Best Spray Paint

[Moto man26]

Hey guys, I want to spray paint my plastics black...But I don't know what kind of spray paint to use. What kind should I use? And it would have to be good enough to not peel and bubble off my gas tank. And is there any special tricks??

Any help will be appreciated Thanks!!

[monkeyonahill]

eh... dont try to spray paint plastics... usually they dont turn out lookin' too good. Just buy a new set from Acerbis or UFO. $120-130 for a full kit. just dont spray paint them, usually doesnt like to stick. But i guess u can if u really want to. Maybe someone else can help ya out, there might be some trick i dont know about. I wouldnt think it would be a good idea.. cuz if u dump it and the plastics get scratched then u see the original color cuz the paint will get scratched/chipped off.

[MotoMan]

Monkey is right, it won't work.

You can paint it but the minute you hit something or rub it on something the paint is gone and looks like crap.

[Silver_Fox]

Originally Posted by Moto man26

And is there any special tricks??

The trick is to NOT do it. After one ride it will look nasty. If your plastics are real bad, look for some good used stuff on ebay.

[OLDMXRACER 393]

Probably doesn't apply on this bike, but we all know the old "scrape em with a pocketknife" trick, don't we?

[mooredirt]

I used to work at a plastic injection mold shop. We used to dye nylon parts in hot water tanks. I brought all of my '87 CR250 plastic in (the ugly orange) and dyed it black. Looked great and actually went about .050 deep. Took about 8 hrs to do it all.
Check with Colorbond for the dye. Get a metal washtub, fill it with water and heat it to just before boiling. Put the dye and plastic in and just check it every so often. This really works great !
One added bonus...I filled the inside of the gastank with the solution as well. When I pulled it out 3-4 hrs. later the dimples on either side had actually popped out! I could get about a 1/2 gallon more gas in it (for a trailbike that's nice )!
I sprayed a light clearcoat on the plastic just to give it some shine. Looked great for years (until I sold it )!

[mnewmanfla]

Don't do it. It won't work, I tried it when I was about 13 or 14. It looked good for about a day, then I went riding....Didn't look so good after that.

[Aus_Rider_22]

As it's been said, don't bother spray painting plastic.

When touching up frame and other parts I have used PJ1 in the past and it worked fine. Just use a clear protective gloss coat

[Ncognito]

I second that mooredirt, dying is a feasible way to go. Do NOT paint them, plastics on dirtbikes flex way too much for paint and are beat on alot. I used to play with 1/8th scale Nitro trucks and we would die the plastics on them with plain old RIT dye that you can buy at walmart or anywhere else. It is a fabric dye and if you mix it very strong it will dye plastic parts if put in hot water. Just throw them in and let em go stirring accasionally to not let the dye settle in the bottom. Make sure to clean them thoroughly and then when you think they are clean, clean them again. All of the oil/grease must be off of the plastic or it will come out uneven. The question is how to get a pot/tub big enough to fit a fender in and how to keep it warm for a few hours lol

[MotoMan]

Originally Posted by Ncognito

I second that mooredirt, dying is a feasible way to go. Do NOT paint them, plastics on dirtbikes flex way too much for paint and are beat on alot. I used to play with 1/8th scale Nitro trucks and we would die the plastics on them with plain old RIT dye that you can buy at walmart or anywhere else. It is a fabric dye and if you mix it very strong it will dye plastic parts if put in hot water. Just throw them in and let em go stirring accasionally to not let the dye settle in the bottom. Make sure to clean them thoroughly and then when you think they are clean, clean them again. All of the oil/grease must be off of the plastic or it will come out uneven. The question is how to get a pot/tub big enough to fit a fender in and how to keep it warm for a few hours lol

Hey Ncognito....Welcome to ! )

[Florida 393]

You can dye or paint a plastic gas tank to your hearts content but the heavy hydrocarbons in the gas will migrate through the plastic and release the paint or stain and permanently discolor a dye. This is what causes the discoloration in the factory graphics with white in them. Even the special "elastic" paints for plastics won't prevent this from happening.

Bill

[jayc]

Originally Posted by Moto man26

Hey guys, I want to spray paint my plastics black...But I don't know what kind of spray paint to use. What kind should I use? And it would have to be good enough to not peel and bubble off my gas tank. And is there any special tricks??

Don't listen to all of these nay-sayers. Remember, you've got nothing to lose - it takes all of 20 minutes to take the plastic off and paint it. If you don't like it, paint it again! If it totally fails, you'll have to get new plastic, but then you'd have to do that anyway if you didn't try paint! Worst case, you'll be out an hour and $8. Besides, it'll work.

Here's one of my dirtbikes that I recently painted:

[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

I looped it into a rock pile on it's first ride hard enough to break an aluminum barkbuster. It did get a little scuff on the rad shroud, but it didn't break through to the original plastic, and I just gave it a quick touch-up squirt of paint when I got home - made it look like new. I used a flat paint, which is more forgiving than a gloss, but if you are going to use graphics, I don't think you can go wrong.

Before I did the Mil-look paint, I painted the sidepanels on the same bike white. They were completely trashed and stained, but looked new after a couple of coats of paint. I rode the bike many times, and the paint held up fine - even after being dumped multiple times.

Krylon makes paint that is specially formulated for plastic - it is called "Fusion". It bonds with plastic at the molecular level, at least according to the label. If the plastic is clean (I give it a squirt with brake cleaner to cut any grease, then scrub it with soapy water and a stiff brush), it will stick - and wait a week before riding it. Fusion paint is sold at WalMart for ~$4 a can. Two cans should do a bike.

JayC

[TeamGreen2323]

one thing that you can try is go buy some black rhino liner paint for truck beds.. it sticks to about anything but it want be a shiny glossy paint..it will be a rough surface kinda like sandpaper but its vary durable and last for a wile...its a diff look for sure...

[kwmotocrosspunk]

dying the plastics sounds the the best and most durable way to me, but i would probably just save my money and by a new plastics kit

have you ever thought about just buying a new graphics kit, find one with a black background and get that, it would probably look better anyways IMO

[TheMuffinMan]

dying the plastics sounds the the best and most durable way to me, but i would probably just save my money and by a new plastics kit

have you ever thought about just buying a new graphics kit, find one with a black background and get that, it would probably look better anyways IMO

I would go w/ what kw said. I didnt realize i had crashed so many times until i peeled off the graphics kit to put on a new one

[dirtdemon4life]

My dirty cr125 after 3 years with krylong fusion... Clean it and lightly sand it before you pant, and do multiple light coats, and enjoy. Btw, I've been in some PRETTY gnarly wrecks and have seen some harsh trails.



-Max.