for a show quality finish you can do 2 applications of 3+ coats of clear wetsanding in between. |
