Saturday, December 27, 2008 - 11:34 pm, by: Scott Wilkes(Scottywilkes)
im planning on spraying all the plastic parts in the engine bay in metalic blue. Just wondering whats the best way of doing this. Do i need to prep the plastics and undercoat them? If so what products should i use? What paints work the best? Thanks
Sunday, December 28, 2008 - 10:16 am, by: James Harris(Haro)
Hi Scotty,
I did this a while ago in my Skyline. 1st time i didnt undercoat them and after a while they started to look pretty crappy and even chipped a little.
I did prep them though using a scourer and some "prepsol" tgo remove all the grease etc.
The 2nd time i did it i did it like this.
1) Prepsol entire area to clean it up
2) Sand the plastic back a little (800 grit?.. was pretty rough)
3) Wash/wipe over using prepsol again
4) 2 Coats of undercoat/primer (grey in colour) 20 min between each coat and left in sun.
5) Using some heat resistant paint (not sure if i needed it or not.. just had some already) did 3 or 4 coats with about 20 min between them and in the sun.
6) i wasnt entirelly happy with some bits, so i used some fine grit paper to remove bumps, lumps, and did another light coat over top.
They came out really well.. looks fantastic and lasted for ages. Then i sold my car hahah
That was a pretty involved way. but i wish id done it right the 1st time instead of just painting the plastics. Then again it could have been the quality of the paint which i used the 1st time which may have been the problem ??
Scott Wilkes TryHard Tasmania 92 TT Factory Manual
Sunday, December 28, 2008 - 11:01 am, by: Scott Wilkes(Scottywilkes)
cool thanks mate. Not sure what paint to use.
Ive got a silver soarer, so not sure weather to paint the plastics in metallic blue and run blue silicone cooler hoses and blue silicone vaccum hose. Or paint the plastics matching silver and have the hoses in blue silicone. Hard decision, which i cannot decide.
I will problably follow those steps, pretty straight forward, just gotto find the paints and primers suitable for the job. BTW what is prepsol?
Sunday, December 28, 2008 - 07:48 pm, by: Mike Dobkin(Razman)
You can buy plastic primer (designed for bumper repairs)from most auto spares shops - that's the secret. Once you have the correct primer on there you can use any normal auto paint, so just choose your colour.
Scott Wilkes TryHard Tasmania 92 TT Factory Manual
Sunday, December 28, 2008 - 07:57 pm, by: Scott Wilkes(Scottywilkes)
im getting some stuff tomorrow to try it on my coil pack cover.
So il go to supercheap or so and get some of this plastic primer. When you say auto paint, do you just mean body touch up spray? I dont have a spray gun so unfortunately i will have to use spray cans, light coats and i should be ok though. What brand of paint do you recomend?
Sunday, December 28, 2008 - 08:31 pm, by: Scott Wilkes(Scottywilkes)
awesome. Hopefully it comes out ok, if not, o well.
Prepsol, sand, prepsol, 2 coats of primer, spray with selected paint 2 coats and clearcoat it.
1 part im having a hard time deciding is, what colour. Should i spray the parts the same colour as car/engine bay which is silver, or go with blue? AH to hard haha
Sunday, December 28, 2008 - 08:47 pm, by: Mike Dobkin(Razman)
Thats the hard bit LOL
I tend to go for a contrasting colour because if you don't get the colour to match exactly it can look tacky. In your case I would say that blue would be best .... but can you match the silicone hose? .....
Scott Wilkes TryHard Tasmania 92 TT Factory Manual
Sunday, December 28, 2008 - 09:16 pm, by: Scott Wilkes(Scottywilkes)
Thats it at the moment, ive got some inlet turbo manifolds coming in the mail that i am going to sand and polish as well, then replace the black corregated hose connections with blue silicone. Matching the colours sounds like a good idea, depends on what paint the shop has for me.
I think i will go with blue, metalic blue if i can find one Polish the cam covers as well, but i plan on keeping the 2500 twin turbo on there by masking it off
Sunday, December 28, 2008 - 09:39 pm, by: Bill English(Brycevr)
I use a plastic primer and then an epoxy after a proper surface prep and have no peeling or finish issues though the epoxy doesn't have the same gloss as acrlylics or enamels it does offer a little more flex. Just my 2c
Sunday, December 28, 2008 - 09:43 pm, by: Bill English(Brycevr)
BTW as an addition. I usually do a degrease first (remember these bits have been living in an engine bay) Then I put them in the dishwasher with extra detergent.
Works for me.
another 2c
Ben Socratous Goo Roo SA I am the fibreglass/kevlar/carbonfibre king!
Monday, December 29, 2008 - 10:08 am, by: Bill English(Brycevr)
I just use Killrust epoxy and whilst it will crack if you bend the item it doesn't craze and flake off like acrylic. Been using it for detailing my engine bays for years.
Scott Wilkes TryHard Tasmania 92 TT Factory Manual
Monday, December 29, 2008 - 11:12 am, by: Scott Wilkes(Scottywilkes)
well back from the shops, bought some prepsol wax and grease remover, VHT unlta high temp clearcoat (2000c) overkill maybe LOL, its made for clearcoating exhaust headers. And some plastic primer. So im gonna give painting my coil cover later today or tomorrow. STill have to select which paint im gonna use.
Monday, December 29, 2008 - 12:53 pm, by: Scott Wilkes(Scottywilkes)
thanks mate, just tested some on a nylong black bottle i had lying around, LOOKS AWESOME!
Picked up a metallic blue colour.
The undercoat i got is called sikkens plastoflex, its clear in colour. The colour actually is very deep with the black backing of the plastic though, which is cool. Just washed of the coil cover with some detergent and about to use the prepsol on it. Then its prep and painting time
Scott Wilkes TryHard Tasmania 92 TT Factory Manual
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 - 09:11 pm, by: Bill English(Brycevr)
I remember there is a paint for doing plastics that will bond and flex with the item. I used it years ago on some trim parts and it was great but I can't recall seeing recently (probably because I haven't been looking for plastic paint) limited colours though. Acrylic just cracks I know. The clear might hold it together but nothing looks worse than dodgy paint.
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Polish the cam covers as well, but i plan on keeping the 2500 twin turbo on there by masking it off
