Paint that will stick to the gauge panel plastic (5th gen)

I fiberglassed some speaker pods to my gauge panel. I now need to paint them and blend the paint into the origonal gray plastic, or paint the plastic as well.

Regardless I need a paint / primer that will stick to the plastic. So far I 've noticed that not much adhesives will stick to it for long, even after sanding. I was also told at somepoint that the type of plastic it's made out of doesn't paint well.

So I ask what kind of paints will work?

 

I don't have an answer for you, but I'd be interested in seeing pics of your work. Been trying to figure out how I'm going to install some speakers to my bike.

 

https://imgur.com/a/JRnXg#0

 

I'm sure someone will be along to give an answer. BadBilly knows his shit when it comes to all things sticky. He's pretty good with paint, solvents, and general information on adhesion factors, too.

 

+1 I was just about to mention BB but not sure if the OP can handle the presure

 

Pics!


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The OP is asking a legit question and not trying to BS everyone with how fast , how skilled, how big his dick is or that he has 473 motorcycles and half of them are Harleys..

Thinking that the finish coat will be an automotive type paint and not something off the rattlecan shelf at WalMart, Both the original plastic and areas that are resin should be cleaned and scuffed some. Alcohol is good for that. Scuffing even with a fine grit paper promotes adhesion.

Run a test or two. Oddly enough a great primer that sticks to most plastics is a finish type paint and can be bought at Walmart.. (irony factor kicks in here) Krylon Fusion should work as a primer. Krylon is a Sherwin-Williams product line.

Try a test on the backside of that dash panel to see if it works. Don't try scuffing with steel wool. Steel wool is oiled to retard oxidation and the oil ain't good for making paint really stick.

Another paint product that will adhere to ABS Plastic is Hammerite. Kind of a metalflake effect and not for everyone. If this is chosen RTFM twice and believe what it says about recoat windows.

There are auto primers out there that are made for ABS too. They are in bulk and usually a pint is the smallest amount. Forget using a rattlecan primer of this type. Some but not all have a fraction of Methylene Chloride in them to prevent caking. Methylene Chloride is the main fraction in paint remover and will melt ABS plastic.

Another alternative is to go to a shop that specializes in auto paints and ask questions after telling them what it is you want to do.

Grrrr!

 

What about appliance epoxy paint?


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Link in third post ( https://imgur.com/a/JRnXg#0 ) will make a separate post when they are finished.

Went around town looking for answers. I found a product called SEM Plastic prep.
Basically the term I was looking for the start was "mold release agents" I was told about them before, and how they stop adhesion.
If this product is meant for my type of plastic, I believe that it will allow the primer to stick, and of course a light sanding before hand.

Thank you for your help, if this current mix of chemicals wont work, I will back track here and make a second attempt.

 

I painted my dash plastic with Plasti dip anthracite grey and then top coated with Plastic dip gloss. Dash plastics were cleaned with alcohol first........turned out real nice....no problems with adhesion.......Plastic dip products can be found on interlnet

 

It might work. Run a test. Appliances are sometimes faced with plastic of some kind, stainless steel and even porcelain. In office and in home painting of reefers is sometimes done electrostatically. Generally a paint or coating for an appliance may be too brittle for motorcycle parts that are subject to vibration. The best deal IMO is to use paints and coatings specific to the job.

 

Maybe it should stay on the internet.. or on the handles of screwdrivers and torquehammers. I just watched part of vid of a dude doing a fairly new Audi that didn't need even need to be washed. I was waitng for him to start saying "Isn't that amazing!" , over and over.

 

I have not used the SEM paints and coatings for plastic. Their products for "fixing up" vinyl used on seat covers is great! Even did a pair of boots for a guy who was going to a costume party as Elvis once.. Got turned on to the stuff by Rich O'Connor of Rich's Seats near Seattle.. Shameless plug..

I prefer alcohol as a mold release cleaner over lacquer thinner. Some paintwork comes in on bikes that are really old and the lacquer thinner will dissolve some of those older paints. Not horribly so but enough to make a mess..

Ya might want to stick with the SEM line for the whole job too unless your plans include one of the Honda factory colors as a final finish..

 

I tried a bit of the SEM prep, and applied a skim of lite filler to it, let it dry, etc, and it seems to have made a pretty good adhesion. I'm think I will give a skim of filler to the entire bare plastic areas, they are texture plastic any ways, and a smooth finnish I think might be nicer after painted.

I think I will go with a semi gloss black, but I might go factory red, been getting a few peoples comments that they thing that would fantastic... even if it is expensive lol.

 

The drill basically is primer then paint. Fillers (Bondo and variants) generally do not adhere well to ABS plastic. This over the long haul.

The texture is there to break up reflection. If your bike is OEM red for that year the paint has faded. This is a characteristic of red paint in general. Reds by nature are transparent. if a substrate is painted that is mottled in this case an area of ABS plastic of one hue , filled with a filler of another hue. unless primed with a deeper hue primer, the red will appear mottled.

This is also the case if a primer of a light color value is used ie white instead of black or a neutral grey.

IMO you are on the right path but don't get ambushed by the Rattlecan Rangers.

 

For a good look at some really pro paint jobs that include graphics, breaks, color coordination and near perfect work in general and retaining some modicum of the power of huevos, check out the work on the 2014 cars that will be running Indy in a day or two. Best to see the work as still pix. The cars are all in the high 229 to 230mph average. No lack of huevos from those dudes.

http://msn.foxsports.com/motor/photos/photos-2014-indianapolis-500-starting-line-up-052014#img_0

 

The bezel can be painted with the same paint used on the fairing plastics, the key to it sticking is preparation. You need a prepped and cleaned surface and it will stick.

 

Asd usual bad billy is useless and the Wolf knows-rustolem plastic paint-at wall mark $5 a can-see plastic paint job That came out near perfect.

 

I agree. Always prep your bezel.

 

I am a person to over thing things and worry too much, which can slow me down a lot from getting something done.
Currently I am in basicly the same position I have been for a little while now, with a twist.
First I think I will sand the heck out of the texture in the plastic, there by giving a smoother plastic surface, tho scuffed nicely for prep then primer.

The twist is something that is some what of a heart beaker considering how much effort i have put into the work thus far.
So before this project started, I had some 3 inch holes cut in the original bezel for smaller speakers I was sporting for the last couple years. at some point, possibly when i did the cloth wrap, or maybe the fb hardened and shrunk a bit, it caused that area of the bezel to lift up about half an inch. the holes i cut for the speakers a couple years ago, were a weak point , allowing the plastic bezel to bend up. So now the bezel wont sit flat near the tank side of things. I have three options:
1. start over, NOPE.
2. try and extend the fiberglass down, maybe, but I don't think it would look very great, plus trying to blend an other two layers into the current fb might be huge pain in itself.
3. since its not a large gap, I may just bend the red bike plastics up a bit and bolt it to the fiberglassed bezel. it's hard to tell the difference but not ideal ether.

PAINT:
If i go with red, I am just taking it to a real automotive paintshop, I know how fickle reds are, and even worse trying to match it to older factory paint.
I'm more inclined to go with the semi gloss i have, and do that myself. I can alway have some one paint it later. I feel there is some benefit to doing an attempt in forgiving paint myself, in case something goes wrong with the current work, like if the fb was to brake away or crack, which i have my doubts, but a trial run on the bike for a month seems prudent.